Are you excited to dive into the world of WordPress but unsure about investing in a domain and hosting right away?
Good news! You can start learning WordPress for FREE! Local WP allows you to begin your WordPress journey locally, right on your computer, BEFORE you commit to buying a domain and hosting plan.
In this beginner-friendly guide, I’ll walk you through setting up a local WordPress environment, allowing you to explore, experiment, and learn without the need for a domain or hosting.
Why Start Locally?
Before we jump into the steps, let’s understand the benefits of starting locally:
Cost-Free Exploration: Building a website locally doesn’t require any financial investment initially. You can experiment and learn at your own pace.
Risk-Free Learning: Since your local environment is isolated from the internet, there’s no risk of your work being accessible to the public. You can make mistakes, try different themes and plugins, and learn without worrying about the world seeing your work in progress. You can use it like a digital playground and try things you might be too afraid to try on your “real” site.
Setting Up Local WordPress: Step-by-Step Guide
Follow these steps to set up WordPress locally using the popular software Local WP:
Step 1: Download and Install Local WP
Local WP is a free, user-friendly software that allows you to create and manage WordPress sites locally. Here’s how to get started:
Download Local WP from the website.
Install the software on your computer following the instructions provided on the website.
Step 2: Create a New Site
Open Local WP and click on the “Create a New Site” button.
Enter a name for your site and choose your preferred environment. I suggest Preferred for beginners. If you want to select your PHP version, Web Server and Database, then choose custom. Select the default settings- that’s what most managed WordPress live sites will use or configure the web server, PHP version, and database type (if you don’t know what those are, don’t worry, just choose preferred and move on).
Click on the “Continue” button.
Step 3: Set Up Your Site
Choose the desired WordPress username, password, and email
Click on the “Add Site” button to create your site.
Step 4: Start Your Site
Once the site is created, click on the “Start Site” button to launch it.
Local WP will start the web server and database services automatically.
Step 5: Access Your Site
From the Local app, click WP Admin, you’ll be taken to your local WP dashboard that looks and acts identically to a live WP dashboard.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the WordPress setup process.
Step 6: Explore and Learn
Congratulations! You now have a fully functional WordPress site running locally on your computer using Local WP. You can log in to the WordPress dashboard and start exploring themes, plugins, and content creation without the fear of making mistakes, breaking your live site, or the pressure of having an audience.
Recommended Themes for Local Development: Hello Elementor and Astra
For a beginner-friendly local development experience, consider using themes like Hello Elementor or Astra. These themes are lightweight, versatile, and work seamlessly with the Elementor page builder, which by now you all know I love. Hello Elementor, in particular, is designed to be a minimalistic starting point, and work seamlessly with Elementor.
Final Thoughts
Starting your WordPress journey locally is a fantastic way to learn and experiment without committing to hosting costs right away. As you become more comfortable with WordPress, you can transition to a live website when you’re ready to share your creations with the world. Enjoy your exploration of the world of WordPress development!
Happy Website Building!
