Preview a site regardless of its domain name

This guide explains how to view a site hosted by Infomaniak even if no domain name / URL is currently configured correctly to direct the visitor to this site.

This preview of the site can be done using a preview URL and allows you to test a website before pointing to a domain name that currently points elsewhere, for example.

Get your site's preview URL

Thanks to the preview URL of your site, get the current version of your site in a browser, regardless of whether the future corresponding domain name is not yet configured correctly.

1. open the Manager (manager.infomaniak.com)
2. go to Web Hosting
3. click on the relevant hosting/domain name
4. under Sites, click on the domain name of the site concerned
5. the preview address is indicated under Preview URL(ex.: XXX.preview.infomaniak.website)

In case of problem

If upon visiting your preview address, the URL immediately changes to something else, it may be an .htaccess file that you modified to include rewrite rules. Disable it to test again.

With WordPress

If the preview URL is displayed all the time even though you have taken the necessary steps for the domain name, you must assign the permanent address to it as the address main in the options of your site. Find out more: https://faq.infomaniak.com/2016

Alternatives to preview your site

If you wish to proceed differently than with the preview address provided by Infomaniak (see above), you can modify the hosts file on your computer (including with browser extensions like this one for Firefox). For this, you will need your site's IP address.

When your tests are finished or the DNS of the domain name are up to date, do not forget to erase any modifications otherwise it will be impossible to display your website if the server's IP address is changed or the site is migrated to another hosting.