If you are entering the world of web development, it is likely that you have come across the need to install XAMPP on your Windows computer. The name of XAMPP refers to the software package that contains Apache, MySQL, PHP and Perl, oriented to any operating system, unlike LAMP and WAMP, which are somewhat similar options, for Linux and Windows. Although each alternative has its particularities, XAMPP has very interesting additional functions that make work more comfortable. In that sense, We are going to show you all the steps you must follow, from downloading it to turning on the MySQL and Apache services.
If you have taken a look at this process and it seems complicated, don't worry, because next we are going to show you that it is a really simple task and that it will not take you too much time.
Steps to install XAMPP on Windows
To start the process of installing XAMPP on Windows you must have an internet connection to download and enough resources on your computer to support the software package.. To find out if your team can do it, all you have to do is go to the official XAMPP page and review the minimum and recommended requirements.
Here are the steps to follow to have XAMPP on your computer.
Download XAMPP
The first step in this task will be to download the XAMPP installer and for this, you must follow this link. The file can be found on the official site of Apache Friends, the community that had the idea of creating this software package given the difficulty and time it took to install each component separately..
Once inside, you will see 3 download options that are nothing more than the last 3 versions of XAMPP. Download the most recent or the one you need for your project by clicking the download button.
Install XAMPP
Run the installer and choose the components
Once you have the installer on your computer, we will move on to the installation process. To start, double click on the file and when the welcome screen is displayed, click on the button «Next«. This will take you to the selection of XAMPP components that you want to incorporate into your installation. It should be noted that there are some options in grey, this indicates that they are mandatory elements for the program. This is especially useful for when we already have an application like MySQL, so it will suffice to disable it so that it is not installed.
When you finish with this step, click on «Next»
Select the installation directory
Now you will have to choose the folder where the program will be installed. If you want to do it in the default directory, then leave everything as it is and click «Next«.
Know more about Bitnami
This is a promotional step for XAMPP, since it invites us to learn about Bitnami, a plugin that will allow us to add WordPress, Joomla and other options to our server. If you click on «Know more about Bitnami«, the installer will show you the information in question. Go to the button «Next» to go to the next step.
XAMPP installation begins
The next screen will indicate that everything is ready to install XAMPP on Windows. In that sense, click on «Next» and you will see the progress bar advance until the installation process is finished. When finished, the notification screen will be displayed next to a box indicating the opening of the XAMPP Control Panel when closing the installer, you will also have to select the system language between English and German.
Launch the services
After the previous step, the Control Panel of the application will open immediately where you will see the controls aimed at activating XAMPP services. If all the installation was correct, it will be enough to click on the button «Home» of each service to start working.
Conclusions and considerations about the installation of XAMPP
XAMPP is an essential software package for anyone in the world of web development, at any level. By turning your computer into a web server, you will have the possibility of carrying out all kinds of tests without having to touch the production version. In this way, you will have a completely controlled environment to make changes and review the behavior of your page under certain conditions.
In general, installing XAMPP on Windows is a really easy process, even when we have somewhat different needs, such as installing or omitting a specific component.. You just have to be especially careful when downloading the installation file, trying to do it from the official page and choosing the right version for your project. Likewise, it is important to have enough disk space and also take advantage of the Bitnami service to quickly incorporate any CMS solution you want to use.