Website Preview - How do I preview my websites before updating the DNS?
On this page
When you're building a new website or migrating an existing one, you'll often need to see how it looks on the server before officially pointing your domain's DNS.
We know that editing your computer's local hosts file to achieve this can be a bit of a faff. That's why we provide a handy Website Preview tool, included completely free of charge with all of our hosting plans.
What does the Website Preview tool do?
The tool creates a temporary, fully functioning URL for your website. This gives you the perfect sandbox to build, test, and develop your site behind the scenes.
If you are building sites for others, there's an added bonus: all preview links are whitelabelled under the prevu.io domain. This means you can confidently send these links to your clients for feedback and sign-off during the development phase, without revealing your underlying hosting details.
How to access the Website Preview tool
Getting to the tool is quick and easy, depending on which control panel you are using:
cPanel: Log in to your cPanel dashboard, scroll down to the Domains section, and click on the Website Preview icon.
DirectAdmin: Log in to DirectAdmin, open up the Extra menu, and select Website Preview.
Generating your preview link
Once you've opened the tool, you will see a little bit of information explaining how it works, along with a list of your domains.
Find the domain you want to work on.
Click the Generate Preview URL button next to it.
You will instantly be given your temporary
prevu.iolink, ready to use or share!
A quick note on link expiry: To keep things secure and tidy, your preview URLs will automatically expire after 14 days. Don't worry if your development takes a bit longer, though – you can just pop back into the tool and regenerate a fresh link whenever you need one.
Was this article helpful?