Using WAMP as a Web Testing Environment

For many, one of the most discouraging parts of learning to create and manage their own website is the question of where it will be hosted. In the early days of the web other people would host your sites as you would not have the ability or money to do so yourself. That is no longer the case. With the introduction of free, open source web server software such as Apache and Lighttpd, combined with high speed internet services such as cable and DSL, users are finally able to test and host their sites using a spare computer. While significantly cheaper than the previous options, the idea of installing and configuring such programs seems nearly impossible for beginners. This is where software like WAMP comes into play. WAMP stands for Windows Apache MYSQL PHP. Simply put, it packages the major components of a web server into an easy to install form. This means that anyone can get their site running as fast as possible for little or no money.

Installation

Download the latest version of WAMP from http://www.wampserver.com/en/download.php.

There is one option in particular to look out for when you are installing it.

When given the option to install WAMP as a service, I would recommend unchecking it. Since it will be used only when needed you may want to keep it closed to save memory. If you do not want to deal with the hassle of turning it on every time, leave it checked.

Open WAMP and ensure all the services are running by clicking the icon in the lower right corner of the screen. Copy or create all the files for your site in the www folder. (C:\wamp\www by default.) Finally, browse to localhost to see what is currently stored on your server. Bookmark this for future reference. You now have a quick and easy way to test any scripts you may have, whether they are plain HTML, Javascript, or PHP.