Are you a website owner or developer? Here’s how to perplexingly create a WordPress website offline!

What is a Local WordPress Site?

A local WordPress site is like a website that runs on your computer instead of the internet, like a ghost website! Not quite a website, but almost, just like Schrödinger’s cat.

Creating a WordPress site offline (locally) on your computer allows you to experiment with themes, plugins, and site functionality without affecting your live site. So, it’s like being in a parallel universe where you can break the rules of your site without getting in trouble.

Creating a local WordPress site

There’s no one way to create a WordPress website offline, so why not try one of these two ways?

1. Using Desktop server apps

Desktop server apps are a development tool that allows you to create a smooth and optimized WordPress website with a simple installation process. The following is the process on how to make a WordPress website offline:

Step 1: Download Desktop Server

The first step to creating a local WordPress site is to download Desktop server, which is free to download from the website. You will receive a download link, and it will be in a .zip file format. After downloading, double-click on the file, and the installation process will begin.

Step 2: Install Desktop Server

Once you finish the download, double-click on the file, and the Desktop Server installation process will begin. Select the language, and then click the next button to proceed to the installation wizard.

Step 3: Configure Desktop Server

After installing Desktop Server, Click on the Desktop server icon to configure desktop server. Click on ‘create a new development site’, give it a name, and click the next button. Then, select your preferred language and the WordPress version you prefer to use.

Step 4: Start Your Site

Once you’ve configured your site, you can start working on your site by clicking on the “Start Site” button in Desktop Server.

2. Using Local server apps

Local server apps are a server software that you can install on your computer to mimic a web hosting environment. Here’s how to create a WordPress website offline using a local server:

Step 1: Download and Install a Local Server

The first thing to do is to download and install a local server on your computer. The most popular local server software is XAMPP, which is available free of charge. Download XAMPP from the Apache Friends website, and follow the installation process.

Step 2: Create a Database

Create a new database using phpMyAdmin, a tool that comes with XAMPP. Open XAMPP and click on the “Admin” button next to MySQL. This will open the phpMyAdmin page in your browser. From here, click on the “Databases” tab, and create a new database

Step 3: Download and Install WordPress

Download WordPress from the official website and extract the files to the htdocs folder in XAMPP’s directory. The default location of the htdocs folder on Windows is C:\xampp\htdocs.

Step 4: Configure wp-config.php

Before installing WordPress, you need to configure the wp-config.php file. In the WordPress folder, locate the wp-config-sample.php file and rename it to wp-config.php. Then, open it up in a text editor and enter the database name, username, password, and localhost.

Step 5: Install WordPress

Once you’ve configured the wp-config.php file, you can install WordPress by typing “localhost” into your browser and following the installation wizard. Fill in the necessary information like site title, email, username, and password.

Conclusion

Creating a WordPress website offline allows you to experiment with themes, plugins, and site functionality without affecting your live site. By following the methods mentioned above, you can learn how to make a WordPress website offline. You can choose to create a website using Desktop Server apps or by using Local server apps like XAMPP. The procedure is simple and straightforward. Once you are done with creating an offline website, you can consider moving it to a live server to make it accessible to the public.