Instal & Configure XAMPP PHP/MySQL/Apache Server

XAMPP server is a powerful cross-platform PHP – MySQL – Apache server – in other words it turns your computer into a web server accessible on your local network. Having your files stored locally allows you to quickly and easily edit and review changes. You can then easily deploy your local changes to your web server. Lets get started installing and configuring your XAMPP server.

Note: These instructions are for installing XAMPP on Windows, although I am sure they are somewhat similar to the install process on a Mac.

Download & Install

First things first, head over to the XAMPP site and grab the latest version.

Run the install. The default location points at c:\ and I suggest you leave this alone. Click install and XAMPP will install at c:\xampp.

After the install completes, a command window will open which guides you through the install configuration. Tell XAMPP if you want startmenu shortcuts and allow it to start the install. For Should I make a portable XAMPP without drive letters? choose (n). XAMPP will relocate and display the timezone for you.

If the timezone is wrong, you can fix it later in the php.ini file located in c:\xampp\php. Find the date.timezone = variable and set it to your time zone. Find your time zone in these values.

Choose option 1 on the last screen to start the xampp control panel.

When the control panel opens click the start buttons next to Apache & MySQL and wait for them to start.

Minimize the control panel and open your web browser. Navigate to http://localhost/ (this points to the XAMPP server, if the server is not running this link will not work.) You should reach the XAMPP splash screen. Choose your language and proceed to the XAMPP local homepage.

Configuring

While it is not necessary, I recommend you set up a password for your MySQL user. To do this choose the phpmyadmin link from the tools section of the XAMPP local homepage menu. Click on the privileges tab and edit the root user by clicking on the edit icon on the far right.

Scroll down to the change password section and enter your password and confirm. Click ok to save.

This should lock you out of phpmyadmin, we need to enter our password into the config file to access the admin now. Find the config.inc file located at C:\xampp\phpMyAdmin. Open this file with your text editor and enter your password in the password line. Here is my example:

You will now have access to phpmyadmin again.

Congratulations! You now have a full featured local web server that you can use for development or even intranet application hosting. For those of you who will be using this for WordPress development, continue reading the guide to install WordPress on XAMPP/WAMP.