Introduction
WordPress has become one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) worldwide, empowering millions of websites and blogs. Installing WordPress on a local development environment can be beneficial for testing new themes, plugins, or making changes without affecting your live website. With the release of Windows 11, Microsoft has introduced various enhancements and features that make it an attractive platform for developers and users alike. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the step-by-step process of installing WordPress on Windows 11, enabling you to create and manage your own local WordPress development environment.
Prerequisites
Before we dive into the installation process, there are a few prerequisites you need to ensure are met. Please follow these initial steps to prepare your system for the installation:
1. Windows 11 Compatibility Check
Make sure your computer meets the minimum system requirements for Windows 11. Check for any compatibility issues and update your system accordingly.
2. Enable Hyper-V
Hyper-V is a virtualization feature in Windows that allows you to create and run virtual machines on your system. To enable Hyper-V on your Windows 11 PC, follow these steps:
a. Check if Hyper-V is Supported
Open PowerShell as an administrator and execute the following command:
bash
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V
If the command returns “State: Enabled,” you can skip to the next section. If it returns “State: Disabled,” proceed to the next step.
b. Enable Hyper-V via PowerShell
Again, open PowerShell as an administrator and run the following command:
bash
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V -All
After executing the command, restart your computer to apply the changes.
3. Download and Install WSL 2
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) allows you to run a Linux distribution alongside your Windows installation. WSL 2 offers improved performance and compatibility. Follow these steps to install WSL 2:
a. Enable WSL Feature
Open PowerShell as an administrator and execute the following command:
bash
wsl --install
This command will enable WSL and download the necessary components.
b. Set WSL 2 as the Default Version
After the installation is complete, set WSL 2 as the default version by running the following command:
bash
wsl --set-default-version 2
4. Install Ubuntu from Microsoft Store
To install WordPress on Windows 11, we will use Ubuntu as our Linux distribution within the WSL environment. Go to the Microsoft Store, search for “Ubuntu,” and install the latest version.
With the prerequisites in place, we can now proceed with the installation of WordPress on Windows 11.
Setting Up WordPress on Windows 11
To install WordPress on Windows 11, we will be using the following software stack:
- Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) with Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
- Apache web server
- MySQL database
- PHP 7.4 or later
The installation process involves several steps. Let’s go through each of them in detail.
Step 1: Launch Ubuntu on WSL
After installing Ubuntu from the Microsoft Store, you can launch it by searching for “Ubuntu” in the Start menu. The first time you open Ubuntu, it will take a few seconds to set up the environment.
Step 2: Update Ubuntu Packages
Before installing any software, it is essential to update the package list and upgrade existing packages. Run the following commands in the Ubuntu terminal:
bash
sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade
Enter your user password when prompted.
Step 3: Install Apache Web Server
Apache is a widely used web server that will host our WordPress files. To install Apache, use the following command:
bash
sudo apt install apache2
After installation, Apache will start automatically. You can verify its status with:
bash
sudo systemctl status apache2
If Apache is running, you will see “Active: active (running)” in the output.
Step 4: Install MySQL Database
MySQL is a popular relational database management system used by WordPress to store and manage data. Install MySQL with the following command:
bash
sudo apt install mysql-server
During the installation, you will be prompted to set a root password for MySQL. Choose a strong password and remember it for later use.
Start MySQL and enable it to launch at boot:
bash
sudo systemctl start mysql sudo systemctl enable mysql
Confirm that MySQL is running:
bash
sudo systemctl status mysql
Step 5: Configure MySQL for WordPress
Once MySQL is installed, we need to perform some initial configuration to prepare it for WordPress. Run the following command to secure the MySQL installation:
bash
sudo mysql_secure_installation
Follow the prompts and answer the questions as follows:
- Enter the root password you set during installation.
- Choose whether to enable the Validate Password Plugin (based on your preference).
- Choose whether to remove anonymous users. It’s recommended to remove them for security purposes.
- Decide whether to disallow root login remotely. For security, it’s best to select “Y.”
- Remove the test database (recommended).
- Reload privilege tables to apply the changes.
MySQL is now secure and ready to be used with WordPress.
Step 6: Install PHP and Required Extensions
PHP is the server-side scripting language used by WordPress to generate dynamic content. Additionally, we’ll need some PHP extensions to enable WordPress to function correctly. Install PHP and the necessary extensions with the following command:
bash
sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-mbstring php-gd php-xml php-curl
Once the installation is complete, restart Apache for the changes to take effect:
bash
sudo systemctl restart apache2
Step 7: Download WordPress
With the server and database set up, it’s time to download WordPress. Change to the Apache web server root directory and download the latest version of WordPress:
bash
cd /var/www/html sudo curl -O https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
Next, extract the downloaded archive:
bash
sudo tar xzf latest.tar.gz
This will create a new directory named “wordpress” containing all WordPress files.
Step 8: Configure WordPress
Before we can start using WordPress, we need to configure it with the database details. Create a MySQL database and user for WordPress:
bash
mysql -u root -p
Enter your MySQL root password and then execute the following SQL commands in the MySQL prompt:
sql
CREATE DATABASE wordpress; CREATE USER 'wp_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'your_strong_password'; GRANT ALL ON wordpress.* TO 'wp_user'@'localhost'; FLUSH PRIVILEGES; EXIT;
Make sure to replace ‘your_strong_password’ with a secure password of your choice.
Step 9: Set Up WordPress Configuration
WordPress needs a configuration file to connect to the database and function correctly. Rename the sample configuration file and edit it:
bash
cd wordpress sudo mv wp-config-sample.php wp-config.php sudo nano wp-config.php
Find the following lines and update them with the database details you created earlier:
php
define( 'DB_NAME', 'wordpress' ); define( 'DB_USER', 'wp_user' ); define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'your_strong_password' ); define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );
Save and close the file (press Ctrl + X
, then Y
, and finally Enter
).