4
First, I would back everything up.
Then I would create a subdomain for the site and have the path to the XOOPS site I'm working on point to the subdomain.
Next, I would create a directory that the original url pointed to and and put an index.html file in there.
Next I would change the path in my mainfile.php to point to the new path to the subdomain. (Hopefully, you don't have anything hardcoded into your theme or module templates that point to the old url or path.)
Now you can work on your site/subdomain in peace.
When you're done,
1. Back up your work (but don't overwrite your first backup.)
2. Restore the original path to your site's url.
3. Change the path in mainfile.php to its original designation.
4. Get rid of the subdomain.
Usually works for me. Usually
gestroud