1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows

PC
LAST UPDATED: DECEMBER 28, 2020 • POSTED IN: WORDPRESS TUTORIALS • 38 COMMENTS

ThemeIsle content is free. When you purchase through referral links on our site, we earn a commission. Learn More

Want to install XAMPP and WordPress – aka. install WordPress locally? This is a great idea if you
want a development site that can be used for testing or other purposes. XAMPP lets you run a
website from your very own computer. And once you get it set up, you can spin up a new
WordPress install with just a few clicks.

But to actually install XAMPP and WordPress can be a little tricky, so you might need a helping
hand.

We’ve already talked about some of the benefits of a local WordPress testing site, so I won’t
belabor that point. Instead, I’m going to assume you’re just here for the guide.

Note. If you need a more general guide on installing WordPress in other environments – not
just locally, but on live servers as well, then please hop over to this guide of ours.
https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 1/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

So without further ado, here’s exactly how to

install WordPress locally with XAMPP. At the How to install #WordPress locally on #XAMPP
end of this, you’ll have your very own local
WordPress testing environment running on CLICK TO TWEET
Windows.

Step 1: Download and install XAMPP on your computer

The first step on your way to install WordPress locally is to download and install the XAMPP
software. You can download the Windows installer file from Apache Friends. It’s a big file, about
110 MB, so it might take a minute or so depending on your connection:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 2/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Once the download finishes, run the file you downloaded to launch the XAMPP installer. If you’re
running antivirus software, you might get a warning like this:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 3/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Just click Yes to continue. Depending on your Windows configuration, you might also get a prompt
about User Account Control (UAC). Just continue through that prompt as well. Once you get
through all of the prompts, you should see the standard installer screen:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 4/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Just click Next to continue.

On the next screen, you can choose which components to install. To install XAMPP and WordPress,
you do not need all of the components. In addition to the required components, all you need
are:

MySQL
PHPMyAdmin

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 5/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Again, this is all that’s needed to install WordPress locally. Uncheck everything else and click Next.

You can now select which folder to install XAMPP in. I always leave it as the default:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 6/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

On the next screen, you’ll get a prompt asking you to install Bitnami for XAMPP. You do not need
this to install XAMPP and WordPress, so just uncheck the box:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 7/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Once you click Next, you’re ready to run the install:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 8/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

The install process might take a few minutes:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 9/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Once it finishes, you can launch the control panel to start working with XAMPP:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 10/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Step 2: Start the modules and test your server

To install XAMPP and WordPress properly, you’ll need to run two modules:

Apache
MySQL
You can start both modules from the XAMPP control panel:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 11/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Once you launch them, you should see their status turn to green:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 12/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

And now you should be able to test that your local server is working by going to
http://localhost/ in your web browser of choice:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 13/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

If all went well, you now have a functioning XAMPP server on your Windows PC! But now it’s time
to install XAMPP and WordPress. So here’s how to get a WordPress site up and running on XAMPP.

Step 3: Add the WordPress files

If you’ve ever manually installed WordPress, the rest of the process should feel pretty familiar.
First, you need to go to wordpress.org and download the latest version of WordPress.

Then, in Windows, navigate to the folder where you installed XAMPP. For me, that’s C://xampp . It
should be something similar for you. Then, in that folder, find the htdocs subfolder:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 14/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

In htdocs, create a new folder for your test site. This folder name will become the sub-name used
to access your site. For example, if you make the folder testsite , you’ll access your site by going
to http://localhost/testsite .

Once you create the folder, extract the WordPress .zip file you downloaded from wordpress.org
into it:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 15/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Step 4: Create a database for WordPress

Next, you need to create a MySQL database for your WordPress install. To do that, launch
PHPMyAdmin from your XAMPP control panel:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 16/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Then click on Databases at the top:

And enter a name for your database and click Create. Your name can be anything – just
remember it because you’ll need it for the next step:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 17/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Unlike installing WordPress on a live web server, when you install XAMPP and WordPress, you
don’t need to worry about creating a database user.

Step 5: Install WordPress locally via the on-screen installer

When you visit your test site, you should see the normal WordPress installer. Remember, your test
site is just http://localhost/FOLDERNAME :

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 18/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

The only step where this process will differ from a normal install is the database details. When you
get to the database details, enter them like this:

Database Name = Name of the database you created in PHPMyAdmin

Username = “root”
Password = leave blank

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 19/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

Then finish the rest of the WordPress install process like normal.

Once you complete the process, you should see your brand new WordPress install running
perfectly on your local host:

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 20/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

What about Multisite or staging?

How to install XAMPP and WordPress Multisite
If you want to play around with WordPress Multisite, it’s also possible to configure WordPress
Multisite to work on your local host. Rather than duplicating information, though, I’ll just direct you
to Vishnu’s post on how to set up WordPress Multisite on a local host.

Should you use XAMPP and WordPress for staging?

While running WordPress on your localhost is a great way to experiment and try things with
WordPress, you shouldn’t use it as an actual staging site for a live site.

That’s because it has a different hardware configuration than your live site. So just because
something works or doesn’t work on your XAMPP WordPress install doesn’t mean it will be the
https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 21/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

same on your live production site.

Instead, using a subdomain or your host’s staging service are much better ways to create a
WordPress staging site.

Wrapping things up on how to install WordPress locally on

XAMPP
Once you learn how to install XAMPP and WordPress the first time, you can quickly spin up new
testing sites whenever needed.

As a freelance writer, I use XAMPP installs to

review any number of themes and plugins. At How to install #WordPress locally on #XAMPP
this point, I probably have about 60 separate
WordPress installs running on XAMPP. So if you CLICK TO TWEET
need any assistance with XAMPP and
WordPress, leave a comment and I’ll try to
help out!

What do you want to do with your site once

you install WordPress locally? Feel free to
share in the comments.

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 22/31
1/8/2021 How to Install XAMPP and WordPress Locally on Windows PC

FREE GUIDE

5 Essential Tips to Speed Up

Your WordPress Site
Reduce your loading time by even 50-80%
just by following simple tips.

DOWNLOAD FREE GUIDE

By COLIN
Themeisle Contributor
70 Posts

POSTED IN: SHARE NOW!

WordPress Tutorials
Share Tweet

https://themeisle.com/blog/install-xampp-and-wordpress-locally/ 23/31