Viewing Site Locally

I backed up my site and now have this as a 2GB .wpress file.

How did you backup your WordPress site? Chances are you used the All-in-One WP Migration plugin which created this proprietary .wpress backup file. So you’ll need to run the same plugin to restore your site!

1) Install a fresh WordPress site on your XAMPP server.

2) Install the All-in-One WP Migration plugin (or whatever plugin you used to create the backup)

3) Run the backup/migration plugin’s Retore routine to restore the site. Along the way, you’ll be asked to upload the .wpress backup file you downloaded to your computer.

Note that the Allin-One WP Migration plugin you used has a dedicated support forum where the plugin’s author might be able to help you directly. So if the above isn’t helpful, I’ll recommend you post your question there instead: https://www.ads-software.com/support/plugin/all-in-one-wp-migration/

Good luck!

cheers George! yes that’s how I backed it up. I’m needing something a bit more “idiot orientated” though ??

Can you advise how exactly I install a fresh wp site on the XAMPP server? (is it a matter of creating a folder somwhere then dragging and dropping the .wpress file into it?)

Or do I need to ask the on the site linked?

I think you should install “localwp” and follow the procedure to have a fresh WordPress installation, then install the said plugin to restore the backup of you site. It would be much easier than doing it through the xampp.