Horizon Digital Co.

Straight answer

What happens to my website if I cancel my subscription?

By Matthew Chupp, founderLast updated

Quick answer

At Horizon Digital Co., cancellation takes effect immediately: the website is taken offline right away, your domain stays yours, and the content you supplied stays yours, but the built site is not exported or transferred. Other providers range from the same policy to buy-outs, transfers after a set number of payments, or, at some marketing platforms, hosting charges that continue after you cancel. Set up the replacement before you cancel so you are never offline.

At Horizon

  • The site goes offline immediately. Service ends when you cancel; it does not run to the end of the billing period.
  • Your domain is untouched. Point it at whatever comes next.
  • Your content is yours. The text, photos and logo you provided were always yours. Keep your own copies, because we do not export or transfer the site.
  • No further charges. Nothing bills after cancellation.
  • Renewals are announced. On the 12-month plans we email a reminder at least 30 days before the renewal date, and you can stop the renewal from the billing portal. The $169 a month plan has no term and can be cancelled anytime.

The full policy is in Ownership and cancellation, in plain English.

At other providers

Read the cancellation clause, because the range is wide:

  • Same as Horizon: many $99-tier subscriptions take the site down on cancellation and hand nothing back.
  • Buy-out or transfer: a few providers let you pay a one-time fee to keep the site, or hand it over after a set number of payments.
  • Charges that continue: some marketing platforms keep billing. Townsquare Interactive customers report a $129 a month hosting charge that continues after cancellation.
  • Contract minimums: bundled platforms typically hold you for 6 to 12 months regardless of when you decide to leave.

We compare twelve providers’ exact terms in Do I own my website if I pay monthly?

How to cancel without going dark

  1. Build or buy the replacement first and have it ready on a temporary address.
  2. Make sure you hold the domain login.
  3. Cancel, then immediately point the domain at the new site.
  4. Update the website link on your Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook and truck decals if the address changed.

Done in that order, your customers never see a gap.