XAMPP is an acronym for cross (X) platform, Apache, MySQL, Pearl, and PHP. In the above, ‘Apache’ is the webserver software, while ‘PHP’ is a programming language and ‘MySQL’ is a database management software. It would be a daunting task for any beginner to install each. XAMPP is an open-source web server solution that enables you to create a local installation of WordPress on your computer. You can use this site without internet access, and it’s not publically available to other users. So all your work remains private until you’re ready to share it. Supporting PHP 7, XAMPP is a lightweight tool that enables you to create an amazing web server environment on your local machine for testing your WordPress website. It is composed of four elements; Apache, MySQL, PHP, and Perl. I’m just getting started with WordPress, and currently using an XAMPP server to try and get a local installation working. The localhost environment is working fine, and I’ve successfully followed the steps here to create a database and user account for WordPress using phpMyAdmin.
Being a developer myself I know the importance of XAMPP in local development and testing. You would find numerous reasons to love XAMPP except for the update part. There isn’t any one-click option to update the XAMPP, rather you’ll have to follow a series of steps. So, let’s get into the arena to understand how to update XAMPP.
Here at TemplateToaster website builder blog post, I will show you how smoothly you can update XAMPP. You just need to follow these simple steps to achieve a cleanly updated XAMPP, having all the required files configured flawlessly.
When you have an old version of XAMPP or you see your XAMPP folder bloated with a lot of undesirable and obsolete stuff, then you should understand that it’s the time to update XAMPP. And that’s where this post will help you consummate that.
Why Update XAMPP?
This can be a tricky question that why update XAMPP. Or to be sure whether you actually need to update XAMPP or not. Well, the primary reason to update XAMPP is to make it compatible with the newer version of PHP. Since XAMPP doesn’t update automatically and if you are using it for so long then there is a probability that you must be using the old version of PHP even now. However, the other reason to update XAMPP is that you need to make sure that the PHP version used during the testing and on the live site should be the same. As you may know XAMPP is the best way to create websites locally before uploading them to your live server.
So, let’s now start the process to update XAMPP without losing any data. Here is the rundown of the process that we will be taking up.
Action Wrap-up
- Take the backup of your website files
- Export the database
- Uninstall the previous version of XAMPP
- Install the latest version of XAMPP
- Tweak PHP settings
- Restore the website files and database
If you follow the described instructions I assure you that the entire update activity will go smoothly. So let’s get things underway!
Backup Website Files
You would find all the website files under xampphtdocs directory. However, if you’re having more than one WordPress installed, then you will have a subdirectory for each installation. Now, to take the backup, create a new folder and copy the files in it which you want to keep. You can directly copy all the files in the new folder.
Export Database to Update XAMPP
Switch to XAMPP control panel i.e. phpMyAdmin – run it. You can access the phpMyAdmin however you like. The most common ways to initiate phpMyAdmin are:
- Click on the Admin in the MySQL row in the XAMPP control panel.
- Use the “http://localhost/phpmyadmin” link in the browser.
- Click on the link that appears in the XAMPP dashboard.
It’s completely your choice how you wish to export the data. You can either export the complete data in single SQL files or you can export the entire data individually.
You may find exporting the entire data in a single SQL file an easy option. But exporting a big size file at once may likely to run into errors while importing the data to new XAMPP installation. While choosing the latter option may consume a little more time as compared to the first option but it is less prone to errors while importing it to new XAMPP.
Uninstall the Previous Version of XAMPP
Next step is to uninstall the earlier version of XAMPP. Make sure you have taken the backup of each required file because uninstalling XAMPP will remove everything. And if you haven’t backed up the files then you will lose them forever. After checking all the things be double sure that you have taken the required back up and you are ready for the uninstall. Now stop the MySQL and Apache web server and now uninstall XAMPP from control panel.
Install the Latest Version of XAMPP
Since you have uninstalled the former version of XAMPP, so now install the new version of XAMPP. If you are wondering how to install XAMPP then consider reading this post. Here in this article we have discussed to how to install WordPress and XAMPP locally. Go to the official link www.apachefreinds.org and decide upon the version of XAMPP you wish to install and get it set up on your machine.
Update XAMPP: Tweak PHP Settings
When you install XAMPP on your computer, it comes pre-loaded with PHP settings. These settings are quite restrictive in nature. These restrictions will come in your way while working with WordPress. And the process to install WordPress is easier too. So, before you get ahead, making PHP adjustments are recommended. You can make the following adaptations by increasing the values for the following attributes. And they are:
- Upload_max_filesize, memory_limit, post_max_size
- Max_execution_time
Though you can make these adaptations directly by going to xampphpphp.ini and perform whatever adjustments you like.
Restore the Files and Import Databases
It’s a simple task. Just copy the folder and files you recently backed up and simply paste them into your new xampphtdocs folder. If you think simply by copying the files and folder will let you start testing, then it doesn’t work that way. Since you haven’t imported the database yet, you need to do that first. Therefore, it is required to import the SQL file or XAMPP exported files.
Voila!! Your XAMPP is updated now. Happy upgrading!!
Wrapping Up
As you are reading to how to update XAMPP means you are designing websites locally and here I would like to recommend you one of my favorite Offline Website Builder Software.
Well, that’s all you need to do to update XAMPP. You can use this post as a road map to upgrade XAMPP with minimal efforts. Make sure things like backing up critical files, deleting the previous version, and making changes to PHP settings are done carefully. All these imperative actions are to be executed cautiously in order to avoid any hitch along the way. Make sure everything is aligned and configured properly. And don’t forget to share how did the XAMPP update go (I hope it will run smooth). What errors, if any, did you come across while updating XAMPP and how did you able to handle them? Let me know in the comments below.
So you want to install a WordPress Multi-site Network on your local computer using XAMPP, huh? (you like that HTML Goodies throwback?)
Well, in this article, and the accompanying video I will go through the process to make that happen. I will be using XAMPP to run a “web server” on my local machine allowing me to host web sites. PHP and MySQL are included making it work easily for WordPress and WordPress Multi-site. While I am using XAMPP in this example, I might suggest USBWebServer to run a local site web server as the process is much simpler and quicker. Beyond that though I am not sure of the advantages or disadvantages of either.
If you want to install WordPress multi-site on a live server then check this tutorial.
WordPress Multi-site Setup on XAMPP
WP Multi-site Setup Video Tutorial
First, Download and Install XAMPP and Start the Services
- Do a Google search for “XAMPP” or head right to https://www.apachefriends.org/xampp.html
- In the video I demonstrated using XAMPP for Windows because I have a Windows machine. Those files are found here.
- I downloaded the “Installer” package which is an executable that you can just double-click immediately after downloading.
- During setup I allowed all the defaults. I gave the software permission to go through the firewall, and let everything install to the default folder on my machine.
- After installation you will be asked to launch the Control Panel. Go ahead and launch it. Don’t expect anything exciting, it just creates an icon in the system tray.
- Right-click the tray icon for the XAMPP Control Panel and start Apache and MySQL.
- Next, visit http://localhost/phpmyadmin
- Click on the Databases tab across the top.
- Below the Create database box type in a name for your WordPress database (and make note of it) and click the Create button.
- You can add a new user for the database, or just use “root.”
- Visit http://localhost/security/xamppsecurity.php to set a password for the “root” user.
- Right-click the tray icon for the XAMPP Control Panel and stop, and then start, MySQL after changing the “root” password.
Now, Let’s Install the Latest Version of WordPress
In this next part, we go through a typical installation of WordPress with one small change.
1) First, grab the latest installation package from WordPress.org.
2) Extract the files to your computer.
3) Rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php.
4) Modify the wp-config.php file in a text editor and enter in the database name, and database user name and password. Unless you created a new user, the user will be “root” and the password will be whatever you changed the “root” user’s password to be in the steps above. See below for where to add the database info:
5) Now, in the wp-config.php file just below the line that says “define(‘WP_DEBUG’, false);” and above the line that says “That’s all, stop editing” place the following line to activate WordPress Network capabilities.
6) Visit the folder where you installed XAMPP to. If you left everything at the defaults, look for c:xampp. In there will be a folder called “htdocs.” Empty that folder and move the WordPress files into it.
7) Finish the WordPress installation process by going to http://localhost in your web browser.
Now, Setup the WordPress Network
After following the above steps we are at the point where we got WordPress working on a local machine using XAMPP. And we have “turned on” the ability to have a WordPress Multisite by modifying the WordPress config file. Now, let’s setup the Network by adding some more lines to the wp-config.php and .htaccess files.
1) Login to your WordPress dashboard, which you will be prompted to do after installation.
2) Click Tools >> Network Setup.
3) Give the Network a title, and verify the Network admin email address.
4) Click the Install button.
5) Now you will be presented with two blocks of code. The code in the top box is to be placed into the WordPress config file (the same one where we turned on the ability to have a WordPress Network). Copy the lines and paste them over the “define(‘WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE’, true);” line in wp-config.php. In other words, overwrite that line as it’s no longer needed.
6) Copy the lines from the second box and paste them in the .htaccess file found in the “htdocs” folder. Overwrite all other lines in there that were created by WordPress.
7) Log out, then log back into your WordPress dashboard.
Now, WordPress Multi-site (or Network) is setup on your localhost. In the Network Dashboard you can “network activate” themes and plugins making them available to other “sites” on the network. You can also create/edit sites from within the dashboard.