If you’re new to this whole “WordPress” thing and just want to get set up quickly without having to pay for hosting, or configure a server on your local computer this post is for you.
WordPress boasts it’s famous 5-minute install which should be relatively straightforward if you’ve used other web publishing platforms in the past or perhaps you’re just a tech savvy kind of guy or gal.
However, not everyone is comfortable setting up a database, uploading files via FTP, or configuring a WAMP, MAMP, or LAMP installation on their local machine when they just want to get a taste of what WordPress is all about without all the commitment.
I spoke with a very nice lady at the end of one of the Las Vegas WordPress meet ups a couple months ago and she told me about how the famous 5 -minute install took her 8 hours to complete.
I think back to the first time I installed WordPress, and it took me nearly 4 hours to complete the task.
What I Hate About Installing WordPress
Let’s face it, databases are scary to new users and web tinkerers. I’m scared of the darn things myself, and I interact with them every day. If you’ve ever had to go through the process of setting things up in phpmyadmin or the SQL panel in cPANEL (gross) you know it’s a clunky, annoying, and tedious process.
More advanced developers sometimes use scripts that automate the installation of WordPress or tools like VVV, but we’re trying to learn to walk here before we can fly.
I ask myself,
Introducing DesktopServer By ServerPress
DesktopServer by ServerPress is the quickest and easiest way to get started with WordPress.
Do you see those fancy moving pictures above (it might take a while if you’re on mobile)? That’s literally in real-time on my EXTREMELY SLOW PC how long it takes to create a WordPress installation that lives locally on your computer.
If you’ve got a better machine than I do the process is even much quicker.
For you newbies who don’t understand what I mean when I say “WordPress installation that lives locally on your computer”. That means you don’t need a Hostgator or GoDaddy account to build your website just yet.
You can get (nearly all) the benefits of using WordPress without having to deal with hosting, domains, etc.. Of course the caveat to this is that you will need to buy website hosting and register a domain name when you are ready to put your website live on the internet.
When you work on your computer locally you can build WordPress websites whether or not you have an internet connection and things are much snappier than working on a server.
DesktopServer does all the hard stuff for you
When you download and install DesktopServer the program automatically sets up a local server using something called XAMPP. The program automates creating a local server and installing the database and so much more!
Free VS Paid
DesktopServer has two versions. A free version, and a paid version. The free version is quite limited and it allows for 3 installs. There’s no harm in testing out the free version just to get a feel for the software, but the paid version is a steal at less than $100 and will save you hours of time in the future. How much is your time worth?