A common source of confusion: your domain registrar (where you bought the domain) and your hosting (where your site lives) can be two completely different companies. You don’t need to move your domain to iWebVault to host with us — you just point it here. This guide untangles the two.
Registrar vs host — the key distinction
Your registrar is who you pay yearly to own the domain name — Namecheap, GoDaddy, and so on. Your host is where your website files and email live. They’re independent: you can keep your domain at its current registrar and simply tell it to point at iWebVault.
How to migrate and point
- Migrate your account to iWebVault as normal, using your old host’s cPanel login
- Verify the migrated site on iWebVault
- Log into your registrar (not your old host)
- Set the domain’s nameservers to iWebVault’s, or update its A record to your iWebVault IP
- Wait for propagation, then confirm the site serves from iWebVault
Do you have to transfer the domain?
No. Transferring a domain (moving its registration to a new registrar) is entirely optional and separate from hosting. You can host with iWebVault while your domain stays registered wherever it is. Many people keep their domain at a registrar they trust and simply point it at their host.
If you’re not sure where your domain is registered
A quick WHOIS lookup of your domain shows its registrar. Log into that registrar to find the nameserver settings. If you’ve lost access, the registrar’s support can help you recover it — that’s separate from anything iWebVault controls.
A real-world example
Say you bought your domain at Namecheap years ago, hosted it at a budget host, and now want to move to iWebVault. You don’t touch Namecheap’s ownership of the domain at all. You migrate your site from the budget host to iWebVault, then log into Namecheap and change the domain’s nameservers to point at iWebVault. Namecheap still owns the registration; iWebVault now serves the site. Two companies, two roles, no conflict.
Finding your nameserver settings at any registrar
Every registrar has a place to set nameservers, though they label it differently — ‘Nameservers’, ‘DNS’, ‘Domain settings’. Log in, find your domain, and look for the nameserver fields. You’ll typically switch from ‘default’ or ‘custom’ nameservers to entering iWebVault’s two nameservers. Save, and propagation does the rest.
- Log into the registrar where the domain is registered
- Open the domain’s management page
- Find Nameservers (sometimes under DNS or Advanced)
- Enter iWebVault’s nameservers, replacing the old ones
- Save and allow time to propagate
Keeping DNS at the registrar instead
If you’d rather keep DNS management at your registrar (or a service like Cloudflare), you don’t change nameservers — you update the A record to your iWebVault IP instead. This keeps your existing DNS provider while still pointing the site at iWebVault. Either approach works; nameservers are simplest, records-only gives you more control.
Should you consolidate later?
Some people eventually transfer their domain registration to iWebVault to keep billing in one place — but it’s never required for hosting, and it’s best done after your site is settled, so you’re not managing a registration transfer and a hosting cutover at the same time. Keep the two changes separate to keep each simple.
What’s next
- Pointing Your Domain to iWebVault
- DNS Propagation — What to Expect
- Migrating to iWebVault — How It All Works
Still stuck? Our team can run or finish the migration for you — open a support ticket and we’ll take it from there.
Key takeaways
Your registrar (who owns the domain) and your host (where the site lives) can be different companies. Migrate your site to iWebVault using your old host’s login, then log into your registrar and point the domain here via nameservers or an A-record change. You don’t have to transfer the domain to host with iWebVault — pointing it is enough.
Do I have to move my domain to iWebVault?
No. Hosting and domain registration are independent. You can host with iWebVault while your domain stays registered wherever it is — you simply point it at iWebVault. Transferring the registration is optional and best done later, separately, if you want everything in one place.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Trying to migrate the site from the registrar instead of the old host
- Assuming you must transfer the domain to host with iWebVault
- Updating nameservers before the migration is verified
- Forgetting which company actually holds your domain registration
The mental model that prevents every one of these is simple: migrate at the host, point at the registrar, and treat them as two separate companies with two separate logins. Once that clicks, hosting a domain that’s registered elsewhere is completely routine — millions of sites run exactly this way.
When to let us handle it
If you’ve lost access to your registrar, aren’t sure where the domain is registered, or simply don’t want to touch nameserver settings yourself, reach out before you start. We can tell you exactly which records to change, walk you through your specific registrar’s interface, and verify the domain is pointing at iWebVault correctly once propagation completes. There’s no need to guess at an unfamiliar registrar dashboard — a quick ticket gets you the precise nameservers or A-record values to enter, and a confirmation that the change took effect, so the only thing left is the wait for propagation.
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