[Windows] How to Install WordPress Locally

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An essential for any aspiring theme developer is a local install of WordPress. There are plenty of benefits to doing so and there are also pitfalls if you don’t.

I will tell you about the pitfalls in a second, but before that, I want to tell you 5 great reasons why you should use a local install as your sandbox as opposed to installing a live version on some subdomain of yours:

  1. Works exactly like the real deal; plugins and all
  2. No need to mess with FTP programs
  3. Develop anywhere (no connection needed)
  4. Make sure your theme is compatible with latest version of WordPress
  5. Code in secret, then release with a bang

Anyways, here is how to Install WordPress Locally on a Windows Box

1. Download and Extract XAMPP Lite

  1. Go to  http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-Windows.html#646
  2. Download XAMPP Lite.exe (the .exe is a smaller, faster download)
  3. Move the download to the root of your C drive  C:\
  4. Run the .exe and the directory will be installed

2. Startup Apache and MySQL

  1. Open the xampplite folder
  2. Double click  setup_xampp.bat
  3. After the program tells you to have fun, press any key on your keyboard
  4. Now double click on  xampp-control.exe
  5. Now start the  Apache and  MySQL services
  6. If everything worked, you will see  Running next to those 2 services

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Create a New Database

  1. In your browser of choice, navigate to  http://localhost/xampp/splash.php
  2. Click on your language
  3. On the left hand side, under  Tools, click  phpMyAdmin
  4. On that page, you will see the MySQL heading, like in the screenshot below
     

  5. Call the database  WordPress and select  utf8 unicode ci from the drop down menu
  6. Click  Create

 

4. Install WordPress

  1. Download and extract  WordPress to your desktop
  2. In the extracted folder, open the file  wp-config-sample.php in a text editor
  3. Edit the file to look like this:
    define('DB_NAME', 'wordpress'); // The name of the database
    define('DB_USER', 'root'); // Your MySQL username
    define('DB_PASSWORD', ''); // ...and password
    define('DB_HOST', 'localhost'); // 99% chance you won't need to change this value
  4. Save the file as  wp-config.php
  5. Now open up the  Xammplite folder on your C drive and then open the  htdocsfolder
  6. Copy the whole  WordPress folder here
  7. Finally, use your browser and navigate to  http://localhost/WordPress/wp-admin/Install.php

 

And you are done, with the installation of WordPress Locally on a Windows Machine

Click here to Get details of how to go about on a Mac/ Linux

Dhawal D