So the WordPress template which I will create from the static version of the website can be tested locally I need to download a local version of WordPress onto my laptop to run alongside XAMPP the local server also on my laptop. Testing the template on a local version of WordPress allows you to correct any errors and develop it further without affecting live files on the internet.
To download the latest version of WordPress I went to the WordPress.org website (below) and selected the download WordPress option.
The download indicates a .zip will be downloaded 8.3MB in size.
When I had download the file and looked in the Download folder I did not have a .zip file but a WordPress folder:
Thinking this may cause problems later and was incorrect I searched
After researching online and looking at the structure of the files in the downloaded wordpress folder these looked correct.
Now go to the XAMPP main screen and select ‘Open Application Folder’ open the htdocs folder listed. Create a folder for all the WordPress files and copy the extracted files and folders into this WordPress folder.
Local htdocs folder after creating a WordPress folder and copying the downloaded WordPress files into here:
Jo Clappison 