Unlock the Secret to Effortlessly Installing and Testing WordPress on Your Mac with This One Simple Trick!
Are you tired of struggling to install and test WordPress on your Mac? Do you find yourself spending hours tinkering with settings and configurations, only to end up with a broken installation?
Well, you’re not alone. Many developers and designers face the same challenge when it comes to working with WordPress on their Macs. But fear not - there is one simple trick that can make your life a whole lot easier.
In this article, we’ll show you how to effortlessly install and test WordPress on your Mac with the help of a powerful tool called Local by Flywheel. So let’s get started.
What is Local by Flywheel?
Local by Flywheel is a free, cross-platform application that makes it easy to develop and test WordPress sites on your computer. It’s designed to simplify the process of setting up a local development environment, and it comes with a wide range of features that make it a great choice for developers of all skill levels.
Here are just a few of the features that make Local by Flywheel such a powerful tool:
Easy WordPress installation: Local by Flywheel comes with a built-in WordPress installer that makes it super easy to set up a new site. This means you don’t have to worry about downloading and configuring WordPress manually - everything is taken care of for you.
Automatic SSL certification: SSL certification is essential for securing your WordPress site, but it can be a pain to set up manually. With Local by Flywheel, SSL certification is automatic, so you don’t have to worry about a thing.
Site cloning and backups: Need to create a copy of your site for testing or backup purposes? With Local by Flywheel, it’s as simple as clicking a button. You can also create manual backups of your site at any time.
Integration with popular tools: Local by Flywheel integrates seamlessly with popular tools like WP-CLI, Git, and Xdebug, making it a great choice for developers who prefer to work with these tools.
How to install WordPress with Local by Flywheel
Now that you know what Local by Flywheel is and what it can do, let’s take a look at how to install WordPress with this powerful tool.
Step 1: Download and install Local by Flywheel
The first step, of course, is to download and install Local by Flywheel. You can do this by heading to the Local by Flywheel website and clicking the “Download” button.
Once the download is complete, double-click the installer package to begin the installation process. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Step 2: Create a new WordPress site
With Local by Flywheel installed, it’s time to create a new WordPress site. To do this, open Local by Flywheel and click the “Create a new site” button.
From here, you’ll be prompted to enter a name for your site, choose a server location and select a WordPress version. Once you’ve entered all the required information, click “Continue” to proceed.
Step 3: Customize site settings
Now it’s time to customize your WordPress site settings. You can do this by clicking the “Customize” button on the site overview screen.
Here, you’ll be able to customize your site name, description, login credentials, and more. You can also enable SSL certification if you haven’t already done so.
Step 4: Install WordPress
With your site settings configured, it’s time to install WordPress. This is as simple as clicking the “Install WordPress” button on the site overview screen.
Local by Flywheel will take care of the rest, downloading and installing the latest version of WordPress for you.
Step 5: Test your WordPress site
With WordPress installed, you’re ready to start testing your new site. You can do this by clicking the “View Site” button on the site overview screen.
This will open your new WordPress site in your default web browser, allowing you to test your site’s functionality and design.
Conclusion
And that’s it! With Local by Flywheel, installing and testing WordPress on your Mac has never been easier.
By following the simple steps outlined in this article, you’ll be able to set up a local development environment and start testing your WordPress sites in no time.
So why not give Local by Flywheel a try today and see just how easy WordPress development can be?
WordPress is without a doubt the most popular blogging platform around. Not only is it a good piece of software but what makes it the best tool for the job is the awesome community that is associated with development of not only the WordPress core software, but also the various themes and plugins.
For all it’s simplicity, a lot of people still shy away from using WordPress because installing and maintaining it requires a certain level of technical knowhow. Specifically, the knowledge of installing and managing a PHP/MySQL stack and dealing with all the problems that can happen with a botched WordPress installation.
So, without further ado, we’ve written this post that’ll not only teach you how to install a complete PHP/MySQL stack on your Mac but also teach you to install and configure a fully functional WordPress install, all without leaving the comforts of your own computer.
MAMP, which stands for Mac-Apache-MySQL-PHP and is an all-in-one solution for people who do not want the hasle of installing and configuring the individual components on their system.
Follow the download link on the MAMP site to get hold of the latest DMG image and double click the image to mount it in the Finder. The download is a bit heavy at about 170 MB but it will be totally worth it … trust me.
One of the best things about OS X is the ease with which software can be installed. To install MAMP in your system just drag the MAMP icon to the Applications folder.
Double click the MAMP icon to launch control panel.
MAMP will automatically start the Apache web server and the MySQL database server and also launch an instance of your default browser to tell you that everything is working fine.
Keep this window open – We’ll need it in a while.
MAMP also bundles a version of phpMyAdmin along with the complete PHP/MySQL stack.
phpMyAdmin is a web based software to manage MySQL databases and we’ll use that to create a database for our WordPress install.
Click on the phpMyAdmin link in the browser, and when it loads up in your browser, give a name for the new database and press the Create button.
That was probably the easiest MySQL install I’ve ever done.
Now that we have all the infrastructure in place for WordPress, head over to the WordPress website and download the latest version of the software.
Unzip the file that you just downloaded into the htdocs folder inside the MAMP folder – “/Applications/MAMP/htdocs”.
You should now see a WordPress folder inside htdocs. Browse to this folder and open the file named “wp-config-sample.php” using a text editor.
In this file, find the lines which say:
Save the file and rename it to “wp-config.php” from “wp-config-sample.php”.
Now, open this address in your browser – http://localhost:8888/wordpress/wp-admin/install.php.
Follow the wizard and at the end of it, use the temporary password that the wizard created for you to login to your shiny new WordPress Install. That’s it ! You now have a fully functional WordPress install on your computer to play with all the themes and plugins that you want.
Sharninder is a programmer, blogger and a geek making a living writing software to change the world. His tech blog, Geeky Ninja, is where he shares his wisdom, for free !
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