I have been using MAMP and WAMP for my local WordPress development for years. When I was a primarily Windows user, my obvious choice was the WAMP stack. However, when I switched to MacOS from Windows, I switched to MAMP stack. Now I am primarily a Mac user with MAMP stack and use windows occasionally.
Whenever we have a new Machine, we have to go through the setting up rituals of our applications and workflows of choices. We all change our machines for performance reasons, and I was doing the same recently. My new iMac machine is powered by MacOS Catalina which is said to have enhanced security. While setting up my MacOS machines for development, I usually follow Tania Rascia’s guide but also install MAMP as I am used to this stack.
Problems in MAMP Installation in MacOS
I install the MAMP stack onto my machine following install instructions but after install, I encountered some problems like “the requested URL was not found on this server” and after some research found that “Apache configuration needs to be edited to point to that directory and set the same permissions“. There are similar problems reported by others too while upgrading to the Catalina.
I attempted to troubleshoot following this guide but realized it was a little messy for me and probably more suitable for PHP developers. Then I started looking for the alternatives.
Local by Flywheel Local
Recently I had come across articles about the Local by Flywheel including this in the CSS-Tricks. CSS-Tricks’s Chris Coyier’s verdict was it hassle free.
It’s really good. It does everything you want it to, well, with zero hassle, and nothing more. – Chris Coyier, CSS Tricks
After some review I realized it has some neat hassle free features too, as also described in this guide.
- Docker Container Technology: Local helps to build isolated sites powered by Docker, making to easy to match live production server.
- NGINX or Apache: Local lets you choose from both NGINX or Apache and hot swap between them at any time as per your needs.
- Multiple PHP Versions: Local lets you use multiple PHP versions allowing you to choose from versions including 5.2.4, 5.2.17, 5.3.29, 5.6.20, 7.0.3, and more.
- Clone Local Sites: Local lets you easily clone sites that you have set up in the application.
- WordPress MultiSite Option: You can choose to install WordPress multisite with options for both subdomain and subdirectory installations.
- Site Blueprints: Easily create and save Blueprints to help you launch the next site with saved settings within few clicks.
- Import and Export Sites: Local lets you import and export websites with plenty of configurations. All files, databases, and configurations can be imported or exported as per your needs.
- SSL for Local Sites: Local lets you have HTTPS for local websites helping you work locally matching the production server SSL.
- SSH and WP-CLI Support: Local supports WP-CLI, command line interface for WordPress (type wp after opening site SSH) and lets you have Simple root SSH access to individual sites.
Set Up & Installation
Local by Flywheel was install & set up as described below as described in this tutorial.
Step 1: Download and open file to initiate the install process
Firs downloaded the application from the Local homepage and clicking the Free Download button. I elected MacOS platform and entered few details (Name, Email Address etc.) and downloaded the application. Unzip the downloaded file and initiate the install process by opening the Local by Flywheel application file.
Step 2: Install and configure the required components
Next, install and configure some components required by the application. Click on the “Let’s Go” button to start installing the required components. MacOS administrative password may be required to configure the local changes.
Step 3: Start creating Local WordPress sites
Once the application is installed, a blank application screen windows appears to add first WordPress site. Just click on “Add site” button to add your fist local WordPress website.
Step 4: Configure Site Setup, Environment, and WordPress options
1. Under Site Setup, fill in the options for Site name and Site domain.Site path field is filled by default under -/Local Sites/(site_name) folder but it can also be customized to different location with Browse button.
2. The environment settings have additional options to define the PHP and MySQL versions and choose from nginx or Apache Web Server.
3. Complete a few required WordPress options including Admin Username, Password, and Email.
4. Once installed, the details settings of new WordPress site is displaced.
5. Once the site is live, the site setting window has quick links for Admin and View Site just beside the name of WordPress installation on top. The site can also be accessed by entering the site domain in browser address bar.
Additional useful features of Local flywheel application include enabling SSL by clicking on Trust button on the SSL tab of the installation.
Related Resources
While preparing this post, I have referred the following references extensively. Please refer to original posts for more detailed information.