How do I take control of my own website?
Updated 2026-10-16
Short answer: control means three things: you own the important accounts, you know who can change what, and you can see the site's real state yourself instead of waiting to be told. Most owners have the first one half done and the other two not at all.
How to check it yourself
- Make sure the domain is registered in your name, with an email you control, and auto-renew on.
- Get your own login to the hosting and DNS (or Cloudflare) accounts, not just your developer's.
- Keep a list of who has access to each, and remove people who no longer need it.
- Have your own way to see the site's state, so a problem doesn't depend on someone else noticing and telling you.
What Preventionlabs shows
Preventionlabs gives you your own view of your site's state, from the outside, whenever you want it: one click, one report, problems first. It shows the domain's expiry date and whether transfers are locked, the DNS and email records, what's publicly exposed, and whether every page loads. With a read-only Cloudflare token, it also shows the deploys, DNS changes and account changes made on your site, and when. It's read-only, and only a site's verified owner can check it.
Price
First report free, no card needed. Then A$50 a month, up to 10 domains.