I agree with Sam. WAMP is very nice. I haven’t tried XAMPP, but I would really recommend WAMP.

clear explanation. I Hope the next chapter will be published as so on as possible. I really wait for that ..

great Guide!
very good, was expecting a practical guide so

Thanks, have always wanted to know to do stuff locally.

quick and easy, thank you!

Sweet!!

So sweet, and easy. Thanks for posting this article.

excellent stuff! just what i needed. & so easy! thanks a million.
roll on chapter 2!
cheers

Thanks for this post! Looking forward to the next installment.

I use MAMP on my Mac, but I think there’s a better alternative to XAMPP for Windows. It is called USB Web Server. There’s no installation required so you can just drop it anywere you want, even on a USB-stick! Check it out.

Finally, installing is too easy.. I think :) Cann’t wait to other parts..:)

looking forward your next post :)

Great stuff. Never used MAMP before.

very usefull, but nothing special. you have gained 5 days simply posting the summary eheheh

Nice one, should be useful to me at some point! Bookmarked.

Mamp rocks!

I use this process myself and definitely could not have written it better.

Great job as usual.

Love this Nick, you are a true guru. This is particulrly helpfull since I´m starting work on a new site with wordpress as the backend.

very cool. I’ve been updating my site and then checking it live. This is so much easier. Thanks! Definitely looking forward to the rest of the tutorial.

A simple yet useful and excellent tutorial, your article always make me feel impressed!

Hey Nick, thank you so much for the tutorial. I’ve been wanting to install WP locally so that testing WP won’t be eating my all the bandwidth of my hosting plan. I’ve tried combing through online tutorials but some of them are horribly overcomplicated and makes it sound very cumbersome to get WP installed.

Thank God your tutorial came at the right time! Now I can test WP2.7 beta locally without messing with the online and active version of my WP ;)

However, I’d prefer to use WAMP because it uses phpmyadmin. Very handy and simple. Oh, and I can’t wait for the next part to be released!

WE ARE WATING YOU :)

Curious – on this tutorial, you show your wp-config file and at the localhost part – you have ‘localhost:8889’ — why is it 8889 instead of 8888 ? (which is what MAMP sets it up as). I admit, I’m new to this, so maybe there’s a perfectly good explanation for this, I just thought I’d ask. Does it make a difference?

Yes, yes, yes! Super-handy mate.

This will save me a lot of time methinks.

That’s very cool tutorial! Love it

Good guide.
I’m waiting for the next chapters.

It might also be worth covering how you switch on mod_rewrite in apache as its turned off by default. Once its switched on then you can test various perma link structures locally.

As that was the one problem I had when running WordPress locally. =)

That’s cool. But the hard part is to pass it your server on the internet.

I have XP64bit and don’t work :(

i’m really struggling with step 5!!

when i go to http://localhost:8889/mysite/wp-admin/install.php in my browser, firefox tries to open the file with dreamweaver?!?

what am i doing wrong?

@giles
I had some trouble with this too, until I realized I had extracted the wordpress zip-folder into a new directory inside ‘mysite’. When I moved the wordpress-files out of ‘wordpress-folder’ into ‘mysite’ it worked just fine.

Thanks..

I’ve had WAMPP set up for a while (for testing php) and never even thought of installing wordpress locally to test changes to my (few) wordpress sites. Nice post!

It does not find where I installed wordpress.
http://localhost:8888/mysite/wp-admin/install.php

I get the message below and it’s not caused by a firewall or anything like that.

Failed to Connect
Firefox can’t establish a connection to the server at localhost:8888.
Though the site seems valid, the browser was unable to establish a connection.

* Could the site be temporarily unavailable? Try again later.
* Are you unable to browse other sites? Check the computer’s network connection.
* Is your computer or network protected by a firewall or proxy? Incorrect settings can interfere with Web browsing.

Giles, make sure that you changed the wp-config-sample file and make sure that you only have a (1) parent folder under htdocs structure should be like this:
mamp>htdocs>mytestsite>then all the extracted WP files

Hi thx for the great tutorial. Anybody got any ideas how to acces the site from a PC in my LAN to check how IE works with my freshly created theme?

Working on rebuilding my web store locally right now! Thanks!

This was a great help! Thanks so much. I love your site, keep up the good work :)

hey,
im trying to install wordpress locally but im having some problems. When i get part 5 where it says :

With your browser, go to http://localhost:8888/mysite/wp-admin/install.php and follow the instructions to install WordPress.

i get an error message. Can you tell me where im going wrong?
Thank you

Thanks Aris:) it works now.
Does anyone know where i can download a plugin which allow users to rate a product and review my posts or products?
by the way this site is great!
thank you for you help guys

Hi,
Thank you for the tutorial, it is great!
I have successfully set up WordPress on localhost, however I don’t know how to login to the admin panal of WordPress. I am a newbie, please pardon me if this sounds like a silly question. Thanks in advance!

I’m a complete noob and didn’t know to turn web sharing on in order for MAMP to work properly. Hope this helps anyone else as incompetent as I am! Thanks for this post so much…

I’m stuck on Step 5. I tried that URL: http://localhost:8888/mysite/wp-admin/install.php and I get a “Failed to connect” error. I don’t know where I went wrong. I’m using WAMP server. I opened the HTML file in the wordpress htdocs folder and clicked the 5 minute install link which takes me to a page saying I already have wordpress installed. I never saw the install.php page. There were 2 blank text fields. There, I tried to name it and put my email address associated with the server. I don’t know what’s happening.

Also, What does the number 8888 and 8889 mean after “localhost:”? How do I know if I used the right number or if I need one at all?

Super list. Thank you very much :)

Okeif,
Having endless problems with the install and have tried both Nicks and your directions. Using XAMPP. No luck on either front, as constant “The requested URL was not found on this server” errors.
Have tried all combos:

http://localhost/xampp/www/wordpress/wp-admin-install.php.
http://localhost/wordpress/wp-admin-install.php.
http://localhost:8889/wordpress/wp-admin-install.php. (get “IE cannot display this webpage” error on this one. wp-config localhost changed)
http://localhost:8888/wordpress/wp-admin-install.php. (get “IE cannot display this webpage” error on this one. wp-config localhost changed)

Some questions about your post:
1. In “Step 3″, you say ” Go to wamp / www”… This directory does not exist. Do you have to create it?

2. In “Step 4”, you say “…… the username is root, enter nothing between the ‘..’, and host……” What is the “enter nothing between the ‘…’ referring to? The password?

3. In “Step 5”, you say “With your browser go to http://localhost/mysite/wp-admin-install.php”

Should this be:http://localhost/wamp/www/mysite/wp-admin-install.php?

Thanks so much for your assistance!

Wow, what a difference this makes!

Hello,
I am pretty new to all of this, but eager to learn how to set up my own blog. What is the advantage of installing WordPress locally?

Brilliant, thank you!

What a great idea for working on your design without constant ftping.

AWESOME! Thank you! This will be VERY VERY usseful from now on. thanks a lot.

IS this lesson inteded for a Paid WordPress account? or this can also apply to a free WordPress Acount.. ?????

Hi, Brilliant site, brilliant post!!!
I had mega problems getting the XAMPP Server working locally [Windows XP], so I decided to try the WAMP. It works a treat.
This is how I did it – and it has been commented here before so this really is following on the instructions of other users on this post, [Okeif and otheres], anyways… This is for Windows XP,
Download and Instal WAMP,
then
1) create a folder, say ‘mysite’ to your c:\wamp/www/ folder. 2) download WP and unzip it to c:wamp/www /mysite, alternatively just unzip it to your desk top and then copy all of the wp files to c:wamp/www/mysite Make sure you do not a)copy the ‘wordpress’ file in there, just the content and b)don’t copy the wp file content into www. It needs to go to c:wamp/www/mysite !
3) go to phpmyadmin, which can be found on the little icon at the right bottom of the desktop. Create a data base for e.g mysitelocal or what ever.. Just make a note of it.
4)Go to your wp-config-sample file and rename it to wp-config , also set your DB_name as ‘mysitelocal’ or whatever else you chose, DB_user as ‘root DB_password as ” or if you have set a password then use it, and finally DB_host as ‘localhost’ – then save it!
5) next type in http://localhost/mysite or alternatively just write http://localhost and then choose from ‘Your Projects’ the mysite folder and you should be on your way. I hope this helps..
Again Brilliant resource site!! Thanks for all of your help past, present and future.

Sorry,
do you think is possible keep both IIS on local (window 2003 server) and apache…
In this way I can test my sites that working in ASP and my sites that working in php…
Thank you very much

#danilo

Thanks for sharing it, Its so easy !!
Thanks again

When I go to /wp-admin/install.php, all I get is a blank page. For some reason it’s not prompting me to install. Can anyone help me fix this issue please?

Ashley, are you by any chance running on a 64 bit Operating system? I am, and I just discovered recently that XAMPP still hasn’t released a 64-bit version… but there are workarounds… if you are interested (an running on 64-bit)

HI – can someone help please

I Get to the very last page and it reads

The requested URL /mysite/wp-admin/install.php was not found on this server.

Apache/2.0.59 (Unix) PHP/5.2.6 DAV/2 Server at localhost Port 8888

Ive tried this 3 times with no joy, can anyone recommend what i might be doing wrong?

Thanks

PAUL

Oooopppps, not a typo, scratch my previous comment. I just forgot to put my WordPress dos in the htdocs folder within MAMP. Now it’s working.

Wonderful! My dilema: Running IIS and Apache on the same PC. I didn’t want to disable IIS. After a bit of struggling I managed to install WAMPServer on my PC. Now I have both servers IIS and Apache running on the same machine. I just changed “Listen 80” to “Listen 777” and “ServerName localhost:80” to “ServerName localhost:777” on httpd.conf – After the change I had to “Restart All Services”. From now on when I want to access Apache server I just have to change the URL to http://localhost:777/YourSite – Great article! Thx!

nice, really nice!

I am using wamp for a pc. I am having trouble with installing wordpress when I type in http://localhost/mysite/wp-admin/install.php I get this error message:

URL /mysite/wp-admin/install.php was not found on this server.

I can get to localhost/mysite and I can see the wordpress folder but cannot access it. I get the error message above.

I put my SQL hostname as “localhost could this be my problem.

If anyone can help me I would appreciate you emailing me at [email protected].

Thanks

computerclinic-banglamedia.blogspot.com

I followed the tut.through each step, but developed a problem when trying to run ‘install’. I copied “http://localhost:8888/mysite/wp-admin/install.php” into my browser, but it comes up an blank white page,nothing happened.
when I change the address to “http://localhost:8889/mysite/wp-admin/install.php”,it asked me to save the install file. I did, but when open it,Adobe GoLive launched with these random codes “4???
5.0.41?)???@uQsmJjU?,¢??????????????Nc,L{J=1{=\7???
ÿBad handshake”….I’m stuck….
I did put wordpress docs in the right folder(htdocs).
Please help me,thanks.

hi… i’m confused. i bought a host plan and installed my wordpress on it. does this mean installing it on my computer is much more better?

Following along with the WordPress tutorial here I’m running xampp 1.7.1 on vista sp1 but since I tried to start mysql with it I just get the 1067 error code every time I try to launch phpMyAddmin with it. Thing is I used to be able to run phpmyadmin just fine in previous releases but not anymore.

I’ve Googled the error on a few sites now and I’m not getting any solution yet. Please help as I ‘m banging my head against the wall here!

Hi, My wordpress installation stalls at the last stage after I key in my blog title and email. I am not getting the “Success” page with the generated login and password. Which step am I missing?

Please help! Thanks in advance!

hi love the tutorial so far – very clear, but when I try to run the wp-install php file I get some gobbldygook and “bad handshake” can you help please.

I’m running os x10.4.11 with the latest version of wordpress and mamp.

Great Info! Had to tweak a few things for Windows Xammp, but very easy process. I love your site. Its one of the most beautiful I have come across and it is full of useful info for an aspiring designer. Thank you for all your work.

Mac people, can’t get to the install bit?

You need to move the wordpress folder (that you unstuffed) into the htdocs folder found in the MAMP directory (should be installed in your applications folder).

Than go to the localhost URL described in step 5.

I like this post and the lesson, thanks for making it.

Great..

Thank you very clear steps

nice and clear – thank you!

Great , Installing WordPress Locally
Great article. CSS saved web design
Cyrus
Visit http://www.psdtoxhtmlcoder.com

Thanks for the article and I’ve managed to install MAMP with no problems, along with getting a WP install up and running.

However, I cannot get my local install to see any new themes I copy into teh theme directory – any ideas?

Thanks for this detailed tutorial. It clears all my doubts, bookmarked this post.

This is brilliant! THANK YOU SO MUCH for making this tutorial :-) :-) :-)

your site so beautiful !

it’s very good post

Hi there,
I used your instructions to set up a local beta site for the school I worked for last year, and it worked flawlessly. I moved to a new school this year, and wanted to start fresh. I deleted the old site, created a new database in myphpAdmin for the new site, and now I can’t get it to work at all. I keep getting the same error message about already having installed wordpress despite having deleted the old database in phpmyadmin.

Any ideas? I have a screenshot of the error message if that would help. Any assistance would be brilliant. Thanks!

喜欢你们的设计与技术，常来看看

thank you so much @ Tomas Lonnberg because i couldnt get mine to even give me the page to bring up wordpress until i read your guide. and i went through 13pages of comments and guide trying until i came to yours ^-^ thanks again=)<3

Hi, just a simple question
Im new to wordpress and php
Which version of local server should I use if the machine I work on locally is a widows pc whereas the server I will be using is with Linux.

Thanks for the tutorial, it’s really helpful

Nice tutorial mr…. but my problem is that, i’m stuck in 5. Run install.php “Warning: require_once(../wp-load.php)” i need help really badly…. thank you…..

hi,

Thanks for this but i have a problem with steps 4 & 5.
I inserted the ‘database name’ no problem. (very impressive i know).
– where do i find the username and password to insert in step 4?
– when you say ‘localhost:8889’? what do you mean?
Sorry if this is all newbie questions but im genuinely stuck.
:(

and assuming i fill in the info in step 4 correctly, then running /install.php should work?

thanks in advance
n8

I would be willing to do a guest post for web designer wall detailing how to use the Microsoft Web Platform. Contact me if you are interested at kyle{at}highergroundstudio{dot}com

resolve for step 5.

in wp-config file replace original code with this:

define(‘DB_NAME’, ‘wordpress’); // The name of the database
define(‘DB_USER’, ‘root’); // Your MySQL username
define(‘DB_PASSWORD’, ”); // …and password (needs to be empty, just for local install)
define(‘DB_HOST’, ‘localhost’); // 99% chance you won’t need to change this value

of cours, your datebase name must be “wordpress”.

enjoy!

Great tutorial. I was always looking for ways to install WordPress and work with a theme locally. There are many steps, but all are laid out very well. Thanks for taking the time to help everyone.

Kurt
San Diego Mobile Notary

Brilliant tutorial and have used it before. I updated my MAMP Pro, and now it won’t work!!! So annoying… it cant connect and I keep getting this msg-

Not Found

The requested URL /mysite/wp-admin/install.php was not found on this server.

Please help, I need to get this sorted. I’ve done everything that is required so really dont know whats going on! Thanks

i used xampp and it was great. i used it before making my site go live. ♥

Thanks so much. Steps were nicely presented and easy to understand to a beginner like me. I am trying to create an e-commerce site and even though I read that drupal is the best way to go. I will try to do it with wordpress because I read is possible. I saw a template that I really liked that was supposed to be used with drupal, but I was not able to handle it. I was able to install drupal on a local server, but I was not able to do anything with the template that I chose. I know drupal is a more powerful CMS, but for someone like me it doesn’t add to anything if I can’t understand how it works. I hope that WordPress is as easy as I read. Again, thank you for the tutorial it was clear and useful enough for beginners like me.

Brother, you’re awesome! I mean knowing something is one and actually taking out time to help others is a mere demonstration of passion. Thanks a ton!

I’m a total noob at this (a) So when I try to install wordpress, it says Error: PHP is not running. I downloaded everything above, I even downloaded php seperately and after that I downloaded the WIX to manually install php, that totally didn’t work :( I do have another program called eclipse. I can open the php files and edit them, but I can’t view them. When I try that there comes a black window and it disappears, seconds after… Can someone help me??

nice posting!

thanx a lot bro…

Is this what I would use to just test out creating a website with WordPress and not having a live website just yet?

It’s nice to answer people’s questions. Otherwise, why bother posting them?

thanks for write up this guide.

correction needed: please include this step in your guide:

– for Windows, unzip wordpress into c:\wamp\www\wordpress

I would like to work on a site on my local computer before taking it live. My question is what do you do to take it live once you have worked on it on the local server and you like what you’ve created? Please advise.

Thanks,

RW

When you do article marketing, your intention is to increase the number of visitors to your website. It is not our abilities that show what we truly are, it is our choices. I have look for such a article for a long time, thanks a lot. http://www.uggsclassicboot.com/

Nice sharing. It helped me a lot. Thanks for upgrading my knowledge.

Los Angeles Web Design

Thank you!! Very helpful, great technique and great explanation. And looks beautiful!!

I am using XAMPP. I have downloaded & extracted WP. I changed the file name to wp-config.php as instructed, but when I try to open it, Windows tells me it cannot open it and needs to know what program created it. I am a beginner. Please help……..

Hi for some reason I’m having an error establishing a database connection?

do you know what might be wrong with my database or what I’m doing wrong? I followed your instructions perfectly

Great concise instructions. I’m working on converting our hotel website into WordPress platform. I decided to do it locally, on my machine. But for some reason I constantly get an error while establishing database connection. I’m using WAMP. Should I switch to XAMPP? Is there any difference? – Thanks.

Very useful blog. I really appreciate it.
Thanks

You can get this for free!

Thanks for the great tutorial.
Everything works fine for me until the actual installation process. So when I go to this address:
http://localhost:8080/magie's site/wp-admin/install.php
It seems like it’s trying to connect with localhost, and after waiting for about 3 minutes all I get is a blank page, instead of the wordpress screen.
Any thoughts that could help?
Thanks

@magge

3 options:

1: did you actually started wamp/xamp?
2: you cant type ‘s in a url so you can try choosing a different map name
3: instead of typing localhost you can try typing http://127.0.0.1/magie's site/wp-admin/install.php

hope it help’s.

have a nice day

Hi,
Thanks for this. I am new to wordpress. local setup is helpful for learners like me. just did it.
regards
vinodh

However, after tried a bunch of solutions, I managed to get it to work. In the wp-config.php, where you enter the password, I just left nothing between the apostrophes.

jkl;

I tried repeatedly…I uninstalled the WAMP and reinstalled it. There was no htdoc folder, but I put the WordPress folder in the www folder….nothing seems to work for me.

I created the wordpress database in phpmyAdmin….but it never asked me to set a password…I’m SOOOOO confused. Help would be appreciated.

Am using WAMP in windows and am unable to run wp-admin/install.php on a local pc.please help me on how to go about it at step 5

I’m gonna start with this.

Thanks a lot :)

I had the same problem after renaming the wp-config-sample i changed the name back then it worked