Plesk "Site Preview" & Joomla

[MYSTERION]

Has anyone managed to set up and test a Joomla site before updating the clients nameserver? The site preview in Plesk which uses https causes alot of problems with the joomla admin in particular.

If anyone else has managed a solution that doesn't involve registering temporary domains for every site you need to test I'd really appreciate it.

[MYSTERION]

For future reference the solution I found was to add a domain alias to plesk like www.temp.mysite.com. Then via your particular domain's DNS management facility, add a new "A" record mapping "temp.mysite.com" to your domain's IP address as it appears in Plesk. This immediately gives you a non https URL to test your Joomla sites until you are ready to update the nameservers for the primary domain at which point you can remove the domain alias.

Hope this is of use to someone.

[byronyasgur]

could you explain the signifignance of the "A" record - i had done this successfully just by using a domain alias but didnt make any changes to the dns - it worked fine but got a little messy when i switched the nameservers of the proper domain over ( if i remember correctly it was because i had needed to change the joomla configuration file so that it recognised the alias instead of the proper domain ..... but then i must have had to change it back in more than one place or something?? )
I am wondering is the "A" record setting some way of getting around adjusting the joomla config file and if not what is the point of it?

[MYSTERION]

The solution I'm proposing has nothing to do with nameservers. If you change these it will not work. You may need to ask your domain company to assist you if adding "A records" is new to you but if you have domain called mydomain.com it is possible to add a new "A" record called test.mysite.com which points to your blacknight IP address. Once this is place you go to your Joomla configuration.phph and update the live site URL to "test.mysite.com". It sounds more complex than it is but it works perfectly.

[byronyasgur]

.... nothing to do with nameservers. If you change these it will not work. ....

of course .... no, the nameserver i'm referrring to is like in your original post - (ie updating the clients nameservers when the new site is ready)

i am not sure why you are setting up a new A record though - I was able to get this working without going near the DNS at all .....by just setting up a domain alias in plesk - but that's a temporary domain - are you using the A record to avoid registering a temporary domain to use as an alias ?? or for some other purpose

[MYSTERION]

If you read the first sentence of my post you will see that my solution is specifically for situations where you are not ready to update the final domain. If you are at that stage then this thread is not relevant to you and you are free to update your nameservers!

[byronyasgur]

Originally Posted by MYSTERION

If you are at that stage then ....

.... i presume you mean "if you are NOT at that stage" .....

[MYSTERION]

No, I mean exactly what I said. My stage is testing and development where the final domain is unavailable. Your stage is later where the final domain is ready to be transferred. I repeat. If you are happy to use your domain this entire thread is not relevant to you.

[byronyasgur]

Your stage is later where the final domain is ready to be transferred

where did i give that idea ?