{"id":7503,"date":"2026-04-09T10:22:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/?post_type=manual_kb&#038;p=7503"},"modified":"2026-04-09T10:22:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:22:26","slug":"how-to-test-your-website-before-changing-domain-delegation","status":"publish","type":"manual_kb","link":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-test-your-website-before-changing-domain-delegation\/","title":{"rendered":"How to test your website before changing domain delegation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When moving a website to <strong>mybox<\/strong>, it is a best practice to verify that the files, database, and configuration are working perfectly on our infrastructure before you point your domain to our servers. Since your domain is still officially pointing to your old provider, you can use a &#8220;trick&#8221; called <strong>hosts file editing<\/strong> to see how the site performs on <strong>mybox<\/strong> specifically from your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This method allows you to bypass global DNS settings and force your computer to connect directly to the <strong>mybox<\/strong> server IP for a specific domain name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-test-your-website-before-changing-domain-delegation\/#Step_1_Obtain_your_mybox_Server_IP\" >Step 1: Obtain your mybox Server IP<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-test-your-website-before-changing-domain-delegation\/#Step_2_Edit_the_Hosts_File\" >Step 2: Edit the Hosts File<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-test-your-website-before-changing-domain-delegation\/#Step_3_Verify_the_Connection\" >Step 3: Verify the Connection<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-test-your-website-before-changing-domain-delegation\/#Distinction_Block\" >Distinction Block<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-test-your-website-before-changing-domain-delegation\/#Practical_Implications\" >Practical Implications<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-test-your-website-before-changing-domain-delegation\/#Summary\" >Summary<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_1_Obtain_your_mybox_Server_IP\"><\/span>Step 1: Obtain your mybox Server IP<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div id=\"mybox-3172794250\" class=\"mybox-content mybox-entity-placement\"><div class=\"early-access-banner-inpost\">\r\n  <div class=\"banner-left-inpost\">\r\n    <div class=\"icon-box-inpost\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/square-info-icon.svg\" alt=\"Info\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"text-box-inpost\">\r\n      <span class=\"label-inpost\"><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Early access<\/span><\/span>\r\n      <h4><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Still need help?<\/span><\/h4>\r\n      <p><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Contact our customer service team.<\/span><\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <div class=\"banner-right-inpost\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/panel.mybox.com\/helpdesk2\/v\/list\/\" class=\"banner-button-inpost\"><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Message us<\/span><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To tell your computer where to look, you first need the IP address of your new hosting environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Log in to your <strong>mybox<\/strong> panel and navigate to the <strong>Domains<\/strong> section.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select your domain, go to the <strong>Parked<\/strong> tab, and click <strong>Manage DNS<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Look for the <strong>A record<\/strong> (it will have a green checkmark). Note the numerical IP address (e.g., <code>123.123.123.123<\/code>).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Note: You can also find this by pinging your FTP host: <code>your-login.ftp.mybox.com<\/code>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_2_Edit_the_Hosts_File\"><\/span>Step 2: Edit the Hosts File<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You need to add a line to your operating system&#8217;s internal &#8220;address book&#8221; using the following format: <code>[Server IP] [domainname.com] [www.domainname.com]<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">For Windows<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The file is located at <code>C:\\Windows\\System32\\drivers\\etc\\hosts<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Search for <strong>Notepad<\/strong> in your Start menu, right-click it, and select <strong>Run as Administrator<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In Notepad, go to <strong>File > Open<\/strong> and navigate to the path above (ensure &#8220;All Files&#8221; is selected in the bottom right).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At the bottom of the file, add your entry: <code>123.123.123.123 yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Save the file.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">For macOS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Open the <strong>Terminal<\/strong> application.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Type the following command and press Enter: <code>sudo nano \/private\/etc\/hosts<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter your Mac administrator password.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use the arrow keys to go to the bottom and add: <code>123.123.123.123 yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Press <code>Ctrl + O<\/code> to save and <code>Ctrl + X<\/code> to exit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_3_Verify_the_Connection\"><\/span>Step 3: Verify the Connection<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Open your web browser (using an Incognito\/Private window is recommended to avoid cache issues) and enter your domain name. You are now viewing the version of the site hosted on <strong>mybox<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To confirm you are on the new server, you can create a small test file via FTP (e.g., <code>test.html<\/code> with the word &#8220;Success&#8221;) and try to load <code>yourdomain.com\/test.html<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Distinction_Block\"><\/span>Distinction Block<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Local vs. Global Changes<\/strong> Editing the <strong>hosts file<\/strong> only affects the computer you are currently using. The rest of the world will still see the website hosted at your old provider until you update the <strong>Nameservers (NS)<\/strong> or <strong>A record<\/strong> at your domain registrar.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Practical_Implications\"><\/span>Practical Implications<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cleanup:<\/strong> Once you have verified the site works and you have officially updated your domain delegation, remember to <strong>remove or comment out<\/strong> (using a <code>#<\/code> at the start of the line) the entries in your hosts file. Leaving them in can cause confusion if the server IP ever changes in the future.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>SSL Certificates:<\/strong> You may see a security warning in your browser during this test if an SSL certificate hasn&#8217;t been issued for the domain on the <strong>mybox<\/strong> server yet. This is normal and can usually be bypassed for testing purposes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Database Links:<\/strong> This is the perfect time to check if your WordPress or other CMS links are working correctly and aren&#8217;t still trying to pull images or scripts from the old server&#8217;s IP.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary\"><\/span>Summary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Editing the hosts file is the safest way to perform a &#8220;pre-flight check&#8221; of your <strong>mybox<\/strong> infrastructure. It allows you to troubleshoot migration issues in a private environment, ensuring a seamless transition for your visitors when you finally flip the switch on the global DNS.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","manualknowledgebasecat":[25],"manual_kb_tag":[],"class_list":["post-7503","manual_kb","type-manual_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","manualknowledgebasecat-hosting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/7503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/manual_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/7503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7504,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/7503\/revisions\/7504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"manualknowledgebasecat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manualknowledgebasecat?post=7503"},{"taxonomy":"manual_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb_tag?post=7503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}