Developing websites locally on MAMP
MAMP is a great tool for developing websites on your local computer running MacOS, using Apache, MySQL and PHP. It gets the job done, and MAMP Pro makes it easy to manage multiple hosts.
But what if you you want to test your website on your phone or laptop running Windows 10 before publishing the content to your live website?
The answer here is custom DNS on your local network, and NAMO is a great compliment to MAMP. What follows is a guide on setting up your custom DNS on MacOS, iOS, and Windows 10.
Custom DNS on MacOS Big Sur
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Download and install NAMO. If MAMP is already open and running, NAMO will automatically import all of your existing hosts. If you aren't running MAMP, click the + to add a new domain.
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Take note of the local IP address. In this case, it's 192.168.1.23.
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Open the Network settings within System Preferences
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Select Wi-Fi and click the Advanced button.
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Select the DNS tab of the Advanced Network settings.
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Click the + to add a new IP address for DNS.
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Add the IP address noted earlier. In this case, we have 192.168.1.23.
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Click "OK" and then "Apply".
Custom DNS on iOS 14
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Tap Wi-Fi within iPhone Settings
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Tap the "i" icon next to the network you are currently connected to.
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Tap "Automatic" next to "Configure DNS"
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Tap "Manual", and add the custom DNS IP. In this case we have 192.168.1.23. Then tap "Save".
Custom DNS on Windows 10
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Right click the Network icon in the tool bar and click "Open Network & Internet settings"
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Click "Network and Sharing Center"
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Right click the network you are currently connected to and select "Properties".
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Click "Change adapter settings"
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Click "Internet Protocol Version 4(TCP/IPv4), and then click the "Properties" button.
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Select "Use the following DNS server address", and then enter the custom DNS IP. In this case we have 192.168.1.23.
