Plugins and themes are often developed on a local WordPress installation by WordPress developers. Beginner users can also install WordPress on their desktops to learn about the platform, test new themes and plugins, and experiment without harming a real website. In this article, we will show you how to properly install WordPress on Windows using WAMP.
What exactly is WAMP?
WAMP is a Windows-based package that includes the Apache web server, PHP, and MySQL.
They’re all independent pieces of open source software. Even for seasoned users, though, installing them separately is difficult. WAMP software makes it simple to install and get a working local environment up and running in minutes.
Step 1: Installing WAMP on a Windows Computer
You must first download and install the WAMP software on your PC. To get started, browse to the WampServer website and click the ‘Start Using WampServer’ button.
It will direct you to the downloads part of the website. WampServer 32 bits and WampServer 64 bits are the two versions available. You must choose the WampServer version that corresponds to your Windows computer’s operating system.
Go to Control Panel » System and Security » System on your computer to see if you’re running a 32-bit or 64-bit operating system. Your operating system type will be displayed there.
To run the installation, double-click the wampserver execution file after it has been downloaded. Make sure you carefully follow the installation instructions on the screen.
During the installation procedure, you must specify the web browser’s location. Internet Explorer will be the default browser. You can change it to Google Chrome or any other web browser by looking for it in your computer’s Program Files.
To continue, open the WampServer when it has been installed.
Step 2: Create a Database for Local WordPress Installation
The next step is to create a new MySQL database from scratch. When you first start WAMP, you’ll notice a green WampServer icon along with other icons in the bottom right corner of your screen. Simply choose it and then select phpMyAdmin (a web based application to manage MySQL databases).
The services (Apache, MySQL, PHP) are not executing if the WampServer icon is red or yellow. Before you can set up the database, you must first start the services by clicking on the symbol.
It will open your web browser to the phpMyAdmin login screen. Simply type root into the username form and leave the password field empty. These are the default credentials for phpMyAdmin on your localhost.
To continue, click the ‘Go’ button.
To create a new database for WordPress, go to Databases in phpmMyAdmin after you’ve logged in. It will prompt you to give your new database a name (we called ours test db). Click the ‘Create’ button after that.
Now that your database is ready, you may install WordPress on localhost.
Step 3: Using WAMP to Install WordPress on Windows
The next step is to get the most recent version of WordPress from the WordPress.org website. It will be downloaded in a zip format.
You must first unzip the file and then copy the ‘wordpress’ folder.
Now you must go to the folder where WAMP was installed.
We installed WAMP under C:wamp64 in this tutorial, so we’ll refer to that folder from now on. However, depending on where you installed the software, it may be different for you.
Copy the wordpress folder and paste it into the C:wamp64www folder.
The ‘wordpress’ folder can be renamed to anything you like, such as mysite, testsite, and so on. This will be the URL for your local WordPress site, so make it something easy to remember.
We renamed the folder from wordpress to mysite for the purposes of this tutorial.
After that, open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost/mysite/.
It will first ask you to choose a language before showing you the database setup information. To continue, click the ‘Let’s go’ button once you’ve finished reading it thoroughly.
Following that, you must provide database information such as database name, username, password, host, and table prefix.
The database name will be the same as the one you entered earlier. We named it ‘test db’ in our example. The username will be ‘root,’ and the password field can be left blank. The database host and table prefix can alternatively be left alone.
After that, click the ‘Submit’ button, and WordPress will build a configuration file in the backend for you.
You’ll get a success message on the next screen stating that WordPress is connected to your database and that you can continue with the installation.
To continue, simply click the ‘Run the installation’ option.
It will lead you to the WordPress welcome screen. You must give your new WordPress website a title, select an administrator username, create a secure password, and supply an administrator email address.
Click the ‘Install WordPress’ button when you’re ready.
You’ll get a success message once the installation is finished. WordPress has created new tables in your database in the background and it’s ready to use.
Then, by clicking the ‘Log In’ option, you can go to your WordPress dashboard.
Congratulations on successfully installing WordPress using WAMP on a Windows machine.
Step 4: Using WAMP to Enable Pretty Permalinks
Changing the permalinks setting in the new version of WordPress does not break your local site.
If the ‘page not found’ issue still appears on your pages after updating the permalinks in WordPress’ Settings » Permalinks
Step 5: Resolving WAMP Problems
Even for beginners, WAMP is simple to use. If you still can’t get it to work, the troubleshooting tips below may be of assistance.
Getting Rid of the WAMP-Skype Conflict
If you have Skype installed and running, WampServer may be unable to function properly due to a Skype conflict. The problem is caused by the fact that both Apache and Skype use port 80. There is an easy solution to this issue.
Open Skype and select Tools » Options from the drop-down menu. This will open a dialog box, where you should select Advanced, then Connections.
Remove the check mark from the box that says For incoming connections, use ports 80 and 443 as alternatives. Restart Skype after saving the options.
Install the Redistributable Package for Visual C++.
Visual Studio 2012 requires the Visual C++ Redistributable to run WAMP. If you don’t already have it installed on your computer, you can get it from the Microsoft website and install it.
We hope you found this post useful in learning how to install WordPress on Windows using WAMP.
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