Learn WP Basics

OK, then if you are using WAMP, this is what the wp-config.php file entries should be on your WAMP install:

Database Name: whatever the db name is; should have no spaces

User Name: root

Password: <empty>; will look like this ” <two single quotes>

Database Host: localhost

Table Prefix: whatever the existing one is; leave as-is

She was doing it on a mac and I am on windows

You never mentioned which local server you are using, assuming you are using one. Try it with using the local server’s default DB user and pwd. These are what I always use with any of them.

Here are the Default Database Users and Password for the popular local servers for Windows:

XAMPP: User: root Pwd: <empty> do not type anything between the single quotes when editing the wp-config.php; but LEAVE the single quotes!

WAMP: User: root Pwd: <empty> same as above

MAMP for Windows: User: root Pwd: root

Uniform Server: User: root Pwd: root

Cheers!
Lyle

You didn’t mention if you did this, but you will also have to update all the other URLs and links to reflect their new location on the local XAMPP install.

An easy way to do so is to install and run this plugin:

https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/better-search-replace/

Once that is done, go to Settings > Permalinks and just click Save Changes; doing so rebuilds the local .htaccess file.

Cheers!
Lyle

@antorera –

You don’t mention which operating system you are on, Mac or Win. The reason I ask is that one cannot assume Mac for a MAMP any longer as MAMP has been available for Win for a while and has a bit of a different default setting.

That said, I am going to assume you are on a Mac and have used the default MAMP settings for the document root and server ports.

If so, then you access your local site with https://localhost:8888/folder-name and the login page at https://localhost:8888/wp-admin or /wp-login.php.

As you mentioned you already updated the siteurl and home fields in the wp_options table, just verify that the above-noted URL is there or do as mburridge suggested.

In addition, once you are able to login to the Dashboard, then install and run this plugin to update the rest of the URLs/links:

https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/better-search-replace/

Once that is done, then go to Settings > Permalinks and just click Save Changes; doing so rebuilds the local .htaccess file.

Cheers!
Lyle

What did I do wrong?

Nowhere ??

That is the correct method of having a domain at one place and hosting at another. However, it can take up to 24 hours for the domain to propagate; that’s just how it works ??

Cheers!
Lyle

Further to the above, for a WP site that was hosted on GD’s Managed WP Hosting:

Rename these two items (I just added -ORG to the end of the folder/file name):

– mu-plugins in wp-content/plugins
– gd-config.php in the root of the install

Then comment out this line in wp-config.php like so:

//require_once( dirname( __FILE__ ) . ‘/gd-config.php’ );

@pam Blizzard – quick question: was this from a GoDaddy Managed WordPress account?

If so, there are a few things you have to disable in order to get the site to work right in another environment. I can’t recall exactly what they are at the moment but will try to look them up and report back.

Cheers!
Lyle

@digitaldynastydesign –

When moving a WP site where the URLs will be different (as in your case, as it’s now on a local server) you will have to update the rest of the URLs/links. As you were able to login to the Dashboard, you obviously had changed the siteurl and home fields in the wp_options table in the database.

Now for the rest of them, including the image links. This is one of the easier ways to do so and the one I use all the time. Install and run this plugin:

https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/better-search-replace/

– this plugin also updates any URLs/links stored as serialized strings

Once that is done, go back to Settings > Permalinks and just click Save Changes; this will rebuild the local .htaccess file

Cheers!
Lyle

You say that you “had a database created on that end” but you didn’t mention that you imported the database that you exported from XAMPP. This is crucial in that all your content, menus, etc. is stored in and retrieved from the DB.

Also mentioned is that when you logged in it was like looking at a fresh install. Sounds as though that’s exactly what it was ??

Have a read through this codex article:

https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Moving_WordPress

Same goes for your XAMPP “crash”. If the files were all you had backed up (copied to the server) and did not have an export of the database, then I am afraid that it is gone.

Generally, these are the steps I take to move from local to live:
– export the local db
– ZIP the local install files, i.e. the folder in XAMPP where the local install resides
– create a new, empty db on the live host and import the local db
– edit the siteurl and home fields in the wp_options table on the live db to reflect the new location (URL)
– unload the local ZIP file to the correct location on the live server and unZIP (expand) it there
– edit the wp-config.php on the live version to reflect the live db credentials
– login to the Dashboard on the live site and install and run this plugin to update all the links/URLs to the live location:

https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/better-search-replace/

– once that is done, go to Settings > Permalinks and just click Save Changes; this rebuilds the .htaccess file

It sounds like a lot, but after doing this many times, it usually takes me about 5 minutes. There are plugins that will do this but I prefer to do it manually as I can control each step.

Cheers!
Lyle

@avinndrew-

You can have as many single installs as your hard drive has room for ?? And they do not all have to be WordPress; you can have Drupal, Joomla!, eFront, etc., basically any script that uses MySQL and Apache. Oh, and regular HTML sites too ??

A while back, I did multisite install working on XAMPP, but I can’t recall how I did it now; it was only to see if I could do it.

Cheers!
Lyle

@matt – had the same issue on a client’s site and after deleting and re-installing 1.5.1 (AFTER doing a site and database backup!), all is now working fine! Awesome plugin, BTW ??

Additionally, LOVE that WP Rollback plugin!

Cheers!
Lyle

Generally, you create a new database for each WP installation.

So go and create a new, empty database and name it Databasetwo (for example)

And you will then begin the installation with:

https://localhost/sitetwo

Then for the connections, it’s

Database name: Databasetwo
Username: root
Password: <empty>
Database Host: localhost
Table Prefix wp_

– From the MAMP Start Page, select phpMyAdmin from the Tools menu.
– Click the Databases tab and enter wordpress as the database name then click Create
– As DionDesign mentions, you need to add localhost as your DB Host.

The info you need to enter on the Database Connection page of the WP Install is then:

Database Name: wordpress
User Name: root
Password: root
Database Host: localhost
Table Prefix: wp_ <<leave as-is>>

Submit … away you go ??

@grimshadow99 –

The 2MB limit would lead me to believe you are using XAMPP as your local server as that is what it’s default value is set to.

To change it:

– open the XAMPP Control Panel and stop Apache if it is running
– click the Config button for Apache and select PHP (php.ini)
– this will open the current php.ini in Notepad
– perform a Find for upload_max_filesize
– change the value from 2M to 20M (or whatever you like) and Save
– restart Apache

I always like to change the post_max_size to match as well.

Cheers!
Lyle