Normally, connecting to your website hosted with DirectAdmin was as easy as accessing the temp URL http://[serveripaddress]/~[username]/ but since DirectAdmin chose to remove userdir_access, that is no longer possible.

Workarounds include using a service, such as SkipDNS which is a service that allows you to connect to your website before the domain has propagated or by manually updating your local hosts file.

To update your local hosts file:

To add a domain and IP address to the `hosts` file on Windows, follow these steps:

1. Open Notepad as Administrator:
- Press the Windows key, type Notepad, right-click on it, and select Run as administrator. This allows you to save changes to system files.

2. Open the Hosts File:
- In Notepad, go to File > Open.
- Navigate to the following path:
`C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\`
- In the file dialog, change the file type from Text Documents (*.txt) to All Files to see the `hosts` file.
- Select the `hosts` file and open it.

3. Add the IP Address and Domain:
- Scroll to the bottom of the file and add a new line for each domain you want to map.
- Use the format:

[IP Address] [Domain Name]

The [IP Address] will be the server IP address assigned to your hosting account and can be found in the account information email we send you upon signup.

- For example:

192.168.1.10 example.com
192.168.1.11 anotherdomain.com

4. Save the File:
- Save your changes by pressing Ctrl + S or going to File > Save.
- Close Notepad.

5. Clear DNS Cache (Optional):
- Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
- Run the following command to flush the DNS cache:

ipconfig /flushdns

After these steps, your system will resolve the specified domain to the IP address you set in the `hosts` file.

Once your domain has fully propagated and is resolving normally, you can remove this entry from your hosts file.