Installing WordPress on a local computer is very easy and free. This is especially useful if you want to start building your own website.
In this article, we’ll show you how to install and use WordPress for free, without needing paid hosting or a domain.
As the first step, we need a local server. For that, we’ll use software called XAMPP.
Open your favorite browser and type “XAMPP download” in the search bar. Next, you’ll be directed to the official website www.apachefriends.org.
After that, click the Download XAMPP button according to your operating system, whether it’s Windows, Linux, or macOS. For example, here we’ll be using the latest Windows version.
Once the XAMPP file has finished downloading, run the installer by double clicking it. An administrator permission request will appear click Yes to continue.
Next, the XAMPP installation wizard will open. Simply click Next on each step until the installation process is ready to begin.
By default, XAMPP will be installed on the C drive in a folder named xampp. Once all settings are confirmed, click the final Next and the installation will start.
While waiting for the XAMPP installation to finish, let’s continue by downloading WordPress. Open a new tab in your browser, type “WordPress download,” and press Enter
You will find the official WordPress website at wordpress.org. After that, click the Download WordPress 6.8.1 button or the latest version available.
Once the ZIP file has been downloaded, proceed by extracting it. To do this, right-click on the file and select “Extract All.” Wait until all WordPress files are fully extracted to your chosen location.
Next, we’ll move the extracted WordPress folder into XAMPP’s htdocs directory. Open the extracted folder, then cut or copy the WordPress folder. After that, go to C:\xampp\htdocs and paste the WordPress folder there.
With this step, we have placed all WordPress files into the local server that we will use.
Once everything is ready, open the XAMPP Control Panel. Then, click Start for both Apache and MySQL to activate the local server. You will see that the ports and PIDs are running correctly.
Next, click the Admin button under MySQL or type localhost/phpmyadmin to open phpMyAdmin in your browser. Once it opens, click New on the left to create a new database. Give the database a name, for example, wordpress, and then click Create.
Next, open a new tab in your browser and type localhost/wordpress, then press Enter. You will be directed to the WordPress installation page. Choose your language and click Continue, then click Let’s go.
In the data entry section, enter the database name you created earlier, which is wordpress. For the username, enter root and leave the password field blank. Once all the information is filled in, click Submit, then click Run the installation.
Next, you will be asked to fill in your site details such as Site Title, Username, Password, and Email. For example, fill in :
Check the option to confirm using a weak password, then click Install WordPress.
Once the installation is complete, click Login and enter the username and password you created. After logging in successfully, you will be directed to the WordPress dashboard.
From there, you can click Visit Site to see your website’s initial appearance. You can also customize the look by going to Appearance > Themes and installing themes like Astra, Kadence, or OceanWP.
As additional information, we have created several tutorials about these themes. You can watch the full videos on the Sigrep_me channel.
In conclusion, you now know the step-by-step process to install WordPress for free locally using XAMPP. With this process, you can experiment and build your website as you wish without needing to rent hosting first.
Thank you very much for reading. We hope this article is helpful. See you in the next guide, and good luck building your dream website!
Photo Source : Farhat Altaf on Unsplash
