Introduction

Most of the issues that developers face have to do with either downloader issues or no idea how to install XAMPP on your machine. In most cases, most people rely on using XAMPP in creating a local server environment when developing WordPress sites and web applications. This article will help in breaking through common issues associated with downloading XAMPP and step-by-step installation of XAMPP for WordPress development on your machine.

What is XAMPP?

XAMPP is open-source free software for installing a local web server on your computer. It includes:

Apache: the web server that services your requests from the browser
MySQL/MariaDB: database management where your site will keep its data
PHP: a server-side scripting language that WordPress uses.
Perl: another programming language popular in web development but much less so with WordPress.
With XAMPP, you can effectively simulate a real server on your local machine. This way, you shall have a chance to build and test even troubleshoot WordPress sites without a need to deploy them into a live server.

Common Issues in XAMPP Download and Their Fixes

This section covers some common issues that come up when your download of XAMPP does not complete.

1. Download Started/ Stalled
   It might freeze, or not download at all sometimes. This could be for one of the reasons mentioned below.
   Internet: You could try checking if your internet is working properly. You may try downloading through any other network, if your internet keeps becoming unstable.
   Firewall or antivirus blocks downloading: Your antivirus or firewall sometimes prevents downloading. Try deactivating your antivirus or firewall, then try again to download.
   Browser Issues: It won’t even enable download the file from the untrusted website. Browser-specifically it may not allow downloading a file from the website, and one needs to try some safest browser like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Perhaps that’s also due to some download blocking extension maybe with other configurations.
2. Damaged Downloads
   Sometimes the download turns out corrupted within a file. Should you have downloaded XAMPP few times and you still face the problem, delete partially downloaded file and try again to download again. Thirdly downloading XAMPP from official XAMPP website will ascertain that it receives the perfect installer.
3. Server Problems
   Sometimes, problems with the server on the XAMPP website slow down or even fail your download. Wait a few hours and try it again later.

Download and Install XAMPP

You might have solved your issue above already. Here is how you can install XAMPP on your system. Learn step-by-step how you can download and then install it on your desktop.

Step 1: Download XAMPP

Access to official website of XAMPP : Visit https://www.apachefriends.org/index.html.
Select OS: There are three variant OS in XAMPP that include Windows, macOS and Linux. Click on the download link of the OS you have .
Download installer: Now you will be prompted to wait for a while when the installer downloads its process .
Installation step of XAMPP
Run the installer: You ought to then go ahead and click on the installer file when a download is complete. It then proceeds to start the installation process. According to your OS, you are going to be greeted by a security warning.
Installation packages to choose: In case you will code using WordPress you could just select the standard package that includes Apache, MySQL, PHP, phpMyAdmin. Click “Next.”.
Installation directory: XAMPP will, by default install under C: //xamp‎x if you are on Windows. Of course you could edit it anytime you want, but for now just let it be at its default.
Installation: And if all things are set, then click “Install” to initiate the installation. Taking just a few minutes or less for XAMPP to install itself to your computer.
Step 3: Open XAMPP Control Panel
Once you have installed that, you open the control panel of XAMPP. There, you start launching the services for Apache and MySQL. This is what your WordPress would need to run in your local server.

Installing WordPress on XAMPP for Local Development

We have installed XAMPP on your computer so far, and now is the time to install WordPress locally on our XAMPP.

Step 1: Download WordPress
Open WordPress.com official website : Download WordPress from https://wordpress.org/download/.
Unzip WordPress files: After downloading unzip.
Step 2: Configure the Database 
Open phpMyAdmin: Tap the “Admin” button beside MySQL on your XAMPP Control Panel. Now open phpMyAdmin in your browser.
Create new database 
Use phpMyAdmin to create a new database. Switch over to the “Databases” tab and name the new database. For example, wordpress_db .
Step 3: Installing WordPress
Upload your wordpress files: Copy the folder you downloaded of wordpress, and transfer it to the htdocs directory in your XAMPP installation folder. This is usually in C:\\xampp\\htdocs.
Install: Open your browser and go to http://localhost/wordpress, or whatever name you chose for the folder for your site. You will be taken to the page that requests permission to install wordpress.
Input database information: Now choose your language. Then input your database name typing wordpress_db. Leave password field blank since it is set by default for XAMPP. The rest should already be filled .
Finished installation. Fill in the required fields
site name,
admin user
admin password
Then you can now go ahead and visit your local WordPress version at http://localhost/wordpress/wp-admin .
The End

Conclusion

Now you have a pretty good idea on how to handle some of the most common causes and solutions, in case the situation next time turns out to be like XAMPP will not download. From here, how to set up WordPress to run locally could very well be a walk in the park if you’re able to just run it on your local machine and then you can work to create, test, and work on your WordPress sites without any connection to the internet or use of a live server.

Now, let us move on. Just go through this tutorial and you will be ready to rock with your development environment in no time to develop or alter sites easily on WordPress. Happy Coding!