Previewing your web site by editing your hosts file
Issue
For various reasons it may be necessary to update the Hosts file on your computer to properly resolve a web site by its domain name. The most common reason for this is to allow you to view or publish web content immediately after purchasing a new domain name or transferring an existing domain name to our service.
New and transferred domain names have a delay period that can be anywhere from a few hours to a few days. During this period of time the new or transferred domain information propagates around the internet, and is generally unavailable.
If you need to preview your site immediately and cannot use the Plesk Site Preview feature then you can edit a file on your computer as a temporary work around.
Solution
Windows & Mac contain a file called 'hosts' that will force resolution of your domain name. Edit this file using the following procedure.
Click here for instructions for Windows or Mac instructions.
Windows
1. Locate the hosts file on your computer
Use Windows explorer to navigate to the following directory:
Windows 95/98/Me c:\windows\hosts
Windows NT/2000 c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Windows XP Home/Pro c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
2. Open the hosts file for editing
Open your hosts file in Notepad.
We will start typing on a new line at the bottom of the file. To do so, click your mouse so that the cursor is at the very end of the last line and hit <Enter> to start a new line.
Enter the following two lines of text like this example:
123.123.123.123 yourdomainname.com
123.123.123.123 www.yourdomainname.com
Important Note
You must replace the 123.123.123.123 number with the IP Address of the web server detailed in your Net24 setup email. Replace 'yourdomainname.com' and 'www.yourdomain.com' with the domain name of your web site.
Close the Hosts file and save it when asked. If your browser is currently open, close it so that the changes take effect. It is not necessary to restart your computer.
Mac OS X - Snow Leopard and Lion
1. Open the Terminal.app
Either by typing Terminal in the Spotlight, or by going into Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal.
2. Open the hosts file
Open the hosts by typing on the Terminal that you have just opened:
sudo nano /private/etc/hosts
Type your user password when prompted.
3. Edit the hosts file
The hosts file contains some comments (lines starting with the # symbol), as well as some default hostname mappings (e.g. 127.0.0.1)
Get in touch
For any additional help, give us a call on 0800 477 333 (8AM to 10PM, 7 days a week).