How to Install and Configure XAMPP in Windows 10

Install XAMPP for Windows: If you are new to web development, it is always better to work on and test your websites in a local environment instead of a cloud environment. XAMPP which is an open source tool with cross platform compatibility can help you create and set up such a local environment to install and test plugins, themes, and designs among various other things.

XAMPP can be elaborated as for X- cross-platform, A- Apache, M- MySQL, P- PHP, P- Perl. The tool is designed by Apache Friends and provides you a simple and easy to use control panel to manage all the components you need. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at how to install and configure XAMPP on Windows 10.

How to Install and Configure XAMPP on Windows 10

Let’s take a look at how to install, configure XAMPP and how to install WordPress on XAMPP on Windows.

How to Install XAMPP

1. Download XAMPP

First off, you will need to download XAMPP from Apache Friend’s website right here. Download the version which is suitable for your needs. 

2. Install XAMPP

Once you download the program. The next step is to install and configure XAMPP on Windows 10. Double click on the installer and it shall open. Accept and press okay to any popup prompts that may appear.

Hit Next on the install page and on the next page select all the components you need. Some options are required which you can’t uncheck however you have granular control over what you wish to install. I recommend you install them all for ease of use purposes.

Once you choose what components you want, hit next and select an install path where you want the software to reside. I recommend putting it on an SSD if you have one.

3. Configure Bitnami for XAMPP

On the next page, you will get an option to install Bitnami which is an open source application which helps you install popular CMS like Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal, and others. If you wish to use it click on Learn more about Bitnami. If not, simply click next and ensure the checkbox is not ticked.

Allow the Installer to Finish Installing

Once the installer has completed installing the program. Close it and open XAMPP. On your first boot, it may prompt you to grant permission to use the local network. Allow it and move further. It will also ask you for the language you prefer between English and German, Select English.

4. Run XAMPP in Windows 10

A dashboard will open where you will be able to choose what services you want running. Hit start on all the services you require like Apache or MySQL. You will see the services turn into green boxes. The green running services denotes that you have successfully installed XAMPP on your Windows 10 PC.

You can test if all the services are running as intended by going to http://localhost in a browser of your choice. This will open the default page for XAMPP from where you can select PHPinfo to check the details of PHP or go to phpMyAdmin panel by selecting phpMyAdmin from the default page.

How to Configure XAMPP

While Configuring XAMPP you will come across a few different categories like Modules, Actions, and Port and to configure XAMPP properly you will need to customize these.

1. Start the service you want from actions. Once you start the action will become green which means the action is running properly.
2. You will see a Process ID (PID) and Port for every service you start. By default, Apache uses TCP/IP port 80 and 443, whereas MySQL prefers TCP/IP port 3306. (Sometimes, these ports cause clashes with other devices on the network)
3. The Admin button gives you administrative access to the dashboards and control panels of the services. 
4. The Config button on the top right allows you to configure which all modules automatically start when you open XAMPP.
   
   
5. If you want to know which of the services are currently accessing the network, their process ID and their TCP/IP port information you can get that from Netstart command.
6. You can get error logs from the Logs button.

The default settings that XAMPP provides should work for most people without a problem. Unless you are facing any issues, I recommend you stick with the default settings.

How to Create Local WordPress Site with XAMPP

If you want to design, develop or learn how to tweak a WordPress website before making it live to the world, a local platform like XAMPP is a great choice for you. Guide to install and create local Wordpress site in XAMPP:

1. Download WordPress Installer from WordPress.org
2. Once the file downloads, extract it somewhere on your system.
3. Open the folder where you installed XAMPP and navigate to the htdocs folder. Open it.
4. Make a new folder in htdocs and name the folder whatever you wish to name your site.
5. Copy the contents of the extracted Wordpress files/folder which you extracted in step 2 and paste it to the folder you made in htdocs.
6. Close everything and open a browser, whatever you prefer. Paste localhost/xyz in the URL bar. (Replace xyz with whatever you named your website)
7. You will be greeted with a welcome page for WordPress where you will select a language. Read the page and click let’s go.
8. Now we need to create a database so we can install the WordPress site.
   
   To Create a Database:
   
   Open a browser and type: localhost/phpmyadmin
   From the left hand side, select new and give your database a name (Give the name that you are going to give to your website)
   Close the window and come back to WordPress installation.
9. The WordPress installer will ask you for a database name, type in the same name you gave to your database.
10. Under username type root and leave the password field empty.
    
    
11. Click submit and run the installer
12. On the next screen, you will be asked to put in a username and password along with some other details. Fill those and install WordPress.
13. Once installed, log in with your credentials. Your site will be available on Localhost/xyz (replace xyz with whatever name you gave to your site)

Ending Note

We hope our guide here helped you install and configure XAMPP on Windows 10. If you face any issue at any step, feel free to talk to us in the comments below and we shall certainly help you out with it. If you want any more guides on any particular subject, let us know in the comments as well and we shall certainly help you with it.