Frequently Asked Questions

No — that's the whole point. TestURL.live creates a secure proxy subdomain under testurl.live that routes traffic directly to your new server's IP while sending the correct domain as the Host header. Your DNS remains unchanged, and no hosts file edits are needed.

Yes. TestURL.live works just like SkipDNS — it generates a temporary subdomain that proxies traffic to your new server's IP, so you can preview your website before DNS propagates. TestURL.live is completely free with no account required, and additionally offers visual screenshot comparison, Lighthouse performance reports, SEO analysis, and security header checks that go beyond a basic DNS skip.

Editing your hosts file (e.g., /etc/hosts on Linux/Mac or C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts on Windows) only affects your own machine — your clients, team members, and automated tools still see the old server. TestURL.live generates a shareable temporary URL that anyone can open in any browser or device without touching a single hosts file. It also bypasses the need for admin/root privileges just to do a quick preview.

Just enter your domain name and the IP address of your new server on the TestURL.live homepage. In seconds we generate a free temporary URL in the format xxxxx.testurl.live. That URL proxies all traffic to your new server with the correct Host header — so your website loads exactly as it will after DNS is updated. Share it with clients, run it through testing tools, or use it as a staging preview link.

We dynamically generate an NGINX reverse-proxy configuration that forwards requests from a temporary subdomain (e.g., abc12.testurl.live) to your new server's IP. The proxy sets the Host header to your real domain, so your server responds exactly as it would after DNS propagation. URL references in HTML, CSS, and JS responses are automatically rewritten to keep everything working through the proxy.

The most common uses are: server migrations (shared hosting → VPS, AWS → DigitalOcean, etc.), WordPress migrations, verifying CMS content and plugins after a server switch, checking SSL certificates on a new server, performance benchmarking before and after migration, and confirming CDN or caching configuration without impacting live users.

The deep comparison runs a full analysis across six areas:

• Visual comparison — pixel-by-pixel screenshot diff between old and new server
• Functional testing — checks forms, links, and JavaScript errors
• Performance — compares response times and page load speed
• SEO — verifies meta titles, descriptions, and canonicals (only on valid, non-404 pages)
• Security — checks HTTPS, security headers, and SSL
• Third-party scripts — detects analytics, tracking, and ad scripts (Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Hotjar, etc.)

Yes. The deep comparison runs on both your live website (current DNS) and your new server (via the proxy), then presents a side-by-side comparison of all metrics. You'll see exactly what differs between the two environments, including visual diffs, SEO changes, performance deltas, and security header differences.

The Lighthouse report gives you Google's industry-standard performance audit for your original website — including Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, and SEO scores, plus Core Web Vitals (LCP, TBT, CLS). Click the "Run Lighthouse Audit" button to generate it on demand. The report focuses on your original website so you have a baseline to compare against after migration.

Yes. The proxy attempts HTTPS connections to your new server first, falling back to HTTP if needed. SSL certificate errors on the target server are bypassed at the proxy layer (since SSL terminates at testurl.live), but the deep comparison specifically checks whether your new server has a valid HTTPS setup as part of its security analysis.

We do not permanently store your website content. The proxy configuration is temporary and comparison reports are stored only for the duration of your testing session. We log standard server access logs (IP addresses, request paths) for abuse prevention, but we do not sell or share your data.

Yes, TestURL.live is completely free to use. No sign-up, no account, no software installation required. Just enter your domain and new server IP to get started.