When you create a hosting package you’re given a temporary URL.
There are a few reasons why you may want to use the temporary URL.
Viewing a hosting package when you have used a domain reference
At Video & Web you can create a hosting package using a domain reference. This means that the hosting package won’t be connected to a live domain name via DNS, so to view the files you’ve uploaded to the site you can use the temporary URL. It will display the site as if it were live, except it will be on our temporary URL servers and the URL is something like temporarydomain.com
To find the temporary URL for your hosting package, head to Manage Hosting and select the hosting package you need the temporary URL for.
In the Account Information section on the right-hand side, you’ll see a Temp Address link, this is your temporary URL.
Viewing a site that you’ve migrated, before you switch the DNS to Video & Web
When migrating a site to Video & Web , we recommend the following process:
- Migrate the site files, emails and databases to Video & Web
- Check the site works at Video & Web via the temporary URL
- Point the nameservers to Video & Web .
Step 2 is where the temporary URL comes in. After you’ve copied all the site data to Video & Web , you may want to check that it works. Selecting the temporary URL will show you what the site will look like before you’ve pointed the nameservers to Video & Web ’s.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the temporary URL the same as a Staging Environment?
No, the temporary URL is not the same as a staging environment as it will always reflect what will be on the live site, so it’s not possible to perform work and then “push” changes to the live domain name.
Does the temporary URL support SSL?
The temporary URL does not support SSL, so if you have a hard-coded redirect that forces http:// -> https:// this will need to be removed. Similarly, when you are switching between the live domain and temporary URL, you need to make sure you add http and not https.
Are there any alternatives to using the temporary URL?
Yes, you can modify your hosts files. Your machine’s local hosts file allows you to override DNS for a particular domain or subdomain name. This is a great way to test the site ahead of changing real DNS: you’re able to test the website at Video & Web while the rest of the internet continues to use DNS to point to the existing website.
Does my website perform the same on the temporary URL servers?
No, temporary URL servers are reduced capacity as they’re just for trialing a website on the platform before going live so they’re not intended to benchmark performance.
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