Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

How to Download WordPress Site Locally

If you are a WordPress website developer or blogger, it is important to have a local copy of your website for testing and development purposes. Downloading your WordPress site locally is not only a good backup strategy, but it can also help you troubleshoot problems with your live website. In this article, we will guide you through the process of downloading your WordPress site locally using a few simple steps.

Step 1: Choose a Local Server Environment

Before you can download your WordPress site locally, you need to create a suitable environment on your local server. There are several server environments you can choose from, such as XAMPP, WAMP, or MAMP. These programs allow you to run a web server, MySQL database, and PHP on your local computer. We recommend XAMPP for Windows, MAMP for Mac, and LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) for Linux users.

Step 2: Export WordPress Database

The next step is to export your WordPress database. You can do this by logging in to your website's cPanel (or any other hosting control panel you may have) and navigate to phpMyAdmin. Select your WordPress database and click on the Export tab. Choose the Quick option and then click on the Export button to download the SQL file to your computer.

Step 3: Copy WordPress Files

Now you need to copy your WordPress files from your live website to your local server's htdocs folder. You can do this using an FTP client like FileZilla or through your cPanel file manager. Navigate to your WordPress root directory on your live website and copy all the files and folders except the /wp-content directory. Paste them into the htdocs folder of your local server setup.

Step 4: Create a New Empty Database Locally

The next step is to create a new empty database on your local server. Open phpMyAdmin in your local server setup, click on the Databases tab, and create a new database. Note down the database name, username, and password as you'll need them in the next step.

Step 5: Import the SQL File

Import the SQL file you downloaded in step 2 into your newly created local database. In phpMyAdmin, select your new database and click on the Import tab. Choose the SQL file you downloaded and click on the Go button. Wait for the import process to finish.

Step 6: Update the wp-config.php file

Locate the wp-config.php file in the htdocs folder that you pasted in step 3. Open it in a text editor and update the database name, username, and password that you noted down in step 4.

Step 7: Run WordPress on Your Local Server

Finally, you can run your WordPress site locally by pointing your browser to http://localhost/your-site-name/. After a few seconds, you should see the familiar WordPress installation screen. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process. You can now make any changes or updates to your WordPress site locally without having to worry about affecting your live website.

In conclusion, downloading your WordPress site locally is a straightforward process that can save you a lot of time and headaches in the long run. With a local copy of your website, you can experiment, test, and troubleshoot without affecting your live site. We hope this article has been helpful in guiding you through the process of downloading your WordPress site locally.