Preview a site on your Flashcloud account before switching DNS

You do not need to edit your local hosts file or point your domain's live DNS records to test a site on Flashcloud. You can generate a private preview link directly from the portal. The preview opens your website exactly as our server serves it, working across desktop browsers, phones, and tablets without changing how your live visitors reach your existing host.

Whether our team finished moving your data via Free Transfer or you are transferring a website yourself, the preview tool lets you audit navigation, submit forms, and check administration logins before cutting over traffic.

Generating a preview link in the portal

To view your staged site, sign in to portal.flashcloud.com and follow these steps:

1. In the left sidebar, click Services.
2. Select your active hosting service from the list.
3. Click the Preview without DNS tile under MANAGE ACCOUNT. The breadcrumb will read Services > yourdomain > Preview, opening the Preview without DNS page.
4. Locate the domain you want to inspect under the domain cards section.
5. Click Create preview link.

The action is instantaneous. There is no modal confirmation. A green confirmation banner appears immediately: "Your preview link for is ready, it works right away and stays live for 30 days."

Understanding domain cards and status pills

The top of the page displays a summary breakdown: N domains on this account · N already pointing to Flashcloud · N still elsewhere, preview them here.

Beneath the three step overview (Upload your site, Open the preview, Move your DNS), each domain linked to your hosting plan appears on its own card. Each card displays a type label (PRIMARY, ADDON DOMAIN, ALIAS, or SUBDOMAIN) alongside one of three status pills:

• Still on another host: The domain's external DNS records still point to another provider. The card explains: "Create a private link to see this site as served by Flashcloud, before DNS changes."
• Behind Cloudflare: The domain sits behind Cloudflare proxying, masking its origin. The card explains: "Cloudflare sits in front of this domain, so DNS alone can't tell us where it points. A preview shows our copy for sure."
• Pointing to Flashcloud: The domain already resolves directly to Flashcloud. The card notes: "This domain already resolves to Flashcloud, you can open it directly. A preview link still helps if you're behind a cache."

Managing active preview links

Once you click Create preview link, the domain card switches to show your unique URL formatted as https://<domain-dashes>--<ip-dashes>.flashcloud.link/ alongside your server's destination IP address (for instance, 80.240.29.116). If you need to double-check that IP against your server details, see finding your website's IP address.

Active preview cards provide four direct controls:

• Open preview: Launches the .flashcloud.link staging address in a new browser tab.
• Copy link: Copies the full preview URL to your clipboard so you can share it with colleagues or clients.
• Extend: Resets the link's expiration back to 30 days remaining.
• Remove: Revokes the link immediately.

Preview links are private to anyone possessing the URL, do not require an active Flashcloud login to view, and are tagged so search engines will not index them. You can click Extend as many times as needed while your hosting plan remains active.

What to test before switching DNS

Because the proxy routes requests directly into your Flashcloud document root, standard web functionality works as normal. Spend time testing the following components:

• Site layout and images: Confirm stylesheets, scripts, fonts, and media files load from LiteSpeed without missing asset paths or 404 errors.
• Contact forms and checkout flows: Submit test inquiries and trigger dynamic backend scripts to verify database connectivity.
• Administrative logins: Log in to your application dashboard (such as /wp-admin) and confirm plugins operate properly on our PHP version.

WordPress configuration note: If your WordPress database stores hard-coded absolute URLs pointing to your old host's IP address or a temporary URL, clicking internal links may push your browser away from the preview. Ensure your WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) in wp-admin > Settings > General match your production domain name, not a legacy server address.

Finalizing the DNS cutover

Once your testing is complete, switch traffic over to Flashcloud:

• If you manage nameservers at your registrar, update them to ns1.flashcloud.com and ns2.flashcloud.com. For registrars like Namecheap, follow our guide on moving your website from Namecheap to Flashcloud.
• If you manage DNS externally and prefer pointing an individual record, update your domain's A record to the server IP address displayed on your preview card.

After updating your records, navigate to Services > your hosting service > DNS propagation in the portal to verify how 26 global resolver locations see your changes. Your preview link remains active during propagation, so you can continue testing until traffic transitions fully.

If you need to test a site from an external server or before you register an account, our standalone tool is also available publicly at https://flashcloud.com/tools/preview-link.

When to contact support

If your preview link generates a server 500 error, database connection failure, or redirect loop that persists after checking your configuration files, open a ticket from the portal under Support > New ticket. Our support team can inspect server error logs and help troubleshoot migration issues before you change DNS.

Related: checking DNS propagation from the Flashcloud portal after the switch, and the public version of this tool for sites hosted anywhere: preview your website before DNS points at it.