After years of building WordPress websites, we’ve learned how important it is to have a local WordPress setup on your computer.
Having WordPress on your personal machine lets you experiment with new features without risking your live site, dive deep into WordPress development, and even build entire websites before they go live. It’s like having a private sandbox for all your WordPress projects.
If you’re a Windows user, there are numerous ways to set up WordPress locally. But we’ve narrowed it down to the two easiest methods. In this guide, we will show you how to easily install WordPress on a Windows computer, no matter which version you’re using.
Why You Should Install WordPress on Windows?
If you’re a Windows user, then installing WordPress locally on your computer offers several benefits.
A local WordPress installation creates a testing environment that doesn’t affect your live website. This setup, often called a local server or localhost, is your personal playground for WordPress.
WordPress developers regularly use local installations for their work. For instance, they may use it to experiment with new plugins or themes or test the site before updating to the Gutenberg block editor.
But it’s not just for the pros. If you’re new to WordPress, a local setup is perfect for learning. You can explore features, test themes and plugins, and experiment freely without worrying about breaking a live site.
It’s important to note that when you install WordPress locally on Windows, only you can see the site. If you want to create a public website, then you’ll need a domain name and web hosting.
Now, technically, you can install WordPress on Windows using XAMPP, and we’ve written a tutorial on it before.
That being said, we’ve found 2 even simpler ways than XAMPP for setting up a local WordPress environment, making them great for beginners or users who need to create a local site quickly. You can click the link below to jump ahead to any method you’re interested in:
Method 1: Install WordPress on Windows Using Studio (Quick and Simple)
For the first method, we will use Studio. It’s a local WordPress software made by Automattic, the company that manages and runs WordPress.com, which is a website builder based on the WordPress software.
We will talk about this method first because it’s much quicker and simpler to follow, making it perfect for complete beginners.
First, you need to open the Studio by WordPress.com website. Then, click on the ‘Download for Windows’ button.
Once you’ve done that, just open the downloaded file to start the installation.
A popup window will now appear, showing you that the application is being installed.
With that done, you can add your first site.
To do this, just enter your new local WordPress site name and click ‘Add site.’ You can name the site however you like so long as it helps you easily identify it.
You should now see your local WordPress site dashboard.
To access your WordPress dashboard and edit your website, just click the ‘Start’ button at the top right corner. This will make your local website accessible to you on your computer.
Once the ‘Start’ button changes to ‘Running,’ you can click on the ‘WP Admin’ link at the top left side of the page.
This will bring you to your local WordPress admin page.
And that’s pretty much it for the setup. Let’s explore the other settings that may be necessary as you build your local website.
As you can see in the ‘Overview’ tab, you can immediately access the WordPress full-site editor menu right from the Studio dashboard. You can also click ‘File explorer’ to open your WordPress website’s folders and files and click on ‘Terminal’ to manage your website using WP-CLI.
If you switch to the ‘Share’ tab, you can log in to your WordPress.com account, clone your local website, and upload it to WordPress.com’s servers. This will temporarily make the cloned site online, which is useful for sharing demo sites with your clients or team members.
At times, you may want to log in to your local website directly through your browser instead of using Studio. In that case, you need to know your wp-admin credentials.
To find them, you can switch to the ‘Settings’ tab and find your WordPress admin username, password, and login URL there.
Another neat feature of Studio is its built-in AI chatbot, which you can communicate with by clicking on the ‘Assistant’ button.
Here, you can ask Studio for help with tasks like updating all your plugins at once, updating your core WordPress version, or creating code for a custom block.
When you’re done working on your local site, just hover over the ‘Running’ button at the top right corner until it says ‘Stop.’
Then, click on the button to stop the website.
One downside of Studio is you cannot configure the WordPress environment to your liking. This means you need to use the PHP version, web server, and database that have been pre-selected for you.
This can be a drawback if you need to test your website or plugin with specific server configurations.
If you require more control over your local WordPress environment or need to match your local setup with a specific live server configuration, then you can check out the next method using Local WP.
Method 2: Install WordPress on Windows Using Local WP (More Customizable)
First, you need to download and install the Local WP software on your Windows computer. Simply go to the Local WP website and click the ‘Download for Free’ button.
After that, a popup window will appear where you’ll need to select your platform. Go ahead and choose ‘Windows’ from the dropdown menu.
Next, you can enter your details like first and last name, work email address, and phone number to download the software.
Upon entering the details, simply click the ‘Get it Now’ button.
After that, the software will be automatically downloaded into your computer. Otherwise, you can click on the ‘click here’ link to start the download.
Once the file is downloaded, go ahead and launch the setup wizard.
Now, you’ll need to select whether you’d like to install the software for all users or only for you.
Once you’ve selected an option, click the ‘Next’ button.
In the next step, you can select the ‘Destination Folder’ where the software will be installed.
Simply click the ‘Browse’ button to set the path and then click the ‘Install’ button.
The Local WP software will now install on your Windows computer.
Once it’s done, you can check the ‘Run Local’ checkbox and click the ‘Finish’ button in the setup wizard.
The software will now launch on your Windows device.
The next step is to add a new local website. To do that, simply click the plus ‘+’ button at the bottom.
After that, you can create a site in the Local software.
Select the ‘Create a new site’ option and click the ‘Continue’ button. There are also options to create the site from a blueprint or an existing website file, but we’ll go with the first option for the sake of demonstration.
Next, you can enter a name for your local website, like ‘My WordPress Website.’
There are also advanced options where you can enter the local site domain and local site path. By default, the domain will use your website title but separated with dashes.
Once you’re done, simply click the ‘Continue’ button.
After that, you will need to choose an environment for your local website.
You can use the ‘Preferred’ environment where the software will automatically select the PHP version, web server, and MySQL version. On the other hand, you can also select ‘Custom’ and enter the environment details.
Local WP offers the latest PHP versions. As for the web server, you can choose between Nginx or Apache. You can also select between MySQL or MariaDB for the databases.
Do note that some PHP, web server, and database versions require downloading some dependencies for them to work properly.
Next, you can enter a WordPress username and password for your local website. Plus, there’s also an option to choose a WordPress email address where you’ll receive all the email notifications.
Other than that, there is an advanced option where the software will ask whether you have a WordPress multisite network. If not, just click ‘No.’
After entering these details, simply click the ‘Add Site’ button.
The software will now install WordPress and set up your website.
To launch the local website, go ahead and click on the ‘Start site’ button at the top right corner.
Next, click on the ‘WP Admin’ button, and you’ll see the WordPress admin login page.
Simply enter the username and password you entered earlier when setting up the local website, and then click the ‘Log In’ button.
You can now edit your local website on your Windows computer.
When you’re done, don’t forget to stop the website from the Local WP software by clicking the ‘Stop site’ button.
Pro Tip: If you want to skip the login process, you can enable a one-click admin login in Local WP.
To do this, just go back to the Local WP dashboard and toggle the ‘One-click admin’ button until it says ‘On.’ Then, in the dropdown menu, select the admin user that can use this one-click login feature.
Alternative: Use WordPress Playground to Test Themes, Plugins, and More
WordPress Playground is an innovative tool that lets you experiment with WordPress directly in your web browser. It’s a virtual sandbox where you can try new WordPress themes, plugins, and features without affecting any real website.
WordPress Playground differs from a local WordPress environment in several key ways.
First, it doesn’t require installation on your computer and resets after each use, unlike permanent local setups. You can access it from any device with a browser, while local installations are tied to one computer.
While WordPress Playground is ideal for quick tests and learning, a local WordPress environment on your Windows computer offers more flexibility for long-term development projects.
For a detailed walkthrough, check out our guide on how to use WordPress Playground in your browser.
I’ve Installed WordPress on My Windows Computer, What Now?
Now that you have WordPress on your computer, here are some things you can do:
- Learn basic WordPress tips and tricks to use your site better.
- Try different WordPress themes to see how your site can look.
- Install and test must-have WordPress plugins to add new features to your site.
- Learn how to fix common WordPress errors on your own.
- Try different drag-and-drop page builders to make your site look nice.
- Learn how to reset the WordPress admin password on localhost to recover access to your site.
- Set up automated workflows to make managing your site easier.
- Learn about WordPress security to keep your site safe from hackers.
- Move your local WordPress site to a live server when you’re ready to share it with everyone.
We hope this article helped you learn how to install WordPress locally on a Windows computer. You may also want to see our article on how to install WordPress locally on a Mac computer and our ultimate guide to creating a WordPress staging site.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Olaf
I’ve used XAMPP for both Windows and Linux (Ubuntu). But your Local WP software caught my attention. I enjoy trying new things, so I’ll definitely give it a go as soon as I can and compare whether XAMPP or Local WP works better for me. What’s great is that Local WP also has an installer for Linux, specifically for Ubuntu. So, I can try it on both platforms.
Moinuddin Waheed
This is the best method for anyone who just want to learn and gets hands dirty before actually making a big debut in the WordPress industry.
I have used both the methods local by flywheel and wampserver for local installation of WordPress.
I have also used xampp server for wordpress installation and have experimented with many themes and plugins.
Konrad
Everything went smoothly, no issues with installation, thanks to the simple yet effective guide. Much appreciated!
WPBeginner Support
Glad to hear it worked for you
Admin
saajina
Hi. i am new to WordPress and i am trying to install WampServer. i downloaded WampServer from the link you mentioned above. and i tried to install after download , i choose english language after that i accepted the agreement. after that when i click on the next button to install a pop come by saying this installation can only work if the above vc++ package is installed ……. and please cancel the installation . i don’t know what to do next. please help me
WPBeginner Support
It would depend on which VC++ package is missing but you should be able to go to the Microsoft website and search for the Visual C++ library that WAMP needs to download and install it.
Admin
Jiří Vaněk
Thank you for the guide. Usually, I’ve always tested WordPress, for instance, on services like instawp.com, or I’ve set up everything myself in some virtualization tool on a Linux distribution. This looks quite simple.
WPBeginner Support
Glad you found this a helpful option
Admin
sieutonghop
Is Local WP website data guaranteed?
WPBeginner Support
I don’t think I understand what you’re asking, the files and your content are stored on your computer.
Admin
kiemtienspeed
If using Local WP, where will the website data be saved? Can you explain more clearly?
WPBeginner Support
The data would be stored in the database and the files would be saved in the site’s folder.
Admin
Jiří Vaněk
It’s practically the same as with WordPress on shared hosting. The database can then be exported via PHPMyAdmin, and data via an FTP client (FTP data is stored in a folder locally on the computer). Alternatively, a migration plugin can be used, just like on the server.
Koweh
Hi, please is the a video explainable for the above steps to install Install WordPress on Windows Using WampServer?
WPBeginner Support
Not at the moment but we will consider that for future videos!
Admin
M Sohail
this article is very helpful to me.
Thanks to all Team
WPBeginner Support
Glad to hear our post was helpful!
Admin
Danielle
Hi, very helpful article. How would you do this for an existing WordPress site? (I’m hosting on Hostinger and selected WordPress to construct my site). I already have a domain name and login for WordPress as well.
WPBeginner Support
To move a currently active site to a locally installed WordPress site, you would want to take a look at our guide below!
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-move-live-wordpress-site-to-local-server/
Admin
Joseph Lewinski
Fabulous instruction set. I installed WAMP Server simply and without a hitch. There was only one very minor “glitch” in your instructions, which were easy enough to figure out. When the instructions explain the installation of WordPress proper, it says, “Paste the ‘wordpress’ folder into the C:\wamp64\www folder.”, but the IMAGE shows you installing it into the C:\wamp64 folder. Like I said, easy enough to figure out (I used your WORDS, NOT the IMAGE).
THANK YOU for this! I’m subscribing NOW!
WPBeginner Support
Glad our guide was helpful and thank you for pointing that out!
Admin
Duncan Philps-Tate
Hi useful article. The only thing I’m aware of not seeing is anything about when to use Local WP and when to use WAMP. Now I’ve got a choice and I don’t know which is better for me.
Local WP sounds more straightforward and with less to do – but the test doesn’t say whether it also installs Apache, PHP, MySQL (which the WAMP text does say).
On the other hand, WAMP sounds like you have to do more getting it going (just compare the number of paragraphs it needs) but apart from (possibly) adding choice over Apache, PHP, MySQL, what does it give you that Local WP doesn’t?
Hope you can answer this easily.
WPBeginner Support
WAMP has been around longer and was our original recommendation, Local WP was created to make it easier for those just starting out and both will install what is needed to run a WordPress site on your computer.
Admin
Duncan Philps-Tate
Thanks – useful
Seyi
Thanks for this… really helpful
WPBeginner Support
Glad our article was helpful!
Admin
Kylie
I have installed wampserver and have a green light. When I right click I can not find any button called phpadmin. And when I type localhost/phpadmin in my browser I am getting this message.
The requested URL was not found on this server.
Apache/2.4.51 (Win64) PHP/7.4.26 Server at localhost Port 80
WPBeginner Support
You would want to left-click on WAMP’s icon for phpmyadmin, when you go through that route it should show what your URL is set to if it is not properly set under localhost.
Admin
Layla
I’ve done this and started work on one pc but this now needs to go for repair and will be away a while. If I am to install this on a second pc, what files do I need to transfer over so I can continue working on the same website on the other pc? Feeling a bit dumb here that I can’t figure it out myself.
WPBeginner Support
We would recommend following our guide below for transferring your site to a different computer to continue working on it. While the article is for live sites, the method should still work for your local installation.
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-move-live-wordpress-site-to-local-server/
Admin
Layla
Thank you so much! That worked perfectly and was so simple!
WPBeginner Support
Glad we could help!
Renata
I installed Wamp Server and C++ Redistributable 2012, 2013 and 2015 but when I try to open it it opens 4 black windows and then it shuts down. What should I do
WPBeginner Support
You would want to check in the bottom right with your hidden icons, WAMP does not have a window pop up by default but would add an icon there for your options with WAMP
Admin
Hosea
Straightforward and to the point guide. Followed it and achieved exactly what I wanted. Great and helpful write-up.
WPBeginner Support
Glad you found our guide helpful
Admin
Ibrahim Yusuff
Thanks for this invaluable guide. The issue of having is with the wamp download. The language is in French and each time i try to change it it goes back to french which i do not understand. i filled all the necessary information but to click on download it changes back to french. pls help me out on this
WPBeginner Support
They currently have a popup that is French when selecting the file to download but at the end of the first paragraph you should see a link to download directly without having to deal with the popup
Admin
prilla kobugabe
hello, i need some help. when i put this localhost/mysite/ in my web browser it responds negatively saying
“The requested URL was not found on this server.
Apache/2.4.41 (Win64) PHP/7.3.12 Server at localhost Port 80”
WPBeginner Support
If you have restarted your computer since installing WAMP you would want to ensure that WAMP is running as that is the most common cause of that specific error.
Admin
Ronnie Ferrer
You are legend guys! Thanks.
Francis Guchie
Thank you so much for this very nice article for beginners
prakoo
api-ms-win-crt-string-l1-1-0.dll is missing from your computer it shows error?
WPBeginner Support
You would want to ensure you install Visual C++ Pro for the most common solution to that error.
Admin
Melissa
Hi – I have WAMP installed locally on my Windows 10 machine running PHP version: 7.3.12. I want to upgrade to PHP 7.4 – do I need to reinstall WAMP or can I update PHP separately?
WPBeginner Support
You would want to click on the WAMP icon, and check under PHP, Version and depending on when you installed WAMP there should be the option to change versions by clicking on the version you want to use.
Admin
melissa
thanks – this was perfect advice!
Holly
Thanks for this article! It is the best and most straight-forward one I’ve come across, it’s very helpful and detailed. Keep up the great work! As a beginner, I really appreciate it.
WPBeginner Support
Glad you found our guide helpful
Admin
Jules Ivan
This is awesome! Thank you for making this article!
WPBeginner Support
Glad you found our guide helpful
Admin
Ben
While installing, I got a System error that says ”The code execution cannot proceed because MSVCR120.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem'”
How can I get this done please
WPBeginner Support
You need to install Visual C++ Redistributable that we link to in the article
Admin
Diya
I have installed wordpress in wamp and completed my first website. I have got another project now. So for the second website how should I start?Should I install wordpress again in a second “mysite2” folder?
WPBeginner Support
You can certainly do that for the most common method for creating a new site.
Admin
saheed
im receiving myssqld.exe- system error. how do i fix it
WPBeginner Support
You would want to ensure you installed Visual C++ Redistributable
Admin
Tom Bauer
WAMP64 will not install on a win7 64 machine.
WPBeginner Support
Unless we hear otherwise, you can install it on Windows 7 still, depending on the error you are running into, you may need to reach out to WAMP’s support.
Admin
Paul
Great instructions, thanks.
Everything installed fine, just have a problem this morning in trying to log into the browser. Every setting I have tried hasn’t worked.
I know I am being thick but could you confirm what I should be typing in the browser to access the program.
Thanks
WPBeginner Support
As we state in the article, it should be something similar to localhost/mysite. You would also want to ensure WAMP is running for the most common reason for that issue.
Admin
Peter
I was having similar issue as others. All went well until I got to the point with Apache not running. The issue was with Port 80 it was used by something else (not skype) so I went to Tools > Use other port than 80 I added the port 8080. Then it all worked however then when you want to access your website you can’t use localhost/mysite/ but localhost:8080/mysite/ since you changed the default port.
I didn’t find this in the comments. Maybe it will help someone.
WPBeginner Support
Thanks for sharing what helped you with this issue
Admin
Bas
Hi, thanks for the tutorial. I completed it, and it works like a charm. But now my question is: how do I get my “real” live website data in the local test environment? Is there some way to export that and import it into the local test environment?
WPBeginner Support
For that, you would want to take a look at our article below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-move-live-wordpress-site-to-local-server/
Admin
Mahima Pandey
here i have downloaded the wordpress file and done everything according to the given instruction . but lastly stuck in the localhost address bar
localhost/servername in the internet explore has to be typed to get to wordpress. but what to be type for google ,firefox. pls lhelp me with this its really urgent.
WPBeginner Support
You should be able to type that same address on any internet browser to see the site on your local computer. If you wanted to have your site found online, you would want to look into a domain and hosting provider.
Admin
Konstantinos Paturas
Thank you so much.
WPBeginner Support
You’re welcome
Admin
Armel
Thanks for this useful article. I successfully installed WordPress using Wamp. But, I get this message. “Installation failed: there has been a critical error on your website. Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions. Learn more about debugging in WordPress.”
Please, how can i fix it ?
WPBeginner Support
For that error, you would want to take a look at our article below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-fix-the-wordpress-white-screen-of-death/
Admin
Hoat Le
Dear WPBeginner Support;
I read your tut very carefully, and didn’t see you mention about VirtualHost in WampServer, so I don’t know if I have to create a Virtual Host for my test site.
WPBeginner Support
It can make URLs closer to what you would expect from a site but it is not a requirement and can be difficult for beginners to set up.
Admin
Shani
Hello,
Thank you so much for this article!
You’ve really helped me!
I’m interested to know now how to login to my site when I go on wordpress.
WPBeginner Support
If you can navigate to your WordPress site then you would add /wp-admin to the end, we cover a few more options in our article below that you can also try:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-find-your-wordpress-login-url/
Admin
mimi
I followed the process accordingly but when i click on the green WAMP icon in order to create a blank MySQL database nothing pops up
WPBeginner Support
The most common reason for that would be if you didn’t install the C++ redistributable if you have not done that.
Admin
Aminat
Thanks a lot, really helpful
WPBeginner Support
You’re welcome
Admin
Dav
Hi,
I have installed as per instructions but I am getting an error trying to log into
ERROR: Failed to set session cookie. Maybe you are using HTTP instead of HTTPS to access phpMyAdmin.
What am I doing wrong?
WPBeginner Support
That is likely a hiccup with either your browser cache or a browser addon, we would recommend clearing your cache or trying to use an incognito browser to see if that helps resolve the issue.
Admin
Dav
Thanks, that works
Nathan Zindikilani
Hi, thank you for the article. when i try to open my local host site i get the following error; There has been a critical error on your website.this is after pasting ‘wordpress’ to www folder. how may i solve this
WPBeginner Support
You would want to ensure the file is unzipped, if it is you may want to try reading a fresh WordPress download to the folder to see if there was a hiccup with your download.
Admin
Spyros
Hi, i need your help please, i follow all the steps in your detailed article but i saw a message “can’t select database We were able to connect to the database server (which means your username and password is okay) but not able to select the test_db database and some other that i believe you know”.
Thanks in advance!
WPBeginner Support
You may want to ensure there are no typos in the database name you set, it looks like it is not able to find a database with the name given.
Admin
Raheel
I am getting “Error establishing a database connection”
Any help here please
WPBeginner Support
For common solutions to that error, you would want to take a look at our article below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-fix-the-error-establishing-a-database-connection-in-wordpress/
Admin
Steve
Hi,
I have installed WAMP and created a WordPress site on my computer – thanks for your excellent guide. I used “mysite” as in your example to stay consistent with you as I built my software kingdom. Now that things are looking good, is it possible to simply rename the “mysite” folder (which is inside “www” to my preferred name, or is it more complicated than that? I’m trying to avoid starting over. Thanks
WPBeginner Support
We would recommend staying with the format you’ve set up already if possible and once you have hosting ready we would recommend taking a look at our guide below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-move-wordpress-from-local-server-to-live-site/
Admin
Francesco
Hi,
Can I use this system to test a previous back up I did via the server control panel?
I have a zip file which is a mirror of my directory on the server, including database and WP-admin file.
I would line to test if the backup I have works fine and possible run it on a precioys version of the WP
WPBeginner Support
You would want to check with the tool you are using for the specifics but it should allow you to do what you’re wanting.
Admin
Melissa T
Installed WAMP and WordPress – thanks for the wonderfully detailed instructions! So now it’s time to create the web site — is there a guide on wpbeginner for that?
thank you!
WPBeginner Support
There are many different types of sites so there is no complete guide but for a starting point you may want to take a look at our article below. Step 3 and beyond in the guide should help.
https://www.wpbeginner.com/guides/
Admin
kwestyon
First, thank you so much for the guide! It’s working. Second, is there a way wherein after you create the website, would there a way to view the site after you clicked the published button. Sorry for the dumb question.
WPBeginner Support
If you are logged in, in the top right you should be able to open the dropdown that has your site title, and there you should find a link to view your site.
Admin
Yomi
Hello,
If I install WordPress on a localhost based on the content of this blog, will I be able to use plugins like woocommerce, elementor, astra & kadence?
Thank you.
WPBeginner Support
Yes, installing locally you would be able to use plugins and page builders like those on your site
Admin
Lisa
Hi,
I am at the point where I would put localhost/mysite/ in the browser. I am getting the “404 not found error”.
I named the copy of wordpress to wamp the same and have double checked the address to see if it’s typed in correctly. This still happens, what am I doing wrong?
Thanks!
WPBeginner Support
You would want to ensure you’re not running into the Skype error where it is trying to use port 80 while WAMP is.
Admin
WPBeginner Support
Currently, the WAMP website is down which is why we’ve added a different link and included a note above and are working on updating this article as quickly as we are able
Admin