A website contract with no setup fee looks cheap until you want to leave. What decides the cost is rarely the monthly price. It is the lock-in period, the notice period and who owns the site when the contract ends.
This guide is for anyone running a business in Sweden who is about to sign, or wants out of, a website deal. Here are ten questions to ask before you sign, what Swedish law says when you buy as a business, how to cancel and how to switch provider without losing your domain, email or Google profile. Swedish web agencies and directory companies are described as types. What websites cost in kronor is covered in How much does a website cost in Sweden in 2026?
As of 21 October 2026. The legislation was read on riksdagen.se, the Swedish parliament’s website, the domain rules in the Swedish Internet Foundation’s registration terms, and Google’s rules in Google’s help centre. Most sources are in Swedish and are listed at the end. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Why do website subscriptions so often have a lock-in?
So that the build gets paid for. When there is no setup fee, the provider recovers the work on design, text and set-up through the monthly fees, and the lock-in makes sure they come in. That is our assessment of how the model works, and a lock-in is not unreasonable in itself. The problem starts when you do not know how long it is, what happens afterwards or what you can take with you.
This is what we found when we read Swedish web agencies’, web hosts’ and directory companies’ own pricing and terms pages on 19 October 2026. We re-read some of them on 21 October.
| Type of provider | Lock-in | After the lock-in | Who owns what |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web agency with custom design and no setup fee | 36 months | One month’s notice | The customer owns the domain and content, the agency the design, code and platform. Buy-out on quote |
| Web agency with custom design | 24 months. Shorter at a higher monthly price | Three months’ notice | Content and design belong to the customer, and the files are handed over on exit |
| Web agency with custom design and no setup fee | 12 months | Rolling, with one month’s notice | Domain in the customer’s name. The code becomes the customer’s after 36 paid months |
| Directory company selling websites | 12 months, at another 6, 12 or 24 months with a lower price the longer you commit | 30 days’ notice at the first | Not stated on the page |
| one.com, hosting and websites | 12 months at a time, renews automatically | Notice must arrive at least 30 days before the end of the period | According to one.com, the content and domain are the customer’s. Website and email data is usually deleted 7 days after the subscription ends |
| Template-based services | Often none with monthly billing | One month, sometimes no notice period | Varies. With one of them the site only exists while the subscription runs |
Directory companies are the Swedish equivalents of the yellow pages, which also sell websites and listings on subscription. The sample is not a survey of the whole market. Among the web agencies that build custom designs with no setup fee, a lock-in of 12–36 months was more common than none. An explicit no lock-in was mostly offered by template-based services and SEO consultants.
Count the lock-in as an amount. With the agency in our review that locks in longest, the subscription costs SEK 995 a month excluding VAT for 36 months. That is a commitment of SEK 35,820 excluding VAT, unless the contract says otherwise.
Ten questions about lock-in and ownership before you sign
Ask for the answers in writing, in the contract or in an email from the provider. A verbal promise in a sales call is hard to prove afterwards.
Lock-in, renewal and notice work together
The first three questions together decide when you can leave. The notice period is counted in one of two ways:
- Before the end of the period. Notice must arrive a set time before the period ends, as at one.com, where it must be received at least 30 days before. If the contract runs until 31 December and notice must be given at least three months before, the last day is 30 September. Miss it, and if the contract renews for 12 months, you have bought another year.
- From the day you give notice. The contract continues until further notice after the lock-in and ends once the notice period has passed, counted from the day you gave notice.
Also check whether the contract has a window for giving notice, for example no earlier than six and no later than three months before the end of the period. If you give notice too early, it may then count as invalid under the contract.
What does it cost to leave early?
If the contract says the rest of the lock-in must be paid, that is the starting point between two businesses. If you want to leave after 12 of 36 months at SEK 995 a month, SEK 23,880 excluding VAT remains. Ask whether you can agree on a lower final amount or buy out the site. With one of the agencies in our review, the site can be bought out at a quoted price. Our Bindningskollen tool, in Swedish, works out what remains on your contract.
Who owns the domain?
Whoever is registered as its holder. According to the Swedish Internet Foundation (Internetstiftelsen), which runs .se, the Swedish country domain, whoever registers a domain name becomes its holder and may use it for as long as it is paid for and the rules are followed. Payment in itself does not give ownership. If the agency is registered as the holder, it is the agency that has the right to use the domain, even if you paid for it. So ask for the domain to be registered in your business’s name from the start.
Owning your website: text, images and code
The contract and copyright decide it. Under the Swedish Copyright Act (upphovsrättslagen), whoever created a work holds the copyright, and computer programs are covered. The Act says that copyright in a computer program written by an employee in the course of their job passes to the employer unless otherwise agreed. For work one business commissions from another, the Act has no equally clear rule, and how much passes over can depend on the contract and the purpose of the commission. So the contract should say explicitly what becomes yours.
Two details are easy to miss:
- The right to make changes. Under section 28 of the Copyright Act, whoever has had copyright transferred to them may not change the work or pass the right on, unless otherwise agreed. Ask for the right to change and move the material to be written into the contract.
- Licensed images. Stock images may be licensed to the agency and not to you. Ask which images you can keep using.
With the agencies in our review, the domain was usually the customer’s, while the design and code often stayed with the agency or only became the customer’s after 18–36 months.
Price increases and indexation
Read what the contract says about changing the price while it runs. one.com, for example, says in its terms of business that prices can change with 45 days’ notice. A contract can also have an index clause, where the price goes up each year in line with an index such as the consumer price index (KPI in Sweden). Ask how much the price can rise, with how much notice and whether you can cancel when it does.
Email, the Google profile and social media
In short: your business should own the accounts, and the provider should have a role that can be removed. How to check that and move them is covered further down, under switching.
What does Swedish law say when you buy a website as a business?
Consumer protection generally does not apply, so the contract decides. The Swedish Distance Contracts Act (distansavtalslagen) defines a consumer as a natural person acting mainly for purposes outside their business. If you buy the website for your business, you therefore do not have the 14-day right of withdrawal, and the National Board for Consumer Disputes (Allmänna reklamationsnämnden, ARN) only accepts complaints from consumers.
Telephone sales to businesses: does the written-acceptance rule apply?
No, it protects consumers. Since 1 September 2018, chapter 2 section 3 a of the Distance Contracts Act says that when a business calls a consumer on its own initiative to sell something, a contract is only made when the consumer accepts the offer in writing after the call. Otherwise the contract is invalid and the consumer does not have to pay.
When the rule was drafted, the Swedish government considered extending it to calls to business owners but decided against it. In the bill, it wrote that binding rules protecting anyone other than consumers have only been considered justified in exceptional cases in Swedish law, and that it intended to follow developments.
This is what applies instead, according to the legal guidance from Företagarna, a Swedish association for business owners:
- Between businesses, a contract can be made orally.
- As a business owner you are bound by the contract once you have signed it, for example digitally during the call.
- Ask to read the contract before you sign, and ask for time to think it over.
- If you believe you were misled, say so clearly and quickly to the seller, and try to get the recording of the call. Under section 30 of the Swedish Contracts Act (avtalslagen), a contract you were induced into by deceit is not binding, but you need to be able to prove it.
The government has asked an inquiry to propose stronger consumer protection in telephone sales. The terms of reference were published on 9 July 2026, and the inquiry must report by 15 January 2027 at the latest. It covers sales to consumers. We have not found any current proposal for similar protection for businesses (21 October 2026).
Unfair terms: what section 36 of the Contracts Act can mean
Under section 36 of the Contracts Act, a contract term may be adjusted or set aside if it is unfair with regard to the content of the contract, the circumstances when it was made, later developments and the circumstances in general. In that assessment, special regard is given to anyone who is a consumer or otherwise in a weaker position in the contractual relationship.
This means the section can also apply between businesses, for example where one business was in a clearly weaker position than the other. But it is no shortcut out of a contract. A court decides it, case by case, and you need to be able to show why the term is unfair. We have not been able to assess how a court would view a long lock-in that was clearly stated in the contract. Ask a lawyer before you refuse to pay on the strength of this section.
The Swedish Act on Contract Terms between Businesses (lagen om avtalsvillkor mellan näringsidkare) offers a different tool. The Patent and Market Court (Patent- och marknadsdomstolen) can prohibit a business from continuing to use an unfair term against other businesses, if this is called for in the public interest. An application can be made by a trade association or by the business the term was used against. In our reading, the ban applies going forward and does not change your own contract.
This is a summary of the rules, not legal advice. If a lot of money is involved, have a lawyer read the contract.
How to cancel a website contract
In writing, on time and in the way the contract says. First read what it says about how notice must be given, for example to which address. Then ask for written confirmation of the end date and the last billing date.
Bindningskollen, our free tool in Swedish, works out the last day to give notice and what remains to be paid, based on what you enter. It also creates a calendar reminder and a filled-in cancellation letter in Swedish. Everything is calculated in your browser, and nothing is saved.
The timeline for cancelling and switching
The timings below are our recommendations, not rules. Start from what your contract says.
| When | What you do |
|---|---|
| The day you sign | Work out the last day to give notice and put it in your calendar. Save the contract and the general terms that applied at the time |
| Six months before the period ends | Read the contract again: notice period, any window and renewal. Check who is the domain holder and the owner of the Google profile |
| 2–3 months before the switch | Decide where the site is going. Save the text, the images and a list of every address on the old site |
| By the last day, ideally a few days before | Send your notice in writing. Ask for confirmation |
| Before the end date | Launch the new site with 301 redirects, move email and DNS and get the domain transferred |
| After the end date | Check that billing has stopped, that email arrives and that the old addresses lead to the right place |
The order is what matters: secure the domain, the email and the Google profile before the old contract ends, not after.
Cancellation letter template
Copy the template and fill in what is in square brackets. Only include the last paragraph if it fits your contract. If your provider works in Swedish, Bindningskollen produces a Swedish version of the same letter.
Notice of termination:
website contract
[Company name],
org. no. [organisation number],
hereby terminates contract
[contract number] with
[provider] with effect from
the end of the contract
period on [date].
If the contract cannot end
on that date, please state
the first date on which
it can end.
Please confirm this notice
in writing, including the
last billing date.
When the contract ends,
we also ask you to
- provide the authorisation
code for [domain], or
transfer the domain to
[company name]
- hand over the text, images
and files we are entitled
to under the contract
- tell us when email and
data will be deleted on
your side
[Place], [date]
[Name and title]
[Phone and email]Send the letter by email or registered letter to the address in the contract, and keep the receipt and the confirmation. Give notice in writing rather than by phone, so you can show when you did it. If invoices arrive for the period after the end date, dispute them in writing and refer to your notice and the confirmation.
Switching web agency without losing anything
Secure five things before the old contract ends: the domain, DNS, email, redirects and the Google profile. Why it pays to own the channels customers find you through yourself is covered in Why you shouldn’t depend on Instagram or Bokadirekt alone.
The domain
Find out who is registered as the holder and which registrar (återförsäljare in Swedish) manages the domain. For .se domains, the Swedish Internet Foundation’s registration terms apply, and according to the terms themselves they take precedence over the registrar’s own terms.
- If the provider is the holder, the domain needs to be transferred to your business. The transfer is carried out by the registrar at the current holder’s request, and it must be completed within five working days of the conditions being met. So it is the provider that has to request it. Ask in good time.
- If your business is the holder, you can change registrar with an authorisation code. The current registrar must hand over the code within five working days of your request, and if it does not, the Swedish Internet Foundation has the right to issue the code to you. The outgoing registrar may not charge for the change itself, but the new one may charge a fee for the domain.
Other top-level domains, such as .com, have their own rules.
DNS
DNS is the domain’s address book. It controls where visitors and email go. Whoever has access to the domain’s DNS settings can move everything, and whoever lacks it cannot move anything. Take a copy of all DNS records before you change anything, including the records for email and for verification with Google and other services. Otherwise email and connected services can stop working when the name servers change.
If your email is hosted by the old provider, it can stop working when the contract ends unless it has been moved. At one.com, according to the terms of business, website and email data is usually deleted 7 days after the subscription ends. So set up the new email service before the end date and move over old messages and contacts. Change the domain’s MX records, which control where email is delivered, only once the new service is ready.
301 redirects
If the new site has different addresses from the old one, point each old address to the new page that matches it. Google recommends permanent server-side redirects, such as 301, and keeping them for as long as possible, generally at least a year. Also update the links on the new site and submit the new sitemap in Search Console. According to Google, expect rankings to fluctuate for a while during the move.
If the old site sits on an address the provider owns, for example your business name as a subdomain of the provider’s domain, only the provider can add redirects there. With one of the directory companies in our review, the site gets an address like that by default. Ask about redirects before you give notice. If you are building something new anyway, see what a site that brings in enquiries needs in The website that actually creates customers.
The Google profile
Your own account should own the Business Profile. According to Google, a profile can have several owners but only one primary owner. A manager can do almost everything an owner can, but cannot add or remove users or delete the profile. That is a suitable role for a provider.
If the provider is the primary owner, it needs to transfer primary ownership to you. The profile must then have at least one other owner or manager. Whoever has just become an owner or manager also has to wait seven days before they can use some functions, including transferring primary ownership. So start in good time.
If the provider does not respond, you can request access to the profile through Google. The current owner is notified by email and has three days to respond. If you get no answer, you may be able to claim the profile. Change the website link in the profile on the day the new site goes live. How the profile works in general is covered in Google Business for local businesses.
Social media
The same principle applies to Facebook, Instagram and other channels. The account should be registered to your business with you as administrator, and the provider gets a role you can remove. Check this before you sign, not when you want to switch.
How we do it
Our subscriptions have no lock-in and one month’s notice. If you would rather own the site from the start, Own your website costs SEK 4,995 excluding VAT, once (SEK 6,244 including VAT). Once the site is paid in full, you own the content and the delivered solution. The domain is in your name, and you pay for it yourself. The terms are on our terms page and the prices on our pricing page.
We cannot assess your current contract legally, and we do not encourage anyone to break a contract. What we can do is have the new site ready for the day the old contract ends.
Frequently asked questions
Can I cancel a website contract with a lock-in period?
You can give notice, but the contract only ends once the lock-in and the notice period have run out. If the contract says the rest of the lock-in must be paid, that is the starting point between two businesses. Ask the provider about a lower final amount or buying out the site.
Do businesses in Sweden have a right of withdrawal on a website contract?
Normally not. The 14-day right of withdrawal in the Swedish Distance Contracts Act applies to consumers, meaning natural persons acting mainly outside their business. If you buy the website for your business, what the contract says applies.
Is a contract I agreed to over the phone binding on my business?
It can be. The Swedish rule that a telephone sale must be accepted in writing after the call only protects consumers, and between businesses a contract can be made orally. If you believe you were misled, say so in writing to the seller quickly, and ask a lawyer if a lot of money is involved.
Who owns my website?
The domain belongs to whoever is registered as its holder, according to the Swedish Internet Foundation. Whoever created the text, images and code holds the copyright, unless the contract transfers it to you. So read what the contract says about ownership, the right to make changes and what you can take with you.
How do I cancel my contract with a web agency?
In writing, by email or registered letter to the address in the contract, no later than the last day for giving notice and preferably a few days before. Ask for written confirmation of the end date and the last billing date. Our Bindningskollen tool, in Swedish, works out the last day and fills in a cancellation letter.
How do I switch web agency without losing anything?
Secure the domain, the DNS records and your email before the old contract ends, make sure your own account owns the Google profile, and set up 301 redirects from the old addresses to the new ones. Google recommends keeping the redirects for generally at least a year.
Sources
All web pages read on 21 October 2026 unless stated otherwise. Laws and terms may change.
- Laws and preparatory works in Sweden, in Swedish
- Lag (2005:59) om distansavtal och avtal utanför affärslokaler (the Distance Contracts Act), riksdagen.se, amended up to SFS 2026:1018, chapter 1 section 2, chapter 2 sections 3 a and 10
- Proposition 2017/18:129 Skriftlighetskrav vid telefonförsäljning (government bill on written acceptance in telephone sales), riksdagen.se, and committee report 2017/18:CU36, on entry into force on 1 September 2018
- Lag (1915:218) om avtal och andra rättshandlingar på förmögenhetsrättens område (the Contracts Act), riksdagen.se, sections 30 and 36
- Lag (1984:292) om avtalsvillkor mellan näringsidkare (the Act on Contract Terms between Businesses), riksdagen.se, sections 1–3
- Lag (1960:729) om upphovsrätt till litterära och konstnärliga verk (the Copyright Act), riksdagen.se, amended up to SFS 2026:1120, sections 1, 27, 28 and 40 a
- Ett starkt konsumentskydd vid telefonförsäljning (terms of reference for the inquiry on consumer protection in telephone sales), regeringen.se, published 9 July 2026
- Authorities and organisations in Sweden, in Swedish
- Telefonförsäljning – regler för företag (telephone sales: rules for businesses), the Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket), reviewed 7 September 2026
- Om ARN (about ARN), the National Board for Consumer Disputes
- Juristen: Så slipper du bli lurad (how to avoid being misled), Företagarna, undated
- Vad räcker för bindande avtal? (what makes a contract binding) and Måste jag alltid ha skriftligt avtal med konsumenter vid telefonförsäljning? (written contracts with consumers in telephone sales), Företagarna’s legal FAQ, undated
- Domains, in Swedish
- Registreringsvillkor för toppdomänen .se fr.o.m. 15 januari 2026 (registration terms for .se from 15 January 2026), the Swedish Internet Foundation, the sections on transfer and change of registrar
- Verifiering av domäninnehavare (verifying domain holders) and Registrera ett domännamn (registering a domain name), the Swedish Internet Foundation
- Google
- Hantera ägare och ansvariga för din företagsprofil (managing owners and managers of your Business Profile), Google Business Profile Help, in Swedish
- Begära ägarskap av en företagsprofil (requesting ownership of a Business Profile), Google Business Profile Help, in Swedish
- Site moves with URL changes, Google Search Central, updated 20 August 2026
- Providers’ terms
- one.com, terms of business (in Swedish), on renewal and cancellation, price changes and deletion of data
- one.com, Managed Website (in Swedish), FAQ on domain and ownership
- Synlighetsverket’s review of Swedish web agencies’, web hosts’ and directory companies’ own pricing and terms pages on 19 October 2026, with some pages re-read on 21 October 2026. We do not name or rank them. The sample is not a survey of the whole market.
- Our own terms
- Our pricing page and terms, Synlighetsverket, October 2026