Developing WordPress sites locally with AMPPS

There are plenty of ways to install WordPress on your local machine. I use a free software package called AMPPS.

It’s similar to packages like MAMP and XAMPP in that in includes all of the things you need to run WordPress: PHP (the programming language), MySQL (the database), and Apache (the web server).

While I use a Mac, note that AMPPS is also supported on Windows and Linux.

Step 1: Download and Install AMPPS

Download the latest version of AMPPS and install it like you would any other application.

Step 2: Start Apache and MySQL

Open the app and start both Apache and MySQL by clicking the green buttons. Type http://localhost/ into your browser’s address bar to verify it’s working.

Fun fact: http://127.0.0.1 will also work like http://localhost/ and can be used interchangeably. This is known as the loopback IP address.

Step 3: Choose a fake domain

There are four reserved domain extensions for testing:

• .test
• .example
• .invalid
• .localhost

For example purposes, we’ll use: wordpress.localhost

Step 4: Add the fake domain

On the “Add Domains” screen, type in your desired domain. The “Domain Path” field fills out to match. On a Mac: /Applications/AMPPS/www/wordpress.localhost

Step 5: Download WordPress and unzip in your directory path

Grab the latest WordPress core files from WordPress.org, and extract them in the directory path.

Step 6: Set up a database in phpMyAdmin

Access phpMyAdmin at http://localhost/phpmyadmin, click “New”, and create a database called “wordpress”.

Step 7: Connect to the database

Input the following information:

• Database Name: wordpress
• Username: root
• Password: mysql
• Database Host: localhost
• Table Prefix: wp_

Step 8: Finish installing WordPress

Fill out your choice of site title, username, password, and email address. Your locally-installed WordPress site is now fully functional!