Once installed, select “Yes” to Start Apache and MySQL services. This process might take a little time, so be patient. To get started with DesktopServer, simply download the file from their site, double-click it, and it will install everything you need. With Local by Flywheel your computer will become quite slow after you create 10 sites or so. This means Apache and MySQL will run as normal programs on your computer, so you can add multiple local WordPress sites without slowing your computer down. DesktopServer’s add-ons all come included with the application.įinally, it is important to note that DesktopServer runs its services as local applications. You can also make the admin bar change color locally, so you don’t get confused about whether you’re looking at local or production and do something terrible by mistake. The free version works perfectly fine for simple testing, and the paid version has advanced tools for developers like WordPress multisite support, internet sharing for easy collaboration, easy live deployment, and more.ĭesktopServer comes with a number of add-ons including Airplane Mode, so you can browse locally without an internet connection. There is a free version and a premium membership version available. Our first testing environment option to explore is DesktopServer. Let’s take a look at both options and see which app is the right fit for you. There are two popular, mainstream local testing apps available to download for free. Given that, why not spin up a test server and test out your site? Choosing your Local WordPress Testing Environment Installing a local environment is simple and painless. This gives you a staging site, and you’ll never have to do the same thing twice before going live. Some (not all) local test environments have integrations with your live server, allowing you to make changes on your own computer and push those changes automatically to the live server. When installing a new plugin, theme, or even a new version of WordPress without testing it somewhere else first, you run the risk of your site crashing utterly. If your site provides any kind of value to you, you’ll want to keep it available to visitors. Why Should You Use a Local WordPress Testing Environment? Once you have the system set up, you can create and destroy as many WordPress sites as you want, testing things over and over again, without jeopardizing your live WordPress site. Fortunately in this day and age, setting up a local testing environment is as easy as downloading a program and installing it - you don’t even need a system administrator. It allows you to make changes to your site and preview them, without affecting the live site. If you’re someone who has a fairly normal, non-customized WordPress site on a commonly used host, you know that they provide a web server for you and there’s a database in that mix somewhere.Ī local testing environment is like having a server, except on your own computer. This post is about never doing that again. Have you ever seen some cool new thing that WordPress can do, either natively or with a plugin, and as soon as you try it you’re locked out of a broken website? And of COURSE, you used a staging server or something, because who would try something like that on a live site? Well, I would, and I’ve broken my site and spent hours figuring out what broke and how to make it right.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |