Temporary URLs in WordPress Print

To use your Temporary URL with a WordPress installation, you will need to edit the Windows Hosts file to make your computer. The Windows Hosts file tells your computer to resolve a specific IP address when you try to load a specific domain. This will allow you to work on your WordPress site before pointing your domain's nameservers to your hosting and taking the site "live".

Run Notepad as administrator
In order to allow you modify system files, you will need to run Notepad as administrator. To run as administrator, find Notepad in your Start menu, or type "notepad" in to find it. Right click on the Notepad icon and choose "Run as administrator".

Locate and Open the Hosts File
Generally, the Hosts file can be found at c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts.

Edit Your Hosts File
You must add one line to your Hosts file to make your Temporary URL resolve to your domain. You will need to find your Temporary URL in the email you received with your cPanel login details when you created your account. Copy the IP address from the Temporary URL, and paste it in the first blank line in the Hosts file. Hit tab or space, then type in your domain name. It should look like this, where the IP address you copied replaces the one shown here and your domain replaces YourDomainHere.com:

Once you have created the line, save the file.


Windows 8:
If you are using Windows 8, you will need to tell Windows Defender to allow editing the Hosts file. To do this, first open Windows Defender. You may need to type it into the search bar if you are unable to find it.

1. Click Settings.
2. Type in c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts.
3. Click "Add".