What is a Local Environment?
Before building anything, you need WordPress running on your own computer. This is called a local development environment.
You do not need internet, a live server, or paid hosting to develop WordPress locally. Everything runs on your machine — PHP, MySQL, and a web server.
Why LocalWP?
There are multiple options for local development:
|
Tool |
Pros |
Cons |
|
LocalWP |
One click
setup, beginner friendly, made for WordPress only |
Only for
WordPress |
|
Laragon |
Lightweight,
fast, supports multiple projects |
Manual
WordPress setup |
|
XAMPP |
Popular,
widely documented |
Old UI, more
manual work |
|
Docker |
Most
professional, closest to production |
Complex for
beginners |
|
DevKinsta |
Great UI,
made for WordPress |
Tied to
Kinsta hosting |
Since you already use Laragon for Laravel, you have two options:
Option A — Use LocalWP (recommended for this course, zero config)
Option B — Use your existing Laragon setup
We will go with LocalWP because it is purpose-built for WordPress, has a one-click install, and handles everything automatically. No manual database creation, no manual wp-config.php setup.
Step 1 — Download LocalWP
Go to: https://localwp.com
Click "Download" — it will ask for your name and email (optional, you can skip it). Download the Windows installer.
The file will be something like local-6.x.x-windows.exe — around 400-500MB.
Step 2 — Install LocalWP
Run the installer. The installation is straightforward:
Run .exe installer
↓
Accept license agreement
↓
Choose install location (default is fine)
↓
Click Install
↓
Launch LocalWP
Step 3 — Create Your First WordPress Site
Once LocalWP opens, you will see this screen:
+----------------------------------+
| |
| No sites yet. |
| |
| [ + Create a new site ] |
| |
+----------------------------------+
Click "Create a new site".
Step 3.1 — Site Name
What's your site's name?
[ streamvault ]
[ Continue ]
Type streamvault and click Continue.
Step 3.2 — Choose Environment
You will see two options:
○ Preferred (recommended)
○ Custom
Select "Preferred" — this automatically picks the best PHP version, web server, and MySQL version. Click Continue.
Step 3.3 — Setup WordPress
WordPress Username: [ admin ]
WordPress Password: [ admin ]
WordPress Email: [ admin@test.com ]
Fill in these credentials — these are your WordPress admin login details. Keep it simple for local development:
Username → admin
Password → admin
Email → admin@test.com
Click "Add Site".
Step 4 — Wait for Setup
LocalWP will now automatically:
✓ Download WordPress
✓ Create a MySQL database
✓ Configure wp-config.php
✓ Run the WordPress installer
✓ Set up SSL certificate
This takes about 1-2 minutes. You will see a progress bar.
Step 5 — Your Site is Ready
Once done, you will see your site dashboard inside LocalWP:
+----------------------------------------+
| streamvault |
| |
| Site Domain: streamvault.local |
| PHP Version: 8.2.0 |
| MySQL: 8.0.16 |
| Web Server: Nginx |
| |
| [ WP Admin ] [ Open Site ] |
| |
+----------------------------------------+
Two buttons matter:
- "Open Site" — opens your website frontend in browser
- "WP Admin" — opens the WordPress admin dashboard
Step 6 — Open Your Site
Click "Open Site" — your browser will open https://streamvault.local
You will see a basic WordPress site with the default theme running on your machine.
Click "WP Admin" — your browser will open https://streamvault.local/wp-admin
Login with:
Username → admin
Password → admin
You are now inside the WordPress Dashboard.
Understanding What LocalWP Created
LocalWP created a full WordPress installation on your machine. Let's see where the files are.
In LocalWP, click on your site → click "Go to site folder" button (or right click the site name).
You will see this folder structure:
streamvault/
├── app/
│ └── public/ ← This is your WordPress root
│ ├── wp-admin/
│ ├── wp-includes/
│ ├── wp-content/
│ │ ├── themes/
│ │ ├── plugins/
│ │ └── uploads/
│ ├── wp-config.php
│ └── index.php
├── conf/ ← Server config files (nginx, php)
└── logs/ ← Error logs
Your entire WordPress installation lives inside app/public/. This is the folder you will open in VS Code.
Step 7 — Open in VS Code
In LocalWP, right click your site name → "Open site shell" opens a terminal pointed at your site.
Or simply open VS Code and open the folder:
File → Open Folder → navigate to your LocalWP site → app/public
Your VS Code workspace is now set to the WordPress root.
Step 8 — Useful LocalWP Features
LocalWP has some very useful built-in tools:
Database Manager
Click on your site → "Database" tab → "Open Adminer"
This opens Adminer (like phpMyAdmin) where you can browse and query your WordPress database directly.
One-Click Admin Login
In LocalWP dashboard, click "WP Admin" — it logs you in automatically without entering password. Very convenient during development.
PHP & MySQL Version Switch
Click on your site → "Environment" tab → you can change PHP version, MySQL version, and web server anytime.
SSL is Automatic
LocalWP automatically sets up a local SSL certificate so your site runs on https:// locally. No extra configuration needed.
If You Want to Use Laragon Instead
Since you already have Laragon, you can also set up WordPress there. Here is how:
1. Open Laragon → Start All
2. Open HeidiSQL or phpMyAdmin
3. Create a new database: streamvault_wp
4. Download WordPress from wordpress.org/download
5. Extract the zip
6. Move the wordpress/ folder to: C:/laragon/www/streamvault
7. Visit: http://streamvault.test
8. WordPress installer will open
9. Fill in database details:
- Database Name: streamvault_wp
- Username: root
- Password: (empty in Laragon by default)
- Database Host: localhost
- Table Prefix: wp_
10. Complete the installation
Both approaches work. LocalWP is just easier.
Summary
- LocalWP is the easiest way to run WordPress locally — one click, zero configuration.
- Your WordPress files live in
app/public/inside the LocalWP site folder. - You only ever work inside
wp-content/— themes, plugins, uploads. - LocalWP gives you Adminer for database management, one-click admin login, and SSL out of the box.
- If you prefer Laragon, that works too — just manual database creation and wp-config setup is needed.
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