Should I transfer website host, AND domain? DNS and registrar confusion?

[Ruth]

I've designed one website and hosted it with one host, and I've been looking for answers online, but I'm confused.

My mother's art group would like me to manage their website. They have it hosted right now by a guy who both hosts and manages websites on his own, and he doesn't have time anymore. So they asked me to get a new host, and transfer the site to this host.

I'm confused now - it seems I only have to buy the webhosting package, and then change the DNS on the registrar site. But I don't have access to that. Does the original person who registered the site need to do that? Can the new host do that for me?

And what's all this I see about changing registrars - transferring the domain to a new registrar - do I need to do that? Can't I leave it where it is?
Hmm - I think I need to re-word this. I want to move the domain name and website files to a new host. I'm assuming that I can do this without also transferring the registrar. Is this true? I mean Godaddy is a host, as well as a registrar, right? Or are these one and the same thing?

 

[Techient]

Many times the registrar for the domain name is associated/affiliated with the hosting company. In other words when they purchased the hosting the domain name was probably purchased with it.

If you buy new hosting, and the domain name is with the old hosting provider you will need to begin a transfer process. If the domain name is with a separate domain name registrar like godaddy, enom or someone else you will still need to have an account with a domain registrar like godaddy and transfer it to there.

If you are not having any trouble with current hosting provider and the domain name is with them, it would be easiest to just leave he site where it is and get hosting package contact information changed to you.

 

[Jenifer G]

First ask the guy to give you domain account and web hosting account details, now login to your web hosting account, download all files using some FTP program or manually to your PC, now say you buy web hosting, you need to change the nameserver of your domain from your domain account to new web host, now login to your web hosting account , add the domain, then upload all files to new web hosting account.
If this is confusing you may contact a web designer to help you out