Can I visit my website before my domain name has completed propagation?

This article will describe how to access your hosting account immediately after ordering, before DNS propagation has completed.

Using Your Website's Temporary Address

If you are a shared or reseller hosting customer:

Your account welcome e-mail includes your temporary site address. The following format will be used for your temporary address:

• http://<server-hostname>/~<username>/
• The server hostname will look similar to server.geekstorage.com (for resellers, a white-label hostname is provided instead).
  
• If you create a subdomain or an add-on domain within a folder in your public_html directory, you will also be able to access it through the temporary URL format: http://<server-hostname>/~<username>/<subfolder>
• Add-on domains configured above the public_html folder will not be accessible at a temporary address in the above format. However, if your primary domain is active, you will be able to access a newly created add-on domain via a subdomain of your primary domain which can specified when creating the add-on domain.
  

You will need to replace <server-hostname> with the server hostname provided for your hosting account, and <username> with your cPanel username; this information is included in your account login information email and on the Manage page for your hosting service in the account portal. Resellers can offer a temporary URL to their customers by replacing <username> with the cPanel username of their client's account as configured in the reseller control panel (WebHostManager/WHM).

For subdomains and add-on domains, replace <subfolder> with the subfolder used when adding the subdomain or add-on domain. For example, if the subdomain is "forum.yourdomain.com" hosted in the "forum" directory of your public_html folder, then "forum" would replace <subfolder> in the example address above.

For add-on domains created above the public_html folder, a subdomain of your primary domain will be specified during the addition of a new domain, and the subdomain can then be used for accessing the newly created add-on domain until the add-on domain has been updated with our nameserver information.

If you are a VPS or dedicated server customer with cPanel/WHM:

After you create an account in WebHostManager (WHM), you will be able to access the new account through a temporary address in this format:

• http://<ip-address>/~<username>/

You will need to replace <ip-address> with your VPS or dedicated server's primary IP address and <username> with the cPanel username of the account you are wanting to access. Your VPS or dedicated server's IP address can be found in your account welcome e-mail.

For subdomain and add-on domain access, the rules detailed above in the shared and reseller hosting examples apply also to accessing a subdomain or add-on domain within an account on your VPS or dedicated server. Typically it is easier to use the IP address rather than the server hostname when first getting setup. Once your server hostname is propagated and secured with SSL, the hostname is recommended in favor of the IP address format.

Have any questions?

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Geek Support.