What is a Temporary URL & How to Use One?
The temporary URL (short for Uniform Resource Locator) is used when your domain name is not working, or you are not yet ready to point your domain to your server. The following examples demonstrate the correct temporary URL format according to the control panel being used.
Please click the links below to jump to a section.
- Temporary URL for Primary Domain ⤵
- Temporary URL for Addons and Subdomains ⤵
- Control Panel URLs ⤵
- Concerned About Search Engines Indexing the Wrong URLs? ⤵
Temporary URL for Primary Domain
cPanel
Format | |
---|---|
Shared | http://gator####.temp.domains/~username/ |
Reseller | http://rellerserver.temp.domains/~username/ |
Where to Find Your Server Name and Username?
- Welcome Email
The sample image above shows the Welcome email of a shared hosting plan with "gator1111" as the server name and "snappy" as the cPanel username.
- Customer Portal
The sample image above shows the Customer Portal's Hosting section of a shared hosting plan with "gator1234" as the server name and "example" as the cPanel username.
An alternative method to view your website is to change the host file on your computer to display the site while during propagation. Please see the following article for more information.
Plesk
http://yourdomain.com.the-IP-address.hgws#.hgwin.temp.domains/
The IP address can either be the IP for the A record or the control panel, based on which one is actively pointing to the site (as A records can direct a domain name to point to a different server).
The best way to find the temporary URL from your Plesk control panel is to use the Preview feature.
To locate Preview in Plesk:
- Log in to Plesk.
- Click on the Websites and Domains tab.
- Under your domain name, click the Preview icon.
- A new tab will open, showing a preview of your website.
Temporary URL for Addons and Subdomains
cPanel
http://server####.temp.domains/~username/addon
To use the temporary URL of an addon or subdomain, you have to make sure that the addon or subdomain's directory/document root is inside the public_html.
The sample image above shows "hgexample" as the directory of the domain name hgexample.com.
An alternative method to using the temporary URL would be to change the host file on your computer to display the site while during propagation. Please see the following article for more information:
Plesk
To view your website, it is best to use the Preview feature of your Plesk control panel. Please see the instructions above.
Subdomain
http://sub.domain.com.the-ip-address.hgws#.hgwin.temp.domains/
Addon Domain
http://addon.com.the-ip-address.hgws#.hgwin.temp.domains/
Control Panel URLs
Platform | URL format |
---|---|
cPanel | http://server-name:2083 |
Webmail | http://server-name:2095 |
Plesk | https://ip-address:8443 |
Virtuozzo (VZ) | https://ip-address:4643 |
KVM VPS | https://ip-address:2087 |
Please replace the server or ip-address above with your server's information, which can be found in your Welcome email or Customer Portal.
Concerned About Search Engines Indexing the Wrong URLs?
If you are concerned or have issues with search engines indexing the wrong URL, please read: