What happens to the website when the maintenance ends?

The Kit Digital rules (Orden ETD/1498/2021) spell it out. Article 22 sets two phases. A first one of up to three months and a second one of twelve months, counted from the invoice date. Article 18 sets twelve months of service for the website solution, and article 13 requires incident support with a resolution time of under 24 hours. Once those twelve months are up, the service the grant paid for ends.

On its programme page, Red.es lists October 2025 as the end date and more than 900,000 grants awarded. If your invoice dates from late 2025 or early 2026, the twelve months run out between late 2026 and early 2027. Find it and note the date.

Who owns the domain, and who owns the website?

The domain must be yours. Annex IV of the rules states that ownership of the domain belongs entirely to the business (“la titularidad del dominio será en su totalidad de la pyme”). Check the registrar's panel or ask the agent in whose name it is registered. If it is in their name, ask for the transfer now.

Ask the same about hosting. Annex IV only required a minimum of twelve months of hosting, and it may sit in your account or in the agent's. Ask whose name it is in, when it expires and what renewal costs. If it is not yours, the site will need to move before that account closes.

Servers with green lights on inside a rack in a data centre
The website lives on a hosting server. Ask whose name the account is in, when it expires and what renewal costs.Photograph by Taylor Vick / Unsplash

Does a Kit Digital website go offline when the maintenance ends?

Not by itself. It stays online as long as the domain and the hosting are paid for. What ends is the agent's service, including support and updates. If the domain or the hosting expire and nobody renews them, the site goes down. So find out who holds each contract and when it runs out.

Which logins and backups should you ask for?

Ask for everything in writing before the service ends. Annex IV of the rules required a content management platform so you could edit the website without the provider's help. An editor account is not enough. You need an administrator account, which in WordPress gives access to every administration feature, plus a recovery email that belongs to you.

WordPress.org puts it plainly. A backup has two parts, the database and the files, and you need both to restore the site. Keep copies in more than one place and make a fresh one before every update.

  • Domain. Registrar, login and renewal date.
  • Hosting. Control panel, FTP or SFTP and email.
  • WordPress. An administrator account in your name.
  • Licences. Paid theme and plugins, holder and expiry.
  • Full backup. Database and files, kept off the server.
  • External accounts. Google Business Profile, Search Console and Analytics.

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Keep it, move it or rebuild it?

It depends on how the site performs and who can look after it. If it brings enquiries, is easy to edit and everything is in your name, keep it. If the hosting or the licences depend on the agent, move it to your own accounts first. Rebuild only if it fails to explain the business or cannot be edited.

If you have to move it, do so while the old site is still live. Copy the files and the database, set it up on the new hosting, test it and change the DNS last. Keep the old copy in case you need it.

Three options for a Kit Digital website
OptionWhen it fitsWhat you need
Keep it

It works and everything is in your name.

Someone to renew, update and back up.

Move it

Hosting or licences depend on the agent.

A full backup, your own hosting and DNS.

Rebuild it

It does not explain the business or cannot be edited.

A new project that keeps the domain.

Can I change provider once the Kit Digital service is over?

Yes. Annex IV of the rules required the domain to be in your name and a content management platform so you could edit the site without the provider. Once the second phase ends, you can hire maintenance from anyone, move the site to your own hosting or commission a new one.

What should you check before paying for more?

Before you pay for maintenance or a move, look at the real state of the website. Annex IV of the rules required a site that works on every device, level AA accessibility (WCAG 2.1), at least three pages or sections and basic SEO on two of them. Check whether yours meets that, because it is the starting point.

WordPress.org recommends always running the latest version and backing up before you update. Minor and security updates install themselves, but major releases, the theme and the plugins need someone to review them. If nobody does, the site falls behind and every change costs more.

  • Open it on a phone and test the contact form.
  • Log in to WordPress and count the pending updates.
  • Check that your website and Google Business Profile appear on Google.
  • Review the cookie notice and the legal texts.
  • Check that the SSL certificate does not expire with the hosting.

What should you ask for before deciding?

Ask for proposals you can compare. Whether you renew with the agent or look for a studio in Girona, ask in writing what maintenance covers (updates, backups, security and changes), whose name each account will be in and what happens if you leave.

If you decide to rebuild, explain what the new website has to achieve and what you want to keep, such as the domain, the addresses that already rank and the content that works. Our guide on website quotations lists what to compare.

What if the domain is registered in the agent's name?

Ask for the transfer now. Annex IV of the Kit Digital rules says the domain must belong to the business. If the agent registered it under their own account, they can transfer it or change the registrant. Keep the confirmation, because without the domain you lose both the website and your email.

How we review it from Caldes de Malavella

At crida studio we start by looking at what you have. Domain, hosting, logins, backups and the state of WordPress. We explain it in plain language. We work with small businesses across Girona, the Costa Brava and the rest of Catalonia. If the website works, we will tell you to keep it. If it needs moving or rebuilding, we prepare a proposal with the scope, the responsibilities and what stays in your name.

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