Preview your website on GARMTECH Hosting before DNS changes (Plesk Preview / hosts file)

When you move a website to GARMTECH Hosting, DNS changes can take time to propagate. You can still preview the website on the new server before switching DNS, so you can test everything first.

What you need

• Your hosting server IP address (find it in My.GARMTECH service details, or in Plesk).
• Access to Plesk for the domain you are testing.

Method 1 — Use Plesk “Preview” (fastest)

Many Plesk installations provide a Preview button that opens a temporary preview URL.

1. Log in to Plesk.
2. Go to Websites & Domains and locate your domain.
3. Click Preview (if it is available).

Notes:

• Preview is intended for testing content and basic functionality. Some websites (especially those that depend on the real domain name) may behave differently.
• If your website forces HTTPS, the preview URL may not match your SSL certificate. In that case use Method 2 for a more realistic test.

Method 2 — Edit your local hosts file (most reliable)

This method makes only your computer resolve the domain to the new GARMTECH server. Visitors on the internet will not be affected.

Step 1 — Add a hosts entry

Add a line that points your domain to the new server IP:

203.0.113.10 example.com
203.0.113.10 www.example.com

Windows

1. Open Notepad as Administrator.
2. Open the file: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
3. Add the lines, save the file.

macOS / Linux

1. Open Terminal.
2. Edit /etc/hosts with sudo (for example: sudo nano /etc/hosts).
3. Add the lines, save.

Step 2 — Clear DNS cache

• Windows: run ipconfig /flushdns in Command Prompt
• macOS: restart the browser (or flush DNS depending on macOS version)

Step 3 — Test the site

• Open your website normally: https://example.com
• Log in to admin panels, test forms, check images, and verify redirects.

After testing: revert the hosts change

Remove the lines from the hosts file when you are done. Otherwise your computer will keep opening the new server even after you change DNS publicly.

Troubleshooting

• HTTPS warning: make sure the SSL certificate is installed in Plesk and matches the domain. If DNS is not pointing yet, Let’s Encrypt validation may fail until DNS is switched.
• Wrong website opens: confirm the domain is added in Plesk and your files are in the correct document root (usually httpdocs).