The hosts file allows you to set IP addresses for a domain on your local computer that may override the authoritative DNS.

This will allow you to see what a domain will display if it is pointed to a different server.

Each plugin will have different instructions to use, and may differ based on version.

Just if case you don’t know, the Hosts file is where you can manually enter a hostname and an IP address pair, thereby bypassing the DNS server.

This can be pretty useful in certain situation, especially for anyone in IT.

This lets you make changes on a server other than the one loaded by your domain when visitors access your page.

This is very useful for development purposes, as you can work on your site on an alternate server using a hosts file while visitors may still visit and use your existing site.