Below is a guide to using the hosts file to preview your site before transferring / before DNS changes. This will enable you to view the new site in your browser by typing the domain name.
 
The location of the hosts file for Windows is:  c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
 
 1) You should edit it in notepad and add an entry using the format <IP> <hostname> e.g.
 
193.200.81.250 www.cwcs.co.uk
193.200.81.250 cwcs.co.uk

Note: On Windows 7 the hosts file is protected so you need edit it as the Adminsitrator: Click Start – search for “Notepad“, right-click and select “Run as Administrator“. This should launch notepad with elevated privileges. Now, open the host file from the File menu, edit and save.

 
2) Save it and flush DNS - you can use the following command from the command line:
 
ipconfig /flushdns 

You should see the message : Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

 
3) Then put your domain name into your browser and you should see the domain running off our server.
 

** It is important to remove the line after the domain been transferred **
 
After you have set the hosts file you can test it's working by using the command Ping (domain) i.e: ping cwcs.co.uk and check that its going to the correct new IP.