The time has come for you to start your own website. But since building a website from scratch is way too complicated and slow, naturally, you’re looking at WordPress for a solution. That’s hardly a surprise, considering more than half a billion websites already use it.

Still, you’re not ready to share it with the world. You don’t want it online until all bugs have been dealt with. Or you simply want to test plugins and designs before committing to anything. Either way, you’re facing a common beginner’s problem: how to experiment safely without breaking a real website or spending money on hosting just to practice.

That’s where learning to install WordPress on localhost comes in.

Localhost lets you set up WordPress on your computer—no domain name, hosting, or pressure. It’s the ideal sandbox for beginners. You can design, test, break things, fix them again, and repeat as many times as you like. It’s private, it’s free, and it’s 100% risk-free.

To help you out, we created a step-by-step guide on how to install WordPress on localhost, how to configure it, and what issues you may face while operating it. Whether you want to build your first blog or do some tests, this setup is your perfect starting point.

What Is Localhost and Why Should You Use It?

Before getting down to business with installing WordPress on localhost, let’s address the obvious. What is a localhost, and why is it such a game-changer, especially for both beginners and experienced website developers?

Localhost is essentially your own computer. To put it more accurately, it’s a local server environment that mimics a live web server. You can run anything on it without any internet connection or a web hosting plan. This way, you can do your initial testing on websites, applications, or database sets privately.

In our experience, a common use is duplicating an existing website to see how a particular plugin or update will affect it. This way, you can keep your business operating while you conduct extensive tests. Finally, you can implement only the changes that will improve the website’s performance.

Moreover, learning, testing, and experimenting are not as scary and time-pressing when you are offline.

On localhost, your WordPress site is only visible to you. You can break things, delete stuff, and make all the bold designer decisions you want. At the end of the day, you will be the only one who knows. It won’t lead to downtime, to bad user experience, to worse performance, and, perhaps most importantly, to ruining your SEO score.

This makes it the perfect environment for:

• Trying out new plugins and themes
• Learning the ins and outs of how WordPress works
• Adding custom CSS and learning how to manipulate pre-built themes to fit your niched needs
• Take your time building a website before you start paying a host

These options make installing WordPress on Localhost an outstanding solution for both beginners and seasoned developers. But since the latter already know how to do all of that, let’s give the newbies a more extensive background.

Requirements to Install WordPress on Localhost

Before you install WordPress on localhost, you need to set up a few basic tools. The good news is that everything you need is either free or already on your computer. So, the entire operation won’t cost you a dime.

For WordPress to run on your computer, you must ensure it feels like home. In other words, you must recreate the server environment that WordPress typically uses.

So, first of all, you will need a local server stack. This is essentially a real web server simulator software. It includes:

• The web server (typically Apache or Nginx)
• A Database (In our experience, most often MySQL or sometimes MariaDB)
• and the script language that WordPress runs on (PHP)

Next, you must download the latest version of WordPress, preferably from their website. Make sure to select the “Download and install it yourself option.”

Finally, in our experience, it’s best to secure a code editor. This will help you customize themes or code much more easily. If you don’t have preferences, we’d suggest VS Code, but it really doesn’t matter which one you choose.

The Easier Solution

Now, this may sound a bit overwhelming. Luckily, there are some beginner-friendly tools that bundle everything you need. Which one you choose depends on your operating system and knowledge.

Regardless of which one you choose, they all come with a built-in Control panel. From there, you can turn on and off your server and manage your databases.

System Requirements

Just like with any other software, for your computer to handle WordPress it needs to have some minimum resources. The good news is that all modern computers can handle installing WordPress on localhost without any problems. Still, before you start, make sure you have:

• 4GB RAM or more
• 5GB of free disk space or more
• Admin permissions (you will be installing server-level software after all)

Once your stack is ready, it’s go time. Let’s install WordPress on localhost.

Step-by-Step Guide to Install WordPress on Localhost

When your server stack is ready, it’s time to bring WordPress to life on your local machine.

Step 1: Install a Local Server Environment

As we already discussed, your first step will be to install a local server on your computer. The local server will depend on your operating system and preferences, but there are a few differences in how to proceed. So, let’s use XAMPP as an example.

First, go to the official XAMPP website and download the version that corresponds to your OS. Next, run the installer and follow the setup instructions. In our expertise, it’s best to leave the settings as default for your first setup. Especially those you don’t completely understand.

Once installed, open the XAMPP Control Panel. From there, start Apache and MySQL. When both modules are green, your server is up and running.

Step 2: Create a Local Database

Next, you’ll need to create a blank database for your WordPress site. Go to your browser and type http://localhost/phpmyadmin.

–> Click “new” on the left-hand sidebar.

–> Choose a database name you’ll remember. Based on our expertise, we suggest using something simple, like “wordpress_local.”

–> If you don’t understand the settings, we suggest leaving them as they are and hitting “Create.”

That’s it. No need for spreadsheets, users, or anything else. WordPress will do that automatically during installation.

Step 3: Download and Extract WordPress

Time to get to WordPress itself. Head over to the official WordPress download page

–> Click “Download WordPress” to get the latest version as a ZIP file

–>Extract the folder from the ZIP archive

–>Move that folder into your local server’s root directory:

(For XAMPP, that’s usually C:\xampp\htdocs\)

You can rename the folder to anything you want—this name will become your local site’s address. We suggest going for the name of your website, e.g., http://localhost/mywebsite.

Step 4: Run WordPress Installer

Once you have the WordPress ZIP file, it’s time to install the website builder.

–> Open your browser and go to http://localhost/your-folder-name

–> Choose your language and click Continue.

–> Time to answer a few database questions

1. Database Name – the one you created earlier (e.g., wordpress_local)
2. Username – in our experience, it’s usually root
3. Password – we suggest leaving this one blank for now
4. Database host – localhost
5. Table Prefix – you can choose anything, but we suggest leaving it as wp_

–> Click Submit and run installation.

Now, all you have to do is set up the site details, like

• Site Title
• Admin username and password
• email

Once you’re done, hit Install WordPress and wait a moment. Soon, a success message will appear on your screen.

Step 5: Log Into Your WordPress Dashboard

It’s time to get to your WordPress. Go to http://localhost/your-folder-name/wp-admin and log in your admin credentials.

You now have a fully functional, local WordPress site—perfect for designing, testing, and learning without spending a cent or risking your live content.

Now, this is just the short version for a quick start. If you want to dig a little deeper into how to install WordPress, check out our detailed tutorial on getting started with WordPress.

In our experience, everything usually goes smoothly. But since that’s our job, we’ve seen quite a bit of frustrating issues that may occur every step of the way.

While we did some quick troubleshooting, let’s expand further on the common issues people face when trying to install WordPress on Localhost.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting Tips

With technology, you never know when things may go sideways. Indeed, some issues are far more common than others, and we will focus on those. Luckily, we are trying to install WordPress on localhost; there are quick fixes to the 5 most common issues that may occur.

Apache or MySQL Won’t Start

This is one of the most common hiccups when using tools like XAMPP or WAMP. Most commonly, another program on your computer already uses the port that Apache needs. This is usually port 80 or 443. Typically, Microsoft messenger apps like Skype (which won’t be a problem Starting May 1st.) and Teams hot these ports. Sometimes, it’s your VPN.

So, your first step is to close these programs and cease all their operations. However, if the issue persists, you have to go deeper.

–> Open XAMPP Control Panel

–> Click Config > Apache (httpd.conf)

–> Change Listen 80 to Listen 8080

–> Save and restart Apache.

Finally, access your site via http://localhost:8080/your-folder-name

Database Connection Error

Sooner or later, you will see the dreaded “Error establishing a database connection” during setup. This means WordPress can’t talk to your database, and thus, it can’t function properly.

To fix the problem, make sure MySQL is running. Double-check the database name you entered. It needs to be an exact fit.

Finally, try to enter manually with

Username: root

Password: (leave blank)

Database Host: localhost

If the issue persists, make sure you actually created a database in phpMyAdmin. You’d be surprised how often someone thinks they created a database when, in fact, the database is nowhere to be found.

The White Screen of Death

There are worse things than having your database missing. For example, if you write your localhost URL, you will see just a white screen.

This one is a bit more complicated, as it can be rooted in three distinct places:

• A plugin or theme is throwing a fatal error
• Your site has run out of memory
• A key file is missing or corrupted
• PHP errors are being hidden instead of shown

So, what can you do?

Your first task is to check your site’s wp-config.php file (inside your WordPress folder). Since WordPress hides errors by default, you have to change that. Find the line:

define(‘WP_DEBUG’, false);

Replace it with

define(‘WP_DEBUG’, true);

define(‘WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY’, true);

Reload the page. You should now see a detailed error message instead of a blank screen. That message usually tells you what caused the issue.

If the error refers to a specific plugin or if you recently installed one, you must disable it at once.

• Go to wp-content/
• Rename the plugins folder to something like plugins-old
• Reload your site

If WordPress starts working, one of your plugins is the problem. You can reactivate them one by one to find the culprit.

Corrupt or incompatible themes can also trigger this.

• Navigate to wp-content/themes/
• Rename your active theme’s folder
• WordPress will automatically fall back to a default theme like Twenty Twenty-Four (if it’s installed)

Sometimes, WordPress runs out of memory. So:

• Open your wp-config.php file
• Add this line before the final ?> (if there is one):

define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘256M’);

If all else fails, look in your local server’s PHP error log:

• For XAMPP: Check C:\xampp\php\logs\php_error_log
• For MAMP: Use the built-in log viewer

Scroll to the latest entry to see what went wrong. Often, it will point to a specific file and line of code that’s misbehaving.

While the White Screen of Death is annoying, it’s almost always fixable. So don’t panic. Just find the reason and fix it.

WordPress Is Downloading a File Instead of Loading

This one is really panic-inducing. You open your local site, and instead of launching WordPress, your browser starts downloading a .php file. Relax. This is not a virus or a Trojan. Your server simply can’t process the PHP.

So, just check if Apache is running. If so, ensure that PHP is installed and configured correctly. Most local stacks like XAMPP and MAMP do it automatically, so it’s most probably an Apache problem.

If, however, you installed it manually, double-check your Apache config files.

Site Not Found at localhost/your-folder-name

If you follow all the steps. Apache and MySQL are running. WordPress is in the right folder (or at least you think so), yet you still can’t find your website. When you type http://localhost/your-folder-name, nothing happens. You either get a 404 error, a directory listing, or just a frustrating “This site can’t be reached” message.

In our experience, this problem usually occurs due to mixed folder placement or bad server configuration.

So, your first job is to make sure WordPress is in the correct folder. Each local server has a “root directory” where websites need to live.

• For XAMPP: C:\xampp\htdocs\
• For MAMP: /Applications/MAMP/htdocs/
• For WampServer: C:\wamp64\www\

You should have a folder for your project inside this directory. For example, C:\xampp\htdocs\mywebsite\

Inside \mywebsite, you should see WordPress files like wp-config-sample.php, index.php, and the wp-content folder. So, firstly, make sure all files are not double nested (e.g., htdocs\wordpress\wordpress\index.php). If so, this may be the cause of the problem.

If all is fine, the problem may be in the cache. So, either try in Incognito Mode or delete your browser cache.

If that’s not it, check if all your site’s content is in the folder. It should contain:

• index.php
• wp-config-sample.php
• wp-admin/
• wp-content/
• wp-includes/

If any of them are missing, re-download WordPress and replace the folder.

Hopefully, you will never have to do any of these fixes, and your WordPress will work just fine. That’s how it usually goes, at least in our experience. So, now you can play around, create your website, or test new plugins without paying for hosting. This will change, however, when you’re ready to go live.

Ready To Go Live?

After building and testing your site locally, you’ll eventually want to share it with the world. That’s when it’s time to move from your localhost setup to a live server—and choosing the right hosting provider becomes crucial.

While WordPress will run just about anywhere, not all hosting environments are created equal. What you need now is speed, security, and reliability to support your goals.

That’s why you need HostArmada.

Our cloud-based infrastructure is designed to deliver lightning-fast speed, so the site you tested on localhost will run just as fast (if not faster) once it’s live.

Furthermore, we ensure your website will be just as safe as if it were on your computer. We take care of malware scanning, firewalls, and automatic backups so you can focus on content and design—not cybersecurity.

More importantly, our cloud-based infrastructure allows us to offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Your website will never be down as long as it’s with us.

Finally, you won’t need to fumble with manual uploads or database connections. HostArmada offers an easy, one-click WordPress install to get your site online. And if you already built your dream site on localhost, we will migrate it for free—no headaches, no downtime, and no need to touch FTP.

So, are you ready to go live?