How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Installing WordPress on your local Windows PC is a great idea. You can use it for website development, testing purpose or to even learn WordPress.

Installing WordPress on your local machine can be a bit tricky. In this post I will explain you have how to install XAMPP and WordPress without any confusion.

Let’s divide the installation into 5 step process:

1. Install XAMPP software
2. Start Apache and MySQL
3. Download and extract WordPress files
4. Create new MySQL database
5. Install WordPress and access the website

Install XAMPP Software

1. Download XAMPP (Windows Installer) from Apache Friends

   

2. Run the downloaded file to launch XAMPP installer.

   

3. Sometime you get antivirus warning as shown below. Just click ‘Yes’ and continue.

   

4. In addition, based on your PC configuration, you may also get “User Account Control (UAC)” warning. Just click ‘Ok’ and continue.

   

5. Once you get through all of the prompts, you should see the standard installer screen as shown below. Click ‘Next’ to continue.

   

6. Now you need to choose Components for installation. Select Apache, MySQL, PHP and phpMyAdmin as shown below.

   

7. Select which folder to install XAMPP. You can leave it as default.

   

8. On the next screen, you’ll get a prompt asking you to install Bitnami for XAMPP. Uncheck the option as shown below.

   

9. Once you click next, the installation process begins. It might take few minutes to complete.

   

10. Now click Finish and launch XAMPP.

    

Start Apache and MySQL

1. Let’s start the XAMPP server now. We need to start Apache and MySQL. Hit the Start button against Apache and MySQL as shown below.

   

2. Once started, you’ll see green label as background against their name.

   

3. Access the URL http://localhost/ in your browser. You should see a page like the one shown below.

   

Download and Extract WordPress Files

1. Download WordPress from https://wordpress.org/download/

   

2. Navigate to the XAMPP installation folder. It should be C:\XAMPP
3. Under C:\XAMPP, you’ll find a folder named ‘htdocs’. Select the folder.
4. Create a new folder called “devwebsite”

   

5. Extract the WordPress zip file within “devwebsite” folder as shown below.

   

Create New MySQL Database

1. Access http://localhost/phpmyadmin/ in your browser and hit “Databases” tab as shown below.

   

2. Enter a name for your database, let’s say “devwebsite” and click “Create” button to create a new database.

   

Install WordPress and Access Website

1. Now we’re ready to install the website. Access http://localhost/devwebsite in your browser. You’ll be presented with WordPress installer. Click “Continue” to proceed.

   

2. Enter database and other details as shown below.

   

3. Click “Run the installation” to proceed.

   

4. Input Site Title, Username, Password, Email and click “Install WordPress” button.

   

5. If all goes well, you’ll see a success message as shown below. Hit the “log in” button.

   

6. Enter Username and Password to access the website’s back-end.

   

Credits

• Icon by ITIM 2101