TL;DR
- A local WordPress installation is the safest testing environment, with no risk of live site downtime.
- Full freedom with plugins and themes, no risk to the production site.
- We’ll show you which tools (Local, DDEV, XAMPP) are best suited for what.
- Benefits: standardized setups and risk-free testing.
In a nutshell:
- A local WordPress installation is the safest testing ground for developers and editors—no downtime on the live site, complete freedom with plugins and themes.
- We’ll show you which tools (Local, DDEV, XAMPP) are best suited for what and which setup steps should definitely be standardized.
Does this sound familiar: You’re testing a feature or have made a change to your WordPress website, but then all your work goes to waste because the site crashes?
An installation and testing environment for WordPress on your local computer can help. This allows you to develop and test your WordPress website offline without risk, since the online environment is simulated on your own computer.
Modify your website in a secure development environment
You’ll also need to make adjustments to your WordPress website from time to time (e.g., a new theme or installing plugins). You should test these changes first before deploying them live on your website. Fortunately, there’s a simple solution for this.
There are two types of server environments: local and remote. A local server is hosted directly on your own computer, while a remote server is operated at a different location. You decide which server model is best suited for testing.
For development and testing, however, it is recommended to install a local version of your website on your own computer instead of conducting development and testing on a remote server.
If your website is brand new and not yet publicly available, testing directly on the site involves less risk. However, if you already have a live website, it is not recommended to test directly on the site (to avoid downtime and potential security vulnerabilities).
It’s better to work with a local server that only you have access to and designate your already-published website as a test-free zone.
Test your WordPress website locally
Installing WordPress locally on your computer creates a perfect testing environment for changes, experiments, theme development, plugin testing, and website development.
With a local server on your computer, you can also develop and design your WordPress website in offline mode. This way, you can test your website and see how it would look online without being connected to the internet. Working with a local server also speeds up development, as no internet connection is required and communication takes place directly with the server.
Above all, you can make changes to your website in a protected environment without compromising the data integrity of your site. Since a locally hosted website isn’t on the internet, hacker attacks and security breaches are virtually impossible.
Creating a Local Testing Platform with MAMP
To set up a local testing environment, all you need is free open-source server software such as MAMP, WAMP, or XAMPP. This gives you everything you need to run WordPress locally on your computer for development and testing purposes.
Originally developed only for Mac OS, MAMP now also runs on Windows and Linux. While WAMP is only compatible with Windows, XAMPP works on many platforms (Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Solaris).
If you’re a Mac user, MAMP is the easiest to use and the best way to run your website locally.
The name MAMP is an acronym for Mac OS (operating system), Apache (local web server), MySQL (database management system), and PHP, Perl, or Python (programming language). The MAMP package contains all the software you need to run WordPress locally.
Setting up MAMP is incredibly straightforward. To create a local server, you install a software package and a database on your computer.
To get started, visit the MAMP website to access the free MAMP download (the premium MAMP PRO version costs a fee). The MAMP installer will guide you through the necessary steps to install the software. You can find additional step-by-step instructions on the MAMP website.