Preview your website before DNS points at it (free tool)

You can test a migrated or newly staged website on a new server before pointing your domain's live DNS records at it. Flashcloud provides a free public tool at https://flashcloud.com/tools/preview-link that generates a working preview URL on demand. No Flashcloud account is required, no local hosts file edits are needed, and the link works on any computer, phone, or tablet.

The preview tool works with any public server, whether your site sits on Flashcloud, a third-party host, or a standalone VPS. Enter your domain name and the destination server's IPv4 address, and the tool builds an encrypted preview proxy that routes requests to the new host while preserving the site's original domain name in the web server headers.

Generate a preview link

To create a link, visit https://flashcloud.com/tools/preview-link and follow these steps:

1. Enter your domain name in the Your domain field (for example, example.com).
2. Enter the IPv4 address of the destination server where the site files and database are hosted in the New server IP field.
3. Click Get preview link.

The tool immediately outputs a unique URL using the format https://example-com--203-0-113-10.flashcloud.link/. Next to the URL, you will find a Copy link button and the confirmation notice: "Shows example.com from 203.0.113.10. Your live site is untouched."

Each preview link remains active for 30 days. If you need more time to finish testing, submit the same domain and IP combination again to reset the expiration counter for another 30 days.

Where to find your server IP

To generate the link, you must provide the destination server's actual public IPv4 address:

• Flashcloud hosting: If your account is with Flashcloud, read our guide on finding your website's IP address. You will find it listed near the top of your hosting overview page under Services in the portal. You do not even have to copy it manually. In your portal, go to Services, select your hosting service, click the Preview without DNS tile, and you can generate preview links for your domains with a single click.
• cPanel hosts: Look at the right-hand General Information panel on the cPanel home screen under Shared IP Address or Dedicated IP Address.
• VPS or dedicated servers: Use the public IPv4 address assigned to your server, which is the same IP you use to connect over SSH.
• Welcome emails: Hosting providers include the server's public IP address in the new account provisioning email.

How the preview link works and what is supported

When you click the generated preview link, Flashcloud's preview proxy establishes a connection to the IP you provided. It sends the correct Host header and Server Name Indication (SNI) for your domain so the destination web server recognizes which website to serve. The proxy automatically rewrites internal HTML links so you can browse between pages without being redirected back to the old, live site.

The preview proxy supports the following:

• Forms and logins: WordPress logins, /wp-admin/ dashboards, checkout forms, and user sessions function through the preview link.
• Automatic redirect handling: If the destination web server is configured to redirect your apex domain to www (or vice versa), the tool detects this and mints the link for the redirected hostname (such as www.example.com).
• Sites still in progress: If your web server does not have the virtual host configured yet when you generate the link, the tool still creates the link. As soon as the site files and server configuration are ready at that IP, the preview link will start serving the pages.

Keep these limitations in mind:

• External assets: Any hardcoded absolute URLs that point directly to the old server's IP address or to third-party CDNs will still load from those external locations.
• Other protocols: The preview proxy only routes HTTP and HTTPS web traffic. It does not preview email delivery, FTP connections, or remote database access.

Common input errors

The preview tool validates inputs before generating a proxy link. The interface rejects invalid entries with the following messages:

• Private or reserved IP addresses: If you enter a local network address (such as 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, or 172.16.x.x through 172.31.x.x), the tool displays: "That address is not a public server IP."
• Cloudflare edge addresses: If you run a standard DNS lookup on a proxied domain and enter the Cloudflare IP that answers the query, the tool displays: "That's a Cloudflare address, not the server itself. Use the origin server's IP (your host shows it in its control panel)."
• IPv6 addresses: The tool only accepts IPv4 targets. If you enter an IPv6 address, it returns: "Please enter a valid IPv4 server address (e.g. 203.0.113.10)."
• Incomplete domains: Entering a name without an extension (like mysite) returns: "Please enter a full domain name (e.g. example.com)."

Usage is rate-limited to 10 generated links per hour per visitor, and 30 generated links per hour for any single domain name.

What to do after testing

Once you verify that your layouts, scripts, plugins, and database records work as expected on the new server, you can switch your domain's live DNS records. Update the root A record or point your domain's nameservers to your new provider at your domain registrar.

DNS updates do not change instantly across the entire internet. To understand resolver caching and TTL behavior, review our article on how long does DNS propagation take. You can track your domain's global update status using our free checker at https://flashcloud.com/tools/dns-propagation-checker by entering your domain name and checking the A record.

If you are migrating your hosting to Flashcloud from another host and prefer our team to handle the file, database, and email migration, see moving your website from Hostinger to Flashcloud or submit a request via Free Transfer in the portal sidebar.

When to contact support

If your preview link generates properly but returns a server error (such as a 403 Forbidden or 500 Internal Server Error) when pointing at your Flashcloud hosting service, your site configuration on the server may require adjustment. Open a ticket in the portal under Support, then New ticket. Include the preview link and the destination domain so our technical team can review your web server logs.

Related: check DNS propagation worldwide with the free checker once you have moved the DNS, and, if you host with Flashcloud, create the preview link from the portal instead.