Install WordPress Locally

You can install WordPress locally, but it is not recommended that that installation is made accessible to the public. (what if you want to turn your computer off, or have a blackout, or a hardware failure, and you have to keep hackers out, etc.)

The installation involves creating a database and setting the config file to the credentials of the database.
So, yes you can move the files after you unzip them, but the database connection still needs to be there (database contains the URL for the site, which might have a folder name in it).
But, no you don’t access the site by a network folder. It’s a URL and needs a server that has PHP and MySQL.

Thanks Joy.

Are you familiar with Egnyte? What Egnyte does for us, is allows us to collaborate amongst all our employees at different companies especially when it comes to linking excel spreadsheets, in that it serves as a central location. So each employee’s machine as long as it has the network drive mapped, they are connected.

With that in mind, I guess this is more of an Egnyte question in that, we can install php onto that server. I am thinking it is just a matter of moving the wamp/php/mysql/wordpress contents(folders) over to that network drive, and would only be accessible to the employees that have access to that network drive.

Your thoughts greatly appreciated.

The first part of what you’re describing is definitely possible, running a local WordPress server is how most developers work:

https://make.www.ads-software.com/core/handbook/tutorials/installing-a-local-server/

You can also do it using Docker.

In order to run the site in a way that it can be shared with other employees, you’ll need a proper server. Your IT department should be able to help you with both of these things.

Local dev environment — one click install via DesktopServer / download free version from development team at ServerPress.com

After setup of your local dev environment, keep in mind that you are now using localhost: 127.0.0.1 That is your internal IP address. Note the HOSTS file:
# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.
# 127.0.0.1 localhost

Other computers on the LAN cannot resolve to that.

Option 1. Set the public A record in domain’s DNS table to your private IP of the computer running the web server.
Option 2. Simply use the private IP address as the URL in your other devices but then you’ll only be able to access one dev site at a time
Option 3. Create a subdomain of main public domain. lan.example.com would be development with main live site at example.com lan.example.com is then config’d as an A record to the private IP address of your web server on your LAN. On dev server, use name-based virtual hostand define the subdomain on line two below..the ServerName line:

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName lan.example.com
DocumentRoot “C:\xampp\htdocs\Example”
</VirtualHost>
Reason: all devices on LAN can access and no need to edit individual HOSTS files or overide DNS on each device.