In Part I of this WordPress test Environment on WAMPServer 2.0 Series, I’ve explained briefly on the process of installing WAMPServer into a Windows PC. If you just joined us, and have not gone through Part I, you might want to take a peek at it first. Of course, if you are familiar with the WAMPServer installation process, then you can just continue from here. So, lets get on with it.
Now that we’ve got WAMPServer running. We’ll need to create a database in MySQL before we can install WordPress. WordPress uses MySQL as its data store. If the word “Create a database” sounds a tad too techie for you, don’t fret. If you managed to install WAMPServer, then you’d surely be able to create the database for WordPress. It’s fairly easy, really.
All you need to do is just click on the phpMyAdmin menu item in the WAMPServer menu.Your browser will be launched and you’ll be presented with the phpMyAdmin web interface.
At this screen, just enter the database name -“WordPress” into the “Create New Database” field and click on the “Create” button. Don’t worry about the collation field. Leave it as it is.
You’ll next be presented with a screen saying the database has been created. That’s all there is to it. Your WordPress Database is now ready for the WordPress installation.
To install WordPress, first you’ll need to download the zip file from the WordPress download page. Once you’ve done that, just unzip the wordpress directory in the zip file into your WAMPServer’s Home Directory (c:wampwww, if you installed into c:wamp). If you’re looking for a setup.exe file, you will not find any. Don’t worry, WordPress installation is web based. Thus, there’ no setup.exe file to run. Once you’ve unzipped the wordpress folder successfully, just click on the “localhost” menu item in the WAMPServer menu. You could also just type http://localhost in your browser.
In your WAMPServer Homepage, you’ll see your wordpress folder listed under “Your Projects“. That’s the folder you’ve unzipped earlier. Whatever folder you create in the WAMPServer Home Directory will be displayed in the “Your Projects” section. Click on the “wordpress” folder.
You are then presented with a screen notifying that the wp-config.php file could not be found. It also recommends that the file be created manually. Well, we’re not going to do it manually. We’ll use the web interface to create the file. We’ll resort to the recommended manual method if the web method fails. So, click on the “Create .. through a Web Interface” link. You’ll then see another informative screen telling you about some database information which is required for the installation. Just go through the notification and then click on the “let’s go” link.
You are now presented with the database information screen. WordPress needs these information in order to generate the tables structure it needs into the database which was created earlier. If this is the first WordPress instance running in your system, then you can just follow the settings I’ve used here. If this is not the first wordpress instance in your system, you’d want to ensure that you use a different table prefix. Otherwise, you might destroy your existing WordPress installation.
Also note that the username and password used here is not suitable for a production system. You’d certainly be using a different username and password in a production system. Of course, if you want to use a different username and password in your test environment, you can do so. Just create your desired username and password in MySQL and use them in the required fields here.
Once you’ve filled in the database details, click on the Submit button. The next screen you see will inform you if the information you’ve provided are sufficient and correct. The installer will inform you if any of the information you’ve provided is incorrect or invalid. If everything is fine and dandy, you are just a few clicks away from completing the installation. Click on the “run the install” link.
You are now asked for you Blog title and an email address. Enter them as you wish. Don’t worry, these can be changed later from the WordPress Administration Pages. Once you’ve entered your Blog Title and Email, click on the “Install WordPress” button.
That’s it. You will then see the “Success!” screen. You have just successfully installed your very own WordPress in your machine. Please do remember to jot down the password which was generated by the system for you. Go and login and change the password immediately. If you forget the password, it’ll be troublesome.
There you have it. You now have a WordPress Test Environment with WAMPServer 2.0.
That wasn’t too hard was it? If you think that’s easy, it’s even easier to install in a web hosting environment where you have access to the CPanel Fantastico installer. I do hope this 2 part series have helped you out in some ways.
Should you have any problems or questions about WordPress or WAMPServer, just give me a buzz. I’ll try to help if possible.