Why develop a website pre-launch?
mamp Before jumping into MAMP Local WP Development, let us understand the need.
Once a website is live, it is in front of everyone in this When a website goes live, it is visible to everyone in the world of the Internet. Anyone with access to our domain can visit our website. A live website that is underdeveloped/not developed makes little to no sense. The best practice is to create an offline website and then make it live or to host it on an undiscovered domain that can be abandoned later.
The best ways to do so are either by
1) Temporary Hosting.
2) Local development environment.
How to develop a website pre-launch?
1)Temporary hosting
Temporary hosting can be bought from a free hosting site that offers a subdomain as well. After successful development and design, the website can be migrated to the desired domain and hosting plan. This can be done free of cost or may involve minimal charges as low as 1$.
2)Local Development Environment:
It is done offline with little to no internet on the same computer. As the website isn’t online, there is no need to purchase a domain and hosting. A local host is provided by the local development environment-based software. The website may use the internet with an assigned Temporary domain allotted by the local host.
However, this domain works on the same device only and doesn’t work on any other device lying in the closest proximity or any other place in this world. That is why the hosting and domain limited to the host computer are referred to as local host and the local domain only exists in the local environment of the host device. It is done free of cost.
Local development using MAMP
Let us understand how a WordPress website can be created using a local development environment provider software called MAMP.
MAMP
MAMP operates on MySQL and PHP, the programming languages of the Server.
MAMP is a server built on LAMP Stack, meaning
- L for Linux
- A for Apache
- M for MySQL
- P for PHP
Originally built for MAC OS devices, MAMP released its windows version.
Introduction to WordPress
WordPress: WordPress is the largest and most popular Content Management System-based website builder, accounting for 42 per cent of all websites on the internet. The beauty of WordPress is that it can be handled by a non-coder owner for personal use.
WordPress, which comes with a large number of plug-ins and themes, has many functionalities and beautiful looks that improve UX. Non-programmers can create a WordPress website with a few clicks.
Different programming languages are used to create plug-ins and themes, which are then added to the WordPress library. These plug-ins and themes can be used and embedded in the websites by designers and non-coders with simple installation and download.
35 easiest mini-steps to follow for the successful launch of an offline website
Step 1: The first and the foremost step is to download WordPress from the “.org” website.
- MAMP doesn’t have a WordPress auto-installer.
- Files of WordPress need to be downloaded from their website.
- Download Link: https://wordpress.org/
Note: Please don’t confuse between the WordPress “.com” and “.org” as “.com” offers limited features as compared to “.org”.
42% of the world’s websites are hosted on “.org”, similar to the features of a professional website.
Step 2: The WordPress files in the download folder are downloaded as a Zip folder.
The Zip folder has to be extracted into a normal folder.
Step 3: Download MAMP from its website
Download Link: https://www.mamp.info/en/downloads/
Step 4: Install MAMP following the instructions of the running program.
Step 5: MAMP exists as a program and as a folder in C-drive.
Step 6: You need to change the WordPress folder’s name to the desired site’s name or the name you want to give to your local website.
Example: Changing the folder name of “WordPress” to “website9”.
Step 7: Run the MAMP Program by turning on the Apache and MySQL server.
- Both of them should be put on for running the program successfully.
- If the Apache server doesn’t start, try lowering the PHP version.
- Apache server is responsible for controlling and managing Universal Resource Locators (URLs) and addresses.
- The MySQL server is responsible for the usage of the WordPress database.
Step 8: Check the port numbers and note them down for your convenience.
Here is how you can do it.
Step A: You can check the Apache and MySQL port number by going into the MAMP program.
Step B: Click on the option of MAMP in the top left horizontal provided options of
MAMP Servers Tools Cloud Help.
Step C: The MAMP option will display the options of Preferences and Exit.
Step D: Click on the options preferences tab.
Step E: It gets changed into another tab that shows different options of Start/Stop, Ports, PHP, Web Server, MySQL and Cloud.
Step F: Choose the option of ports and your port numbers will be displayed.
Step G: Port numbers of Apache, Nginx and MySQL will be displayed.
- The default port number for Apache is “Port 80” and MySQL is “Port 3306”.
- If you have downloaded an application like “Skype”, chances are there that it takes up port 80.
- If port 80 is taken by some other application, the next available port is taken by the Apache server.
Step 9: Go to C-Drive and open the folder of MAMP.
Step 10: Open folder htdocs within the MAMP.
Step 11: Paste the renamed folder back from step 6 in the same folder of htdocs.
Example: the folder of “website9”.
Step 12: Go to the MAMP Program and click on “Open Webstart Page”.
Step 13: The Internet Opens a local host page with a URL
localhost/MAMP/ (If the default port is 80)
localhost:PortNumber/MAMP/ (If default port is not 80).
Step 14: To be followed only if Step 13 isn’t executed.
If the local host MAMP site doesn’t get opened in your browser, you can follow three steps.
Step A: Change Anti-Virus settings to allow the local host.
Step B: Change Firewall settings.
Step C: Clear Chrome Cache memory and history.
Step D: Enable the local host flag at
chrome://flags/#allow-insecure-localhost
Step 15: Please note down the localhost user and password from the same page.
In the case of MAMP, both of them are always “root”.
Step 16: In the opened MAMP site, go below to click on the hyperlink of phpMyAdmin.
Step 17: The phpMyAdmin opens into another web page.
Step 18: Go to the database section and click create a new database.
The created database should possess the same name of the folder pasted in htdocs of MAMP or the desired website name.
Format: site name followed by a hyphen and DB with no spaces.
Example: website9-DB
Step 19: Select the option of “collation” on the right side of database naming.
Step 20: The database is created successfully following steps 18 and 19.
Step 21: Go to C drive and open the MAMP folder.
Step 22: Open htdocs and the WordPress folder or the pasted site folder.
Note: This contains a total of 19 files.
Step 23: Find the file wp-config-sample.php.
Note: Some computers may not display the .php extension, so there is no need to be confused.
Step 24: Rename the file of Step 23 by removing the hyphen and the word sample.
wp-config-sample.php Into wp-config.php
Step 25: Click on to open the same renamed file wp-config.php
Step 26: Notepad++ or any other code editor on your device may open a PHP code.
Step 27: Rename the database code line as the one created in phpMyAdmin
/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define( ‘DB_NAME’, ‘website91-db’ );
Step 28: Cross-check step 15 and add the username as “root”
/** MySQL database username */
define( ‘DB_USER’, ‘root’ );
Step 29: Cross-check step 15 and add the password as “root”
/** MySQL database password */
define( ‘DB_PASSWORD’, ‘root’ );
Step 30: Cross-check step 8 and update the MySQL port number
/** MySQL hostname */
define( ‘DB_HOST’, ‘localhost:MySQLPortNumber’ );
Example:
/** MySQL hostname */
define( ‘DB_HOST’, ‘localhost:3307’ );
Step 31: Save these settings and cut off these tabs.
Note: Summing up the changes as follows
- Username as root.
- Password as root.
- MySQL port number updation.
Step 32: If everything in the above-mentioned steps is followed correctly, we can proceed to open the WordPress local site. However, if not. Follow step 14 again.
Step 33: Go to your web browser and enter the URL
localhost:PortNumber/MAMPsiteName
Example: localhost:3307/website9
Step 34: The WordPress index opens successfully asking you to choose the language.
Step 35:Set up Login Credentials and Start Designing your own WordPress website.
Live Migration
When your WordPress website is hosted by a trustable hosting company, you can easily migrate your offline website.
14 Steps to follow for live migration.
Step 1: Go to the Plugin section of WordPress in the WordPress Dashboard of the locally developed website.
Step 2: Download Plugin “All in One”.
Step 3: Activate Plugin “All in One”.
Step 4: Refresh and go to Dashboard.
Step 5: Under the sidebar with Plugin sections, click on “All in one WP-Migration”.
Step 6: Click on “Export” to download WP files.
Step 7: Go to the Plugin section of WordPress in hosted WordPress website.
Step 8: Download Plugin “All in One”.
Step 9: Activate Plugin “All in One”.
Step 10: Refresh and go to Dashboard.
Step 11: Under the sidebar with Plugin sections, click on “All in one WP-Migration”.
Step 12: Click on “Import” to download WP files.
Step 13: Upload the exported file from step 6.
Step 14: Refresh to use your WordPress Website.
Best hosting 2022: The best one to choose
Conclusion
The WordPress website can be successfully developed offline using MAMP, which is available for free. An effective way to enhance your development skills, practicing offline development, or pre-launch a website for your client, local development is the best way.