How to preview your website using your 'hosts' file

New and transferred domain names have a propagation 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 you can't see your new webspace.

If you need to preview your site immediately you can edit a file on your computer as a temporary work around.

Use your Hosts file

Windows contains a file called 'hosts' that will enable resolution of your domain name to the web server. Carefully edit this file using the following procedure.

1. Locate the hosts file on your computer

Navigate to the following directory using Windows explorer or similar:

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

Windows Vista c:\windows\system32\drivers

2. Open the hosts file for editing

Open your hosts file in Notepad. It should look something like this when you open it:

Start 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 to start a new line.

Enter the following two lines of text like this example:

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.

You should now be able to view and publish to your web site using your domain name.