How to Install WordPress Locally on Mac (2 Easy Ways)

As a web developer with over 15 years of experience working with WordPress, I highly recommend installing WordPress locally on your Mac.

A local WordPress site allows you to build, test, and tweak websites right from the comfort of your own computer. You don‘t need to worry about breaking a live production site.

Here are some key reasons why over 43% of WordPress users run local installations:

• Test drive WordPress – Install WordPress and play with it privately without needing hosting or a domain.
• Experiment freely – Try different themes, plugins, and settings without affecting your live site.
• Learn development – Tweak PHP code, build custom plugins/themes to strengthen your WordPress dev skills.
• Work offline – Build your site locally so you can work on it without an internet connection.
• Improve security – Vet plugins and updates in a safe sandbox environment before deploying changes live.
• Easy migration – Build your entire site locally and move it to live hosting when you‘re ready to launch.

I‘ll cover two easy and popular options to install WordPress locally on your Mac – LocalWP and MAMP.

What You‘ll Need to Run WordPress Locally

In order to build WordPress websites on your own computer, you‘ll need:

• WordPress – The free open source CMS files downloaded from WordPress.org. This doesn‘t include hosting.
• Web server – Software like Apache that handles HTTP requests and displays pages.
• Database – MySQL database management system to store all your site‘s content and data.
• PHP – Scripting language that WordPress is built on to generate dynamic pages.
• Local environment – A package like MAMP or LocalWP that bundles the required server stack and database.

You can install these components separately, but it‘s complex to configure. That‘s why I recommend using an all-in-one local environment instead.

Next, let‘s look at how to install WordPress locally using two great options:

1. Install WordPress Locally Using LocalWP (Recommended)

For a quick and easy local WordPress install, I recommend using LocalWP. It‘s a free development app made specifically for WordPress.

Why Use LocalWP?

LocalWP takes care of installing and configuring the full server stack for you automatically. Some key benefits:

• Streamlined setup – No manual database or server configuration required.
• Optimized for WordPress – Comes pre-packaged with essential PHP extensions.
• Actively maintained – Regular updates with latest WP and software versions.
• Lightweight and fast – Uses native Nginx web server instead of Apache.
• Easy to use interface – Create sites and manage everything from their app.

Many of my developer colleagues have switched to LocalWP because it‘s faster and more reliable than alternatives like MAMP or XAMPP.

Let‘s go through the quick steps to install it:

Step 1: Download and Install LocalWP

First, download LocalWP from their website and be sure to choose the Mac version.

Once downloaded, double click to open the DMG installer package. Then drag the LocalWP app into your Applications folder.

The app will now be ready to launch from your Applications.

Step 2: Create a New Local WordPress Site

Launch the LocalWP app and you‘ll see the site creation screen:

Click "New Site" and go through the steps:

1. Enter a site name
2. Select your preferred PHP, web server, and other versions
3. Enter a WordPress username and password
4. Click "Add Site"

LocalWP will then download WordPress core files and install it along with the database and server stack for you. Very quick and painless!

Once installed, LocalWP will display details about your new local site:

Step 3: Start Using Your Local WordPress Site

You can now access your local WordPress site by going to http://localhost:8888 in your browser.

LocalWP sets up the web server on port 8888 by default. You can change this later in Settings if needed.

From here, you can start using WordPress as you normally would! Install themes, plugins, build your site pages and content.

Since everything is running locally, there‘s no risk of breaking a live production site. Feel free to experiment and tinker to your heart‘s content!

If you run into any issues with your local site, I recommend checking LocalWP‘s excellent support docs or contacting their customer support team.

Next, let‘s go over using MAMP which is another solid option for installing WordPress locally.

2. Install WordPress Locally Using MAMP

MAMP is a free, open source local server environment for macOS. It‘s been around for many years and is also a great option for running WordPress locally.

Let‘s look at how to install WordPress with MAMP:

Why Use MAMP?

Here are some benefits of using MAMP:

• Free and open source – No license or payment required.
• Familiar setup – Uses Apache, MySQL which are common on live hosts.
• Customizable – You can tweak PHP, Apache settings.
• GUI tools – Comes with phpMyAdmin and database admin.

The downside with MAMP is the installation process takes more work compared to LocalWP. You‘ll have to manually configure some components like the database and ports.

But it‘s still very quick and easy to set up compared to installing everything separately.

Step 1: Download and Install MAMP

Let‘s get started by downloading the MAMP app from their website.

Be sure to download the version that matches your macOS version. You can check which macOS you‘re running by going to the Apple Menu > About This Mac.

Once downloaded, install MAMP by double clicking the package file. Follow the installation wizard prompts to get MAMP set up on your system.

Step 2: Configure MAMP Settings

Before installing WordPress, it‘s best to configure some MAMP settings:

1. Set Apache Port – Go to Preferences > Ports and change Apache port to 8888 to avoid conflicts.
2. Set Document Root – Go to Preferences > Web Server and set the document root path where sites will live.
3. Launch MAMP – Open MAMP app and click start servers.

Using port 8888 instead of the default 80 avoids issues with other programs using port 80.

I also recommend setting your document root outside of MAMP‘s folder, so it doesn‘t get overwritten when updating MAMP.

For example, you could create a "websites" folder on your Mac and set that as the root.

Step 3: Create a Database for WordPress

Since WordPress stores all your site content and data in a database, you‘ll need to create one before installing WordPress.

Launch MAMP, then go to Tools > phpMyAdmin. This will open the database management interface in your browser.

Next, click "Databases" and create a new database. Come up with a descriptive name and click Create.

Take note of the database name as you‘ll need to enter it during the WordPress installation process.

Step 4: Install WordPress with MAMP

Now you‘re ready to actually install WordPress locally:

1. Download WordPress from WordPress.org and unzip the files.
2. Copy the wordpress folder to your MAMP document root.
3. Go to http://localhost:8888/wordpress to launch the installer.
4. Choose your language, enter your database name and credentials.
5. Click "Install" and your local WordPress site will be created!

And that‘s it! You can now access your site at http://localhost:8888/wordpress.

Log in with the WordPress admin credentials you specified, and start building your site.

Experimenting and Developing Locally

Once you have WordPress running locally on your Mac, a whole world of possibilities opens up. Here are just some ideas of how I use local installs as a developer:

• Install plugins and themes to find my ideal set up.
• Test software updates and security patches before deploying to live sites.
• Tweak PHP code and develop my own custom plugins and themes for clients.
• Experiment with new page builders and other complex plugins without worrying about site reliability.
• Build out complete new client sites locally and move them to staging/live hosting when ready.
• Replicate client sites locally to diagnose problems and test fixes offline.
• Use snapshots and version control to easily restore sites to previous states.
• Train new employees on building WordPress sites in a safe environment.
• Work on client sites while traveling or without an internet connection.

I always recommend my clients install WordPress locally first before purchasing hosting. It allows you to try things out and help avoid issues down the road.

Let me know if you have any other questions about using WordPress on your local Mac!