stage presence marketing
local wordpress installation tutorial
Setting Up a Local Installation of WordPress: A Stage Presence Marketing Tutorial
So, you want to work with WordPress without revealing your efforts on the web for the world to see? Well, youre in luck, sunshine. Annies here to help walk you through the process of setting up a local installation of WordPress on your own computer, tucked securely away from the webs prying eyes, on which you can experiment and play to your hearts content. And I bring visual aids!
Overview of the Whole Process
Heres where were going over the next half-hour or so: 1. 2. 3. 4. Install MAMP to get your local server up and running. Create a new database, using MAMP, to support your WordPress install. Download and unzip the WordPress files to your local directory. Install WordPress.
Thats it! Sounds ridiculously easy, right? Well. It sort of ... is. Which is not to say mistakes cant happen. So, lets go slow and avoid those altogether, mkay?
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Step One: Installing MAMP
Lets get started by opening your browser and going to the MAMP website.
Click the MAMP download now link on the left and save the DMG file to your Downloads folder.
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MAMP, by the way, stands for Mac Apache MySQL PHP. This is the application that gives you access to the programs youll need to install WordPress on your computer. If youre familiar with hosting companies that use Fantastico, this part of the process is built in to your hosting servers already. When its finished downloading, open the file to mount the disk, then double click on the disk image. A window should pop up showing several files. Drag the MAMP item into your Applications. (Dont worry about the MAMP PRO file.) Open MAMP from your Applications in Finder. (Path: /Applications/MAMP/MAMP.app) (Continued on next page)
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Step Two: Configure MAMP Settings
Now, were going to set up MAMP so you can work with it to set up your database in step #3. When MAMP opens, it may launch a new window or tab in your default browser, but itll definitely start up a small square pop-up window, much like the following screenshot depicts:
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local wordpress installation tutorial
Lets work first with that smaller pop-up box first (and if you dont get the browser window, no worries): NB: You might be prompted for your admin password by your computer here. It depends on the settings in existence for the processes at work. Dont be surprised either way. 1. 2. Click Preferences. Click Ports.
Make sure the defaults are correctly set: Apache at 8888 and MySQL at 8889 and click OK.
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3.
Click the PHP tab next. Select 5.3.6 for your PHP version. Click OK.
4.
Next, click the Apache tab to select the document root. (Continued on next page.)
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local wordpress installation tutorial
What should you use for the root? I find its easiest to create and use a dedicated folder in your Users/ USERNAME path. Here, Ive shown the Users/anniesisk/Sites path, where Sites is the folder where the install will go. Whatever you use, WRITE IT DOWN. Youll need it later. 5. Click OK to save your Preferences. Take a deep breath, and lets move on to the last task before the fun stuff starts: creating a database!
Step Three: Create a Database
Not much to this one at all: 1. 2. Click Start Servers from the MAMP window. This page will load in your web browser (if it hasnt already):
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3.
Click on phpMyAdmin at the top; this page will load:
4. 5.
In the text box beneath Create new database, enter the name (e.g., wordpress). Click create.
Now, on to the WordPress installation!
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local wordpress installation tutorial
Step Four: Prepare to Install WordPress
If youre familiar with the long-form WordPress installation process (i.e., without the handy-dandy Fantastico installation script, using FTP instead), these next two steps will be easy-peasy for you. If youre not, dont worry. Its truly not that hard at all. Ready? Deep breath, and ... 1. Go to WordPress.org and download the latest iteration of WordPress in zip format to your hard drive. 2. Unzip the zip file. 3. Drag the wordpress file contents to your document root that you set up in Step 2, task 4. 4. Now, in the root directory, look for the file named wp-config-sample.php. Open it up in a text editor. NB: Its very important that you use a plain text editor. TextEdit, the default text editor that ships on all modern Macs, will do nicely, BUT you must make sure you have it set to default to plain text file format instead of RTF. 5. Now, make the following changes to the file: (Continued on next page)
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For DB_NAME use the name you assigned to the database when you created it in the previous step. For DB_USER and DB_PASSWORD both, use root. And for DB_HOST use localhost:8889. 6. Save the file, and close it. 7. In Finder, rename the file to wp-config.php. Just one more step! (You know the drill ... next page!)
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Step Five: Install WordPress
Last step! Just a wee bit more to do, and then you can start having some real fun ... 1. Your browser should still be open, and MAMP running. Fire up a new tab or window and navigate to http:// localhost:8888/DATABASENAME/wp-admin/install.php. DATABASENAME, obviously, is the name you gave your database back in Step 3, task 4.
2. Follow the fairly simple instructions there and ... 3. Youre done! Now, just log in to your WordPress dashboard at http://localhost:8888/DATABASENAME/wplogin.php, and have a ball.
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Other Resources That Might Be Helpful
Everything should go smoothly with this process. But if it doesnt, dont fret. There are some very helpful resources out there you might want to check out. Your first stop should be the Codex. The official help files for WordPress, however, may not have the most recent or freshly updated information. If you dont find your answer in the Codex, try the WordPress forums on local host installs. There you can search up past problems and solutions, or post your own. The WP community is extraordinarily helpful and committed; chances are high youll find someone there who can offer you some assistance. And, of course, if you need a little extra assistance, just drop a line to Annie at Stage Presence Marketing.
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