Install WordPress Locally

During our WordPress Meetup on October 9, I showed a demo of how to install and run WordPress on your local computer so you can develop/change a site without an internet connection (note: an internet connection will be required to deploy your code to your live site).

Below are several links to articles on installing using other Operating Systems:

Links –

There are several other options available, for Windows as well. Lynda.com (Requires a paid account) has a very good selection of videos on each product and of course there are many available on YouTube. (You may have to watch several videos to find a good instructor there but it will give you different options. One software which works on both Windows and Mac is Desktop Server by ServerPress, which I have not used but many people do.

Why Install Locally?

There are several benefits for working on a website locally, first you do not require and internet connection, so if you are in an area where you have no internet, or traveling on a long plane/train ride, you can still develop your website. Secondly, your users (if live site) are not seeing the changes you are making to the site at the time you are making them, so if you make a mistake no one sees it but you. So if you are trying out a new theme and you install it on your live server and it drastically changes the layout of your site so the layout does not flow the way you want (due to different CSS settings between themes), if you did this on a live server and users were on your site, they may not like the flow or layout of your site because of you testing a new theme.

Install WordPress quickly

During the presentation, I used a piece of software I found via a call on WebDesign.com (run by iThemes.com), the software is named WP Quick Install, you can get it at wp-quick-install.com, the software is not limited to install wordpress locally, you can install it on a live server (Go Daddy, Bluehost, HostGator, etc). I highly recommend watching their video on their software, but at a high level here are the steps required:

Download/unzip software
Move/FTP the expanded folder to the location you are installing WordPress (Folder on local computer or Root/Sub-Folder on Host Server).
If installing locally, be sure to have MAMP/WAMP/XAMPP running
Access your phpMyAdmin to create a new database
Grant Access to your user to newly created database (Create User if necessary)
Access the WP Quick Install page via browser – http://yourdomain.com/wp-quick-install/index.php (If installing is sub-folder or locally, adjust URL accordingly.
Fill in steps on the Index.php page (DB name and user is most critical part, once again watch video for more information).

Process will download latest version of WordPress from WordPress.org and setup based on your settings from the Index.php page. Once successfully installed you will get an email from WordPress like this: (Check your SPAM Folder)

WordPress Install Email