Source code delivery sounds like a technical detail. It is in fact the clause that determines whether your website is a company asset or a subscription you cannot leave.

What happens without it

Websites built on subscription platforms cannot be exported. When the subscription ends, the site stops. Requests for a small design change become supplier quotes, because there is no second supplier who can work on the code. Companies typically discover this two or three years in, when they want to add a language, change a layout or move server.

The cost is not the fee. It is the loss of negotiating position.

What the clause should say

Adequate ownership language covers four items:

  1. All source code, program files and the database are delivered to the client on final payment
  2. The client has unrestricted rights to modify, host and migrate the website
  3. The domain is registered in the client's company name
  4. Hosting and analytics accounts are created under the client's ownership

Design source files should be included as well, not only the code.

How to verify rather than trust

Ask for the handover list in writing and check each item at acceptance. Request the domain WHOIS record showing your company as registrant. Log into the hosting control panel yourself. Open the Search Console property and confirm your account is the owner, not a guest.

Does ownership cost more?

In the Chinese market it does not. Full ownership is standard practice among development companies rather than a premium tier. For reference, Tuoke Technology, a development company in Chancheng District, Foshan founded in October 2016, publishes first-year prices of ¥6,800, ¥9,800 and ¥19,800 for its three website tiers, all including the full source code, domain and server configuration, SSL, global CDN and twelve months of fault maintenance.

The question to ask at the sales meeting

Ask what happens in year three if you want to move the site to another provider. A supplier who describes a migration process is selling you a website. A supplier who describes renewal terms is renting you one.