Installing Joomla Locally with XAMPP on Windows 11

This guide explains how to set up Joomla on your own computer using xampp-on-windows-11/" class="sal-link" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-sal-id="15148">XAMPP on Windows 11.

XAMPP is a free tool that turns your computer into a web server. It includes everything you need to run websites, like Apache, MariaDB, and PHP. You can also use XAMPP on Windows or Ubuntu to run PHP apps. Joomla is a popular, free system used to build and manage professional websites.

Why run Joomla locally?

Running Joomla on your computer lets you build and test your website privately. You can experiment with designs and features before you ever go live on the internet.

What happens when you are done?

Once finished, you will have a fully functional Joomla website running on your machine. You can access it through your web browser to create content and manage your site settings.

Install XAMPP

XAMPP bundles all the necessary software into one package. If you haven’t installed it yet, follow these guides:

Install XAMPP on Windows 11

Install XAMPP on Ubuntu 24.04

Create a Joomla Database

Joomla needs a database to store your site’s information. We will create a blank database and a user account to manage it.

Open the XAMPP Control Panel and click the ‘Shell’ button to open the command window. (Requires admin privileges)

We will create a database named ‘joomladb’ and a user named ‘joomladbuser’. Use the following commands:

mysql -u root

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

Remember to replace ‘your_password_here’ with your own secure password. If you prefer not to use the command line, you can click the ‘Admin’ button next to MySQL in the XAMPP Control Panel to use the phpMyAdmin web interface instead.

Download Joomla Files

Now, let’s prepare the files for your site.

1. Navigate to C:\xampp\htdocs on your computer.
2. Create a new folder named joomla.

Download the Joomla files from official download page and extract them directly into your new C:\xampp\htdocs\joomla folder.

Next, open the C:\xampp\htdocs\index.html file in a text editor to update your redirect settings. Replace the contents with the following code so your browser opens your site automatically:

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

Save the file. Go back to the XAMPP Control Panel and stop and start the Apache server to apply these changes.

Finalize the Setup

Open your web browser and go to http://localhost/joomla. You will see the Joomla installation screen.

Follow the on-screen instructions to set your site name, admin username, and password.

When asked for database details, enter the database name (joomladb), the username (joomladbuser), and the password you created earlier. Click “Install Joomla” to finish.

Your site is now ready to use!

Summary

By installing XAMPP, you create a local environment to host your website. You created a database, set up a user with full permissions, and configured the Joomla files in your C:\xampp\htdocs folder. You can now use the browser-based installation wizard to customize your site and begin building your content.

[joomla]

[C:xampphtdocsjoomla]