Vendor lock-in
Vendor lock-in means switching to another provider becomes practically impossible or disproportionately expensive — because data, content or functionality is stuck inside a closed system. The antidote: open standards, exportable data and a domain you own.
Lock-in creeps up on you: a rented site-builder system is set up quickly, but the content sits in a closed format, the domain runs through the provider, and features exist only inside the platform. Every year the estate grows — and with it the price of leaving.
It costs you in two places: continuously, because you have to accept the provider's price rises and product decisions — and at switching time, because instead of a move you face a rebuild. Copy, images, search-engine history and well-worn workflows can often be taken out of closed systems only with great effort, or not at all.
The way out is clear ownership: the domain registered in your name, content in open, exportable formats, interfaces instead of closed silos. For a business in South Tyrol, one question is worth asking before any contract: what belongs to me — and how do I leave with my data? Serious providers answer that in writing, without hesitation.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions.
Can I keep my domain and email addresses?
Yes. Your domain is yours — it is registered to you or your business and simply moves with you when the website changes. For visitors and search engines the address stays the same; existing links keep working, and properly configured redirects catch everything else.
Your email addresses remain untouched too: email runs technically independently of website hosting. Your mailbox can stay with your current provider — during the move, the only thing to take care of is that the technical settings keep pointing correctly to your email service. A new website project is no reason to give up addresses people know.
Am I tied to you?
No. The foundation, your content and your data belong to you. A complete export is available at any time — no asking, no notice period, no fee.
What you rent is the operation: servers, updates, support. That is cancellable, and someone else can take it over — the system runs on open standards, not on a licence only we can operate. Your domain stays registered in your name regardless.
In short: you are tied to a service for as long as you want it. Not to us.
Do I own the code?
Yes. Foundation, content and data belong to you — built on open, open-source standards. You get full access and can move on with everything at any time.