Complete Local WordPress Installation on Windows

[Go back to the parent post: Installing WordPress Locally on a Windows Desktop or Laptop]

The last steps in installing a local version of WordPress on a desktop or laptop computer are to create a database and a user account for the WordPress administrator.

(1) Launch the XAMPP Control Panel Application from the Start Menu or by double clicking on the Desktop icon. When the control panel appears, left click on the "Start" buttons for Apache and MySQL. NOTE: You will need to start Apache and MySQL in the control panel whenever you wish to use your local install of WordPress!














(2) When Apache and MySQL have been successfully activated, "Running" surrounded by green will appear next to their names in the control panel.














(3) Open a browser window or tab and type in the address: "http://localhost" exactly as if you were typing in the address of a website on the Internet.








(4) When the XAMPP welcome screen appears, left click on "phpMyAdmin" under the "Tools" heading.













(5) On the next "web page" (it's not a real web page, because it's on your computer), left click on "Databases" near the top left of the page.














(6) Next, give the new database a name (Write it down, so you don't forget it!) and left click on "Create."
















(7) When the database has been successfully created, a message will appear.













(8) Now, left click on "Server: localhost" at the top left of the page.













(9) On the next page to appear, left click on "Privileges."















(10) On the following page, left click on "Add a new User" to create an administrator for the WordPress blog.














(11) On the "Add a new User" screen,

(a) under "Login Information,"

1. make sure "User name:" and "Password:" are set to "Use text field:" and "Host:" is set to "Local" in the left column, and

2. in the right column, assign a User name and Password for the administrator and type "localhost" for the Host.


(b) For "Global privileges," left click on "Check All."



















(12) When everything looks OK, left click on "Go" at the bottom right of the page.


















(13) If the user has been successfully been added, a message will appear.















(14) You are now finished setting up the database. Close either the browser window or tab to exit.









(15) To install WordPress within XAMPP:

(a) navigate to the where you installed XAMPP on your computer and open the "htdocs" folder, and



















(b) Download WordPress from wordpress.org, unzip the file, and copy the entire extracted folder into htdocs.




















(16) Next, open a browser window or tab and type http://localhost/wordpress in the address bar. When the error message appears, left click on "Create a configuration File."















(17) Gather the information requested by the next screen (you should have been writing this down as you were building databases, etc.), then left click on "Let's go!"














(18) A blank form will appear:
















(19) Enter the information you assigned to the database a few steps earlier, then left click on "Submit."
















(20) On the next screen to appear, left click on "Run the Install."











(21) You will now need to enter the blog administrator's login information and a few other things for the WordPress "web site" you are creating on your computer:






















(22) Give the blog a name. (This can be changed at any time you wish, so don't get hung up on finding the right name.)

Give the administrator a name for logging in. I usually stay with "admin."

Assign a password to the administrator. You can use the same one you assigned to the database earlier.

Enter a valid e-mail address.

Uncheck the box next to "Allow my site to appear in search engines like Google and Technorati."

When ready, left click on "Install WordPress."




















(23) A screen will appear, showing you successfully installed the blog on your computer.

Left click on "Log in" to log in to the blog as the administrator.


















(24) The administrator login screen will appear. Enter the Username and Password for the administrator to log into the control panel (the administration screen) for your blog.
















(25) The "Dashboard," which the administrator uses to manage the blog, will now appear.














To access the Dashboard after you've completed this installation process:

(a) Start Apache and MySQL in the XAMPP Control Panel,

(b) open a browser and enter http://localhost/wordpress/wp-admin in the address bar and

(c) enter the administrator's Username and Password.


To view the blog as a normal visitor,

(a) Start Apache and MySQL in the XAMPP Control Panel and

(b) open a browser and enter http://localhost/wordpress .