How to access a domain before DNS propagation? Print

In the PC or laptop you are working, do the following steps.

1. Click on the Windows key

2. Type "Notepad"

3. On the "Notepad" app, right click and then select "Run as Administrator".

4. You might see a prompt to confirm this request. Click "Yes" in the popup that comes in.

5. You can now see a blank "Notepad" opened.

6. Click on File >> Open

7. Navigate to "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc"

8. From the drop down that shows "Text Documents (*.txt)", select "All Files"

9. Now you will see a file named "hosts"

10. Double click on that file.

11. Scroll down to the last line

12. Add the new server IP address and the domain name in the same format below.

 

```

Your-new-server-IP-address domain.com www.domain.com

```

Eg :

123.235.236.35 arunp.in   www.arunp.in

Replace "domain.com" with your actual domain name

Replace "Your-new-server-IP-address" with the server IP address.

 

13. Hit Cntrl + S to save the changes you just made. (DO NOT FORGET THIS)

 

 

What does hosts file in your computer do?

This is where you tell your PC or laptop to look for the domain name.

The domain is forced to load from a specific IP address from YOUR PC/LAPTOP. Yes, the change is in your PC alone and will not be visible to your client until you do this on his computer.

 

All others see the actual website that the DNS points to.

 

This way the coder can work on the dummy website without using a temporary URL. He does not have to remove the temporary URL from the code later.