At the start of this year I switched most of our website builds back to a plain scope of work. It lists the phases, the rough timeline and the payment schedule, and that’s really it.
I’d had a realization about the heavier contracts I’d been using. If I ever wanted to go after somebody over one of them, it would cost me way more in legal fees than the revenue I’d get back. We’ve never really had to fight anyone to get paid, and (honestly) contract negotiations bother the crap out of me. So the paperwork got simpler, and it made me put into words something I’ve believed for a long time about how a website project should end: with the client owning everything and free to walk.
No lock-in web design means you own the code, the design, the words and the block library, hosting and monthly plans are optional, and the site is built so your own team can run it, because a website only the agency can edit locks you in harder than any contract.
What does “no lock-in” mean when you hire a web designer?
No lock-in means nothing about the project forces you to keep working with the agency after it’s done. At Classic City that comes down to four things: you own the code, you own the design and the words, hosting is optional, and there’s no monthly plan you’re required to sign.
I care about this for a simple reason. If a client stops liking working with me, I want them to be able to stop working with me. I don’t want to force anyone into something they don’t want to do anymore. I like to make things feel more human, and a relationship you can’t leave doesn’t feel very human to me.
If a client stops liking working with me, I want them to be able to stop working with me
That belief shows up in how we build, too. I want the websites we make to be managed by the people we’re building them for (I wrote more about who should edit your company website). That’s why every site gets a block library, with every building block laid out, named, described and shown in use. It’s how your team gets to edit the site without breaking it. You also get a live training session and a set of training videos, and the order of operations for building a new page that keeps it on brand. Owning a site you can’t edit wouldn’t be worth much. The longest-running example I have is a site we built in 2015 that stayed in use until 2024, because new blocks kept getting added on purpose (the full story is in healthy evolution vs. design drift).
Do you still sign a contract with a no lock-in web agency?
Yes, you still sign something with us, and for most website builds it’s a simple scope of work. It says we’re going to build you a website, and it covers the phases, the rough timeline and the payment schedule. That’s really it.
I used to use fuller contracts, and I still will when a client needs one. Some of our clients are larger and a little more enterprise, and their legal team requires a full contract, and we pull one out for them. For everyone else, I keep it as simple as possible.
If you’re comparing agencies, read what the agreement asks of you after launch. A minimum term, a required hosting arrangement, or a monthly plan you can’t cancel is where lock-in lives on paper.
Who owns the website code and design after the project ends?
With Classic City, you own the code, the design and the words when the project is done. You can take your block library, the entire website, all the design, all the words, and do whatever you want with it, because that’s just how things should work.
It’s worth asking every agency this directly, because the default isn’t always in your favor. One of the pages that ranks on Google for “who owns my website” (Tulip Tree Marketing, January 2025) puts it this way:
“According to copyright law, the website designer or web development company that built your site legally owns the code, the design, the content.”
Orbit Media Studios, answering the same question, points out that some pieces were never going to be yours anyway: “You will never legally own the domain name, web server platform, CMS, web platform, database software, or language used to build your website.” I’m not a lawyer and won’t pretend to know how that plays out in your state. I’d just get the ownership answer in writing before the project starts, from us or anyone else.
Do you have to host your website with the agency that built it?
No. We’ll host your website for you if you’d like, but we don’t require it. Our care plans page lists hosting as an optional add-on at $85 a month per site.
If you’d rather host it yourself, or with a company you already use, the site goes with you. Moving your hosting is one of the easiest ways to test whether a no lock-in promise holds up. Ask about it early.
If there’s no required monthly plan, why do care plans exist?
Care plans exist so the relationship doesn’t have to end the day your site launches, and they’re optional. They run from $250 a month for updates, backups, security and monitoring with no edits included, up to $900 a month with developer hours built in, and the care plans page says it plainly: “We don’t lock you into annual contracts.”
My goal isn’t to get filthy rich off simple care and maintenance plans. I wanted some options that let folks stay in our sphere, ask questions, and not feel like we’re cutting them off as soon as the project is over. I also really enjoy thinking through challenges with people and figuring out how to solve small problems. That part’s fun for me.
A lot of the websites we’re building right now are for founder-led businesses, and those teams are usually spread pretty thin. If we can take some of the basic website work off their plate, so they can have the idea (“Oh, we want to create this on the website”) and we just do it, that would be fantastic. A care plan is an easy onramp to our team’s expertise without needing the budget of a full website build, and without being the kind of agency partner where you’re spending thousands and thousands a month just to get access to us.
So the honest version of our promise is this: no required monthly plan. If you want one, it’s there, and if you don’t, your site works fine without us.
Why do most web agencies disagree with this?
Most of my peers would disagree with me on this, and I get why. When I describe the ways agencies usually contract work, it tends to fall into three buckets: pure hourly work, maintenance plans somewhere in the range of $250 to $700 a month, and a “legit retainer” that’s usually $1,500 a month and up. None of those are bad. A retainer is the right call for a company that’s moving fast on its site and needs the hours.
Where I part ways with a lot of my peers is the lock-in underneath it. I’m not a fan of locking people into a system that’s hard for a non-technical person to use, or that they can’t just move away from. That kind of lock-in never shows up in a contract, and it’s the one that hurts most. One marketing manager at a mid-size B2B company described it on r/DigitalMarketing this summer: “A one line copy change is a ticket, a quote, and anywhere from two days to two weeks.” Same person, same thread: “We got billed last month for changing a CTA from ‘Book a demo’ to ‘Get a demo.’”
That client may be on a perfectly fair contract. They’re still locked in, because nobody on their team can change a button without the agency. The same marketing manager said what they were after in one line: “Trying to avoid trading one bottleneck for a worse one.” A no lock-in agreement that hands you a site your team can’t touch just trades the bottleneck. I’d look at both halves before you sign. (If you’re living in that ticket-for-every-text-change situation right now, I wrote about what to do first in what to do when every website change needs a developer.)
What happens if you want to leave?
If you want to leave, you leave with the whole site: the code, the design, the words and the block library. Hosting was never required in the first place, and the care plans are built the same way. As our care plans page puts it: “We don’t lock you into annual contracts to make it expensive to change.”
Needs change for good reasons, too, and that’s OK. We worked with one client in depth from 2019 to 2025. We were an integral part of their team for those years and made huge strides for their marketing team on the website. Then their needs changed. They shifted priorities for the marketing department, and having a “moving and grooving” website wasn’t as essential anymore. Needs shift over the years, and the relationship should be able to shift with them without anybody calling a lawyer.
If you’re shopping for a web partner right now, here’s one thing to do this week: ask every agency on your list who owns the code, whether hosting is required, and what it costs to leave. If they answer all of those in a sentence each, that’s a good sign, and you’re asking exactly the right questions. And if you want to hear how we’d handle your site, book a call and ask me all three.
FAQ
Do I own my website if a web designer built it?
With us, yes: the code, the design, the words and the block library are yours when the project is done. With anyone else, check your agreement, because at least one agency explainer that ranks on Google says the designer owns the code and design by default under copyright law.
Can I move my website to a different host?
Yes. Hosting with Classic City is optional, and the site is yours to move wherever you like.
Is a monthly care plan required after the website launches?
No. Care plans are an optional way to keep working together after launch, starting at $250 a month, and they’re not tied to an annual contract.
We’re a larger company and our legal team needs a full contract. Is that a problem?
Not at all. Most of our builds run on a simple scope of work, but when a client’s legal team requires a full contract, we’ll put one together. The ownership doesn’t change either way.
Why don’t you require a contract term like other agencies?
Because a contract doesn’t keep a client happy, and the legal fees to enforce one would cost me more than the revenue I’d recover. I’d rather you stay because you like working with us.
