Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

How to Download a WordPress Site Locally

WordPress is a popular content management system used for creating blogs and websites. If you want to make changes to your WordPress site, it's a good idea to download and work on it locally before making any changes live. This way, you can test out new themes, plugins, or code modifications without risking the live site's stability.

In this article, we'll cover the steps to download a WordPress site locally.

Step 1: Choose a Local Development Environment

To download and work on a WordPress site locally, you'll need to set up a local development environment on your computer. There are several options available, including DesktopServer, Local by Flywheel, and XAMPP.

Once you've chosen a local development environment, install and set it up following the instructions provided by the software.

Step 2: Download the WordPress Site Files

To download the WordPress site files, you'll need to access your site's files via FTP (File Transfer Protocol). You can do so by using an FTP client such as FileZilla.

Once you've connected to your site via FTP, navigate to the root directory of your WordPress site and download all the files and folders to your computer.

Alternatively, you can use a plugin like BackWPup to create a backup of your site, which you can then download to your computer.

Step 3: Export the WordPress Database

WordPress stores all its data in a database, so you'll need to export the database to work with the site locally. To do this, log in to your website's cPanel or use a plugin like WP-DB-Backup to create a database backup.

Once you have the database backup, download it to your computer.

Step 4: Import the Database Locally

Now that you have the database backup, you can import it into your local development environment. Depending on the development environment you're using, the method may vary. Refer to the instructions provided by your local development environment to import the database.

Step 5: Connect the Database to the WordPress Site Files

Once you've imported the database, you'll need to connect it to the WordPress site files you downloaded earlier. To do this, you'll need to open the wp-config.php file (located in the root directory of your WordPress site files) and update the database connection details to match the ones on your local development environment.

Step 6: Access Your Site Locally

You're now ready to access your WordPress site locally! Depending on the development environment you're using, you may need to start the local server to view the site. Once the local server is running, open your web browser and navigate to the local URL of your site (e.g., localhost:8888/mysite).

Conclusion

Downloading a WordPress site locally is a simple process that can save you a lot of headaches down the road. By following the steps outlined in this article, you'll be able to work on your site locally with ease and confidence.