Every blogger should have a test site. I have 5, (3 online 2 offline/localhost). Why test site, some may asked. Test sites allows you to put your website (whether it is a blog, forum, CMS, etc) to a test and experiment it locally (even if you are offline) with new plug-ins/themes so you don’t have to interrupt your on-running live site all the time.
Click to skip if you already know about Apache web server.
A little background information..
How do you achieve test site on local PC and make sure it react exactly like your pay
hosting? Before I start writing mine, I checked out
Wiki-How just to make sure the end results of theirs and mine will still be the same.
Wiki-How break the installation of web server into 4 parts, the installing of
- Apache Webserver
- MYSQL
- PHP Engine
- PhpMyAdmin
A little intro for those who are unsure of that these are. I’m trying my best not to sound too technical, so here goes.
Apache webserver is the things that runs your dynamic website; You’ll need
MYSQL if your website keeps data/record in database;
PHP Engine lets you run PHP scripts on your webserver;
PhpMyAdmin interact with MYSQL so you can update your database records.
With the traditional way, these four components will have to be downloaded separately and configured and link properly if order to achieve “Localhost”. That is tedious for novices.