How to install Wordpress on Windows

WinNMP - Nginx MariaDB Redis Php development stack for Windows

A lightweight, fast and stable server stack for developing php mysql applications on windows, based on the excellent webserver Nginx. A lighter alternative to XAMPP and WAMP.

How to install Wordpress on Windows:

1. Install WinNMP Stack

Download the latest installer. The installer produces a portable folder.

2. Create a new Wordpress Project

New Project

Open WinNMP Manager by clicking the taskbar or desktop icon, then click on New Project icon, choose a project name like MyProject, hit Enter or click Save Project.
Check Enable Local Virtual Server
Save the project settings.

3. Download Wordpress

Download the Wordpress Archive
Extract files to WinNMP\WWW\MyProject

4. Setup Nginx

Edit WinNMP\conf\domains.d\MyProject.conf directly or in WinNMP Projects list > Project Setup > Edit Nginx Virtual Server button.
Replace the location / { directive with:


    ## avoid processing of calls to non-existing static files
    location ~* \.(js|css|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|swf|ico|pdf|mov|fla|zip|rar|7z|tar|tgz|gz|ttf|otf|eot|swg|woff|woff2)$ {
        expires 1y;
        try_files $uri =404;

    } 

    location / {

        fastcgi_read_timeout    80s;
        fastcgi_intercept_errors off;

        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;

        rewrite /wp-admin$ $scheme://$host$uri/ permanent;

        # BEGIN W3TC Minify core
        rewrite ^/wp-content/cache/minify.*/w3tc_rewrite_test$ /wp-content/plugins/w3-total-cache/pub/minify.php?w3tc_rewrite_test=1 last;
        rewrite ^/wp-content/cache/minify/(.+/[X]+\.css)$ /wp-content/plugins/w3-total-cache/pub/minify.php?test_file=$1 last;
        rewrite ^/wp-content/cache/minify/(.+\.(css|js))$ /wp-content/plugins/w3-total-cache/pub/minify.php?file=$1 last;
        # END W3TC Minify core

    }

    location = /xmlrpc.php { 
        deny all;
    }

    # https://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress#Configure_nginx

5. Enable HTTPS using an SSL certificate

Self Signed SSL certificates are usefull only for local development and are easy to set up. Follow this instructions to enable them.
You can also use free SSL Certificates from LetsEncrypt but you need good network administration skills

6. Apply Changes to Nginx:

Press Kill / Start Nginx

7. Wordpress Setup Wizard

Browse to http://MyProject.test (OR https://MyProject.test if you added an SSL certificate) and follow the instructions

MySql server:       'localhost'
MySql user:         'root' or 'MyProject'
MySql password:     '' (no password)
MySql database:     'MyProject'

8. Wordpress Command Line Utility wp-cli

if you open a Command Prompt you can use the wp command to manage Wordpress trough the command line:
```
cd MyProject
wp help
wp cache flush
```

Additional articles about installing Wordpress on Windows using WinNMP

Install and run WordPress on Nginx locally - WinNMP (fan video)
WinNMP / WTServer configuration for WordPress (old article - 2017 )