How to Install Joomla on Your Windows 11 Computer Using XAMPP

What is XAMPP?

XAMPP is a free tool that lets you run web applications, like Joomla, directly on your Windows 11 computer without needing an internet connection. It includes Apache to show your website, MariaDB for storing data, and PHP to make Joomla work.

• Apache (the web server that shows your site)
• MariaDB (a database to store your site’s information)
• PHP (a language that helps Joomla work)

You can use XAMPP to try out Joomla and other website tools on your PC before making your site live on the internet.

Step 1Install XAMPP

If you haven’t installed XAMPP yet, follow this easy tutorial here:

How to Install XAMPP on Windows 11

Once installed, open the XAMPP 🎛️ Control Panel to start working with your local web server.

Step 2Create a Database for Joomla

Your Joomla website needs a database to store all its information, and you can easily create one using XAMPP’s tools on your Windows 11 PC. You’ll open the XAMPP 🎛️ Control Panel, click the Shell button, and type `mysql -u root` to log into the database system.

Here’s how to do it using XAMPP’s built-in tools:

1. Open the XAMPP 🎛️ Control Panel.
2. Click the Shell button to open a command window.

   

3. Type this command and press Enter to log into the database system:
   
   mysql -u root
4. Now type these commands one by one (press Enter after each):
   
   CREATE DATABASE joomladb CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;CREATE USER 'joomladbuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password_here';GRANT ALL ON joomladb.* TO 'joomladbuser'@'localhost';FLUSH PRIVILEGES;exit
   
   Replace your_password_here with a password you create.

Can’t use the command line? No problem! You can also create the database and user using phpMyAdmin:

1. In the XAMPP 🎛️ Control Panel, next to MySQL, click the Admin button.
2. In phpMyAdmin, click Databases, enter joomladb as the database name, and click Create.
3. Go to the Users tab, add a new user called joomladbuser with your chosen password, and give it all privileges on the joomladb database.

Step 3Download Joomla

To get Joomla running on your Windows 11 computer with XAMPP, ⬇️ download the latest Joomla files from their official website. Visit https://downloads.joomla.org/, download the zip file, then open `📁C:\xampp\htdocscopy`, create a folder named `joomla`, and extract the files there.

1. Go to the official Joomla download page: https://downloads.joomla.org/
2. ⬇️ Download the latest Joomla zip file.
3. Open C:\xampp\htdocs on your computer.
4. Create a new folder here named joomla.
5. Extract all the Joomla files you downloaded into this joomla folder.

Step 4Make Joomla Show as Your Homepage

You can set Joomla as your default homepage when you visit `http://localhost` on your Windows 11 computer by changing the index file in your XAMPP `htdocs` folder. Edit the file `📁C:\xampp\htdocs\index.phpcopy` (or `index.html`) and replace its content to make Joomla appear first.

<?php
if (!empty($_SERVER['HTTPS']) && ($_SERVER['HTTPS'] == 'on')) {
$uri = 'https://';
} else {
$uri = 'http://';
}
$uri .= $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'];
header('Location: '.$uri.'/joomla/');
exit;
?>
Something is wrong with the XAMPP installation :-(

1. Save the file.
2. Restart Apache in the XAMPP 🎛️ Control Panel by clicking Stop and then Start.

Step 5Open Joomla in Your Browser

After setting up your Joomla files and database, start the installation by opening `http://localhost` in your web browser on Windows 11. You will see the Joomla installation page where you can choose your language, enter your website’s name, click Next, and then set up your admin account.

http://localhost/

You should see the Joomla installation page.

Follow the steps on screen:

1. Choose your language and enter your website’s name.
2. Click Next.
3. Set up your admin account by entering your name, username, password, and email.
4. Click Next.
5. On the database page, enter:

   • Database Type: MySQLi
   • Host: localhost
   • Username: joomladbuser
   • Password: the password you created earlier
   • Database Name: joomladb
6. Click Install Joomla.

Once installation is complete, you will see a success message.

Congratulations! Your Joomla website is now ready to use on your Windows 11 computer.

Summary

• XAMPP lets you run Joomla on your PC without needing the internet.
• You created a database for Joomla using either the command line or phpMyAdmin.
• You downloaded Joomla and placed it in the right folder inside XAMPP.
• You changed the homepage to open Joomla by default.
• You completed the Joomla setup by following the installation wizard in your browser.

XAMPP lets you run Joomla on your PC without needing the internet. You created a database for Joomla using the command line or phpMyAdmin, downloaded Joomla into the `htdocs` folder, and changed the homepage to open Joomla by default. Finally, you completed the Joomla setup in your browser.