Perplexing Guide to Setting Up WordPress on Windows

If you are feeling perplexed about how to setup WordPress on Windows, you are not alone! Luckily, WordPress is an open-source website creation platform used by millions of websites worldwide, and you can experiment with its features via a local development environment.

Tools Required

1. Web Server Software
2. PHP
3. MySQL Database Server
4. phpMyAdmin
5. WordPress Installer

To set up WordPress on Windows, you need to obtain the necessary tools mentioned above.

Web Server Software

A web server is software that handles HTTP requests and serves files over the internet. To set up WordPress, you can choose between several web server software like Apache, Nginx, and Microsoft IIS. Apache is the most popular and widely used for WordPress development.

PHP

Since WordPress is developed in PHP, you need to install it to run WordPress on your local machine. PHP is a server-side scripting language used for web development.

MySQL Database Server

MySQL is a free and open-source database management system required for WordPress installation. It stores all the data associated with WordPress such as posts, comments, and other content.

phpMyAdmin

phpMyAdmin is a web-based database management tool used to manage MySQL databases easily.

WordPress Installer

You can download the latest version of WordPress from their official website for free.

Steps to Setup WordPress on Windows

1. Install the Web Server Software.
2. Download and Install PHP.
3. Install MySQL Database Server.
4. Install phpMyAdmin.
5. Install WordPress.

Follow these steps and become a WordPress ninja!

Step 1: Install Web Server Software

Apache is the recommended web server software for WordPress development. You can download Apache HTTP Server from the official website and install it in a directory on your local machine.

Step 2: Install PHP

After installing Apache, download and install PHP from the official website. Choose your version of PHP and download the zip file. Extract the PHP zip file and move it to the directory where Apache is installed. Add the PHP directory path to the Apache configuration file. The configuration file is located under the conf directory where Apache is installed. The file name will be httpd.conf. Add the following lines to the configuration file:

LoadModule php7_module C:/php/php7apache2_4.dll
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php .php
PHPIniDir "C:/php”

Save the configuration file and restart Apache.

Step 3: Install MySQL Database Server

Download and install MySQL server from the official website. During the installation, enter the root password and select the “MySQL Server” option.

Step 4: Install phpMyAdmin

Download phpMyAdmin from the official website and extract it in the directory where Apache is installed. Rename the extracted directory to “phpMyAdmin”.

Open the configuration file of Apache and add the following lines:

Alias /phpmyadmin "C:/Apache24/phpMyAdmin/"

   Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
   AllowOverride all
   Require all granted
 

Save the configuration file and restart Apache.

Step 5: Install WordPress

Download and extract the latest version of WordPress from their official website in the directory where you installed Apache. Create a new database for WordPress by logging in to phpMyAdmin. Click the “Databases” tab and enter a name for your new database. Click “Create.” Next, create a user for your WordPress database by clicking on the “Users” tab and then the “Add user” button. Enter a username and password for your new user, then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Create” button. Choose the database you created earlier from the drop-down menu and click “Submit”.

Open the wp-config-sample.php file located in the WordPress directory and enter the details of the database you just created. Once you have added the database details, save the file and rename it to wp-config.php.

Open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost/wordpress. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

Conclusion

Voila! With these steps, you have successfully set up WordPress on your Windows machine. You can experiment with themes and plugins without affecting your live website and become a WordPress pro. Also, you can do all of this without spending a dime on website hosting and maintenance.