It can be tempting to choose to have WordPress on your computer. Advanced users do find several useful advantages to this choice:
- Working offline: You can work without an Internet connection.
- Privacy: Your WordPress site will be safe and private, accessible only to people who can access that computer.
- Free: There are no fees to pay.
- Fast: You don’t need to connect to a remote server.
However, there are also several important disadvantages to using a computer:
- Extra installations needed: You need to download and configure special software for your computer.
- Difficult to get help: You can’t easily show it to other people and ask for help.
- Only one computer: You can access it only from the computer you used to install it.
- Need to move to launch: When you’re ready to make your site public, you need to move everything to a web server and adjust for any differences between the two locations. Moving a WordPress site is not easy for beginners.
Because of these disadvantages, installing on your computer can present significant obstacles for a beginner. Do not take this route until you have more experience.
However, if you do feel comfortable overcoming these obstacles, here are video instructions on how to install WordPress on your computer: