Starting site design before domain tranfer

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How can I log in to WP to start work on my site before the domain transfer is completed?
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Arn

Hello Shiggy,

Thanks for your question about logging into your WordPress site before the domain transfer is completed. There are a few ways to do this and will depend on the order of events taken in installing your WordPress site.

First, if you have not installed WordPress already, then you can do so using the account's temporary URL. This will allow you use the temporary URL in place of the eventual domain name for the site. If you have trouble finding your temporary URL, please reference this article. The main issue with this method is that you will need to change the WordPress configuration and then change it back when you're ready to use your normal domain name. The tutorials above should help you make the necessary changes.

The recommended method is to use a .hosts file modification. This method is great because it allows you to use the original domain name. This also the method to use if the WordPress site has already been installed with your domain name though it has not completed transfer. The hosts file modification basically makes your computer think it is accessing the domain after you the IP definition in the hosts file on your computer. This method is preferred as you simply have to remove the hosts file entry when you aready to go live. No changes on the server would be required. The limit is that if you are modifying the site on more than one computer, then you have to make the hosts file change for each computer you are using to access the site.

I hope this helps to answer your question, please let us know if you require any further assistance.