Preview your website using hosts files
Sometimes you need to preview your website files on your hosting account prior to pointing your domain to your hosting account. You can do this by adding entries to the hosts file on your local computer. Keep in mind that we don't support modifying your system files, you're doing so at your own risk.
- Start by finding the location of your hosts file:
OS hosts File Location Windows (10, 8, 7, XP, etc.) c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts Macintosh OS X /private/etc/hosts Linux /etc/hosts - Now, add an entry to your hosts file for your domain and hosting account using the following format:
[your hosting account's IP address] [your domain name] [your domain name with www]
For example:
12.0.0.1 coolexample.com www.coolexample.com
- Save the changes to your hosts file and navigate to your domain name using your preferred browser. The website files on your hosting account will load, allowing you to preview your website.
More info
If you don't know the IP address of your hosting account, but you know what kind of hosting you have you can find out your IP address using the links below: