How do I preview my cPanel site before updating my domain’s DNS?

Updated by Josselyn Rodriguez

To preview your website before switching over to our DNS, please follow the steps below: 

Windows systems

  1. On your Windows search bar, type Notepad, right click on it and choose Run as administrator
  2. Click File > Open
  3. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc
  4. In the lower right corner of the dialog box, change the Text Documents (*.txt) to All Files.
    Open dialog box
  5. Double click on hosts
  6. Add the IP address of the hosting server on a new line at the end of the file
  7. Press Tab and add the domain name of your website
hosts file example
  1. Save the file
  2. Try accessing your website in a web browser in your local machine

With the steps above, you should be able to view your website directly from our server.

Mac/Linux systems

  1. Open the Terminal app
  2. Type sudo nano /private/etc/hosts for Mac, or sudo nano /etc/hosts for Linux
  3. Enter the IP address and domain name on a new line at the end of the file, as shown above
  4. Save

Having trouble? Contact us and our team will be happy to help.

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