Want to build a WordPress website without paying for web hosting or a domain name?

You can do that by installing WordPress Studio on your computer.

WordPress Studio is a free local development environment from the WordPress.com team. It allows you to create and run WordPress websites directly on your computer. You can use it to learn WordPress, design a website, test themes and plugins, build client websites, experiment with new ideas, and prepare a site before moving it to a live hosting server.

The best part is that you don’t need to purchase hosting just to start learning.

In this guide, I’ll show you step by step how to build a WordPress website for free on your computer using WordPress Studio.

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What Is WordPress Studio?

WordPress Studio is a desktop application designed for local WordPress development.

Instead of installing WordPress on a web hosting server, Studio creates a WordPress installation that runs directly on your computer.

Think of it as having a private WordPress server on your own PC or Mac.

You can:

• Create multiple WordPress websites
• Install themes and plugins
• Create pages and blog posts
• Customize your website
• Test WordPress updates
• Experiment with different designs
• Develop themes and plugins
• Import existing WordPress sites
• Export your local website
• Create temporary preview sites
• Prepare a website before publishing it online

Studio currently supports Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Is WordPress Studio really free?

Yes. The Studio application itself is available as a free desktop download.

However, there is an important distinction:

Building a website locally is free, but making it permanently available to the public requires web hosting.

Your local Studio website exists on your computer. Other people cannot normally access it over the internet.

Studio does provide temporary preview sites that you can share, but these are intended for temporary demonstrations and feedback rather than permanent website hosting.

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Why Use WordPress Studio?

There are several ways to create a WordPress website locally, including XAMPP, Local, Docker, and WordPress Playground.

Studio is particularly attractive if you want a straightforward WordPress-focused development environment.

1. No web hosting required

You don’t need to purchase hosting to start building your website.

Everything runs locally on your computer.

2. No domain name required

You don’t need to register a domain such as:

example.com

Your local website can use a localhost address or a custom .local domain.

3. Great for beginners

You can learn WordPress without worrying about breaking a live website.

If you make a mistake, you can experiment, troubleshoot, or start again.

4. Useful for website development

Developers can use Studio to test themes, plugins, PHP versions, WordPress versions, and other changes before applying them to a production website. Studio also provides advanced configuration options when creating a site.

5. Multiple websites

Studio allows you to create and manage multiple local WordPress websites from the same application.

This is especially useful if you’re a blogger, web designer, or developer who wants to work on several projects.

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What You Need Before Getting Started

You don’t need much.

You’ll need:

• A Windows, macOS, or Linux computer
• An internet connection for downloading Studio and WordPress components
• Enough free disk space for your websites
• WordPress Studio

You do not need:

• A web hosting account
• A domain name
• cPanel
• FTP
• A MySQL server installed separately
• A live website

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Step 1: Download WordPress Studio

First, download WordPress Studio from the official website.

Download WordPress Studio

Studio provides downloads for Windows, macOS, and Linux, including different builds for supported processor architectures.

Choose the installer appropriate for your computer.

Windows

Windows users can install Studio using the available Windows installer. Studio is also available through the Microsoft Store.

macOS

Mac users should choose the appropriate Apple Silicon or Intel version.

Linux

Linux versions are also available from the official Studio download page.

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Step 2: Install WordPress Studio

Once the download is complete, install the application as you would install any other desktop application.

On Windows, follow the installation prompts.Double click the studio installer and wait for several minutes.

On macOS, open the downloaded application and place Studio in your Applications folder.

Then launch WordPress Studio.

The first time you open it, you’ll be ready to create your first local WordPress website.

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Step 3: Create Your First WordPress Website

After launching Studio, look for the option to add a site.

Click:

Add site

Studio provides several options, including:

• Build a new site
• Connect a site
• Import from a backup

For this tutorial, choose:

Build a new site

Then choose:

Empty site

This creates a clean WordPress installation that you can configure yourself.

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Step 4: Give Your Website a Name

Enter a name for your website.

For example:

My First WordPress Website

The name is mainly used to identify the site inside Studio.

If you’re creating a website for a project, you might use a name such as:

Travel Blog

Business Website

Photography Portfolio

Online Store

Client Website

After entering the name, continue with the setup.

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Step 5: Configure the Advanced Settings

Studio provides optional advanced settings when creating a site.

Depending on your needs, you can configure things such as:

• Local site path
• WordPress version
• PHP version
• PHP runtime
• Administrator credentials
• Custom local domain

For your first website, the default settings are usually sufficient.

If you’re following a development tutorial that requires a specific WordPress or PHP version, however, the advanced settings can be very useful.

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Step 6: Choose a Local Domain

By default, Studio can run your website using localhost.

You can also configure a custom local domain ending in .local.

For example:

mywebsite.local

or:

wordpress-demo.local

A custom local domain can make your development environment feel more like a real website.

Studio can also provide HTTPS for custom local domains.

For beginners, however, there’s no need to complicate things. You can start with the default configuration and add a custom domain later.

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Step 7: Start Your WordPress Website

Once you’ve configured your site, click:

Add site

Studio will create the local WordPress installation.

Your new website will appear in the Studio sidebar.

A running website is indicated by the green status indicator.

Select your website and click:

Start

You can then open the site in your web browser.

Studio also provides an Open Site button for accessing the website and a WP Admin button for accessing the WordPress administration area.

Congratulations!

You now have a WordPress website running entirely on your computer.

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Step 8: Log In to WordPress Admin

Click:

WP Admin

This opens the familiar WordPress dashboard.

Depending on your Studio configuration, you can use the administrator credentials associated with the local site.

From the dashboard, you can perform the same basic WordPress tasks you’re familiar with on a normal hosted WordPress website.

For example, you can:

• Create posts
• Create pages
• Install plugins
• Install themes
• Configure menus
• Add images
• Customize the website
• Configure permalinks
• Manage users
• Change WordPress settings

The main difference is that the website is running locally instead of on a public web server.

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Step 9: Configure the Basic WordPress Settings

Before designing your website, it’s a good idea to configure the basic WordPress settings.

Go to:

Settings → General

Check your:

• Site Title
• Tagline
• WordPress Address
• Site Address
• Administration Email Address
• Time Zone
• Date Format
• Time Format

Don’t worry too much about the site URL while you’re developing locally.

When you eventually move the website to a real hosting account, the URL will normally change.

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Step 10: Configure Permalinks

Next, go to:

Settings → Permalinks

For most blogs and content websites, the Post name structure is a good choice.

For example:

yourwebsite.com/how-to-build-a-wordpress-website/

is generally more readable than a URL containing a numeric post ID.

Save your changes.

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Step 11: Choose a WordPress Theme

Now it’s time to design your website.

Go to:

Appearance → Themes

You can use one of the themes included with WordPress or install another theme.

If you’re building a modern WordPress website, you can also explore block themes and the Site Editor.

A local website is a great place to experiment with themes because you can try different designs without affecting a live website.

You can change:

• Colors
• Fonts
• Header
• Footer
• Navigation
• Page layouts
• Templates
• Blog design

If you don’t like the result, simply change the theme or restore your previous configuration.

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Step 12: Install WordPress Plugins

Plugins add functionality to WordPress.

Go to:

Plugins → Add New Plugin

You can search for plugins and install the ones you need.

For example, you might install plugins for:

• SEO
• Contact forms
• Security
• Caching
• Backups
• Analytics
• Ecommerce
• Image optimization
• Custom blocks

A local environment is an excellent place to test plugins.

For example, if you’re unsure whether two plugins work correctly together, you can test them on your Studio website before installing them on your production site.

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Step 13: Create Your Website Pages

Most websites need several basic pages.

For example:

• Home
• About
• Services
• Blog
• Contact
• Privacy Policy
• Terms and Conditions

Go to:

Pages → Add New Page

Create the pages your website needs.

If you’re creating a blog, you can then configure your homepage and posts page under:

Settings → Reading

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Step 14: Create Your First Blog Post

Now let’s create some content.

Go to:

Posts → Add New Post

Enter your post title and content.

You can add:

• Headings
• Paragraphs
• Images
• Videos
• Lists
• Buttons
• Tables
• Quotes
• Links
• WordPress blocks

When you’re satisfied with the article, publish it.

Because this is a local website, the post is only available on your computer unless you create a preview or move the website to a live server.

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Step 15: Customize Your Website

Now comes the fun part.

Spend some time making your website look the way you want.

Depending on your theme, you may be able to customize:

Header

Add your logo, navigation menu, site title, and other elements.

Homepage

Create a professional landing page that introduces your website.

Footer

Add copyright information, navigation links, social media links, and other useful information.

Typography

Choose fonts and adjust heading and paragraph styles.

Colors

Set your website’s primary and secondary colors.

Layout

Adjust content width, columns, spacing, and other design elements.

Because you’re working locally, you can experiment freely.

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Step 16: Test Your Website

Before publishing a website, test it carefully.

Check your:

Navigation

Click every menu item.

Links

Make sure internal and external links work.

Images

Check that images display correctly and aren’t unnecessarily large.

Forms

Test contact forms and other interactive elements.

Mobile layout

Resize your browser window and check how the website behaves on smaller screens.

Plugins

Make sure your plugins work correctly together.

Pages

Check important pages such as your homepage, About page, Contact page, and Privacy Policy.

Blog posts

Check headings, images, links, categories, and formatting.

This is one of the biggest advantages of developing locally: you can find and fix problems before visitors ever see them.

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Step 17: Use a Custom .local Domain

If you want a more realistic development environment, Studio allows you to configure a custom local domain.

For example:

myblog.local

Studio’s custom domains must use the .local ending. HTTPS can also be enabled for custom domains.

This can be particularly useful if you’re developing websites for clients.

Instead of telling a client:

http://localhost/...

you can give them a more recognizable local address such as:

myclientsite.local

Keep in mind that a .local address is still a local development address. It isn’t a publicly registered domain.

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Step 18: Create a Temporary Preview Website

What if you want someone else to see your locally developed website?

Studio includes a Preview Sites feature.

Preview Sites can create temporary online versions of your local site that you can share with clients or team members without deploying anywhere.

These preview sites use temporary wp.build domains and are intended for sharing work and collecting feedback. They can be useful when you want someone to review a website without giving them access to your computer.

However, they aren’t intended to replace permanent web hosting.

For a permanently accessible website, you’ll eventually need a hosting solution.

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Step 19: Import an Existing WordPress Website

Studio isn’t only useful for creating new websites.

You can also use it to work with an existing WordPress website.

For example, you might have a website already running on a hosting server and want to create a local copy so you can safely experiment with it.

Studio supports importing WordPress backups.

To import a site, select:

Add site → Import from a backup

You can provide a supported .zip or .tar.gz backup file.

Studio also supports several other backup formats, including .wpress files created by All-in-One WP Migration and Backup, Local app ZIP files, and WordPress Playground ZIP files.

This can be extremely useful when redesigning an existing website.

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Step 20: Export Your WordPress Website

After you’ve finished developing your website, you may want to move it somewhere else.

Studio allows you to export your entire local website.

Open the site and go to:

Import / Export

You can choose:

Export entire site

or export the database separately.

A full-site export is created as a ZIP file, while the database can be exported as an .sql file.

This gives you a convenient way to create a backup of your local WordPress project.

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Step 21: Move Your Local Website to a Live Server

Eventually, you may want to make your website publicly accessible.

The general process is:

Build locally → Test → Export → Upload to hosting → Configure domain → Test again

You will need a web hosting account for a permanent public website.

After obtaining hosting, you can migrate the local website to your hosting provider using an appropriate migration or backup method.

Studio’s export functionality can produce a full-site ZIP backup, and the official documentation provides guidance for moving exported sites to hosted WordPress environments.

If you’re using a compatible paid WordPress.com or Pressable setup, Studio also has a Studio Sync feature that can synchronize local and production/staging sites.

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Studio vs. a Live WordPress Website

It’s important to understand the difference.

Feature	WordPress Studio	Live WordPress Website
Runs on your computer	Yes	No
Requires hosting	No	Yes
Requires a domain	No	Usually
Publicly accessible	No	Yes
Install themes	Yes	Yes
Install plugins	Yes	Yes
Create posts/pages	Yes	Yes
Test changes safely	Excellent	Riskier
Suitable for development	Excellent	Not ideal
Permanent public website	No	Yes

The easiest way to think about Studio is:

Studio is your development environment.

Your hosting account is your production environment.

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WordPress Studio vs. XAMPP

If you’ve previously used XAMPP to install WordPress locally, you may wonder how Studio compares.

Feature	Studio	XAMPP
WordPress-focused	Yes	No
Beginner-friendly	Very	Moderate
Apache configuration	Not normally required	Yes
MySQL configuration	Handled by Studio	Manual setup commonly required
PHP management	Built into Studio workflow	Configure separately
Multiple WordPress sites	Yes	Yes
Local WordPress development	Excellent	Excellent
General PHP development	More limited	Excellent

XAMPP is a general-purpose local server environment containing components such as Apache, PHP, and MariaDB.

Studio, on the other hand, is designed specifically around WordPress development.

If your main goal is building WordPress websites, Studio can be a much simpler starting point.

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WordPress Studio Blueprints

One particularly useful Studio feature is Blueprints.

A Blueprint is essentially a JSON-based recipe that tells Studio how to create a WordPress environment.

A Blueprint can define things such as:

• WordPress version
• PHP version
• Plugins
• Themes
• Site settings
• Starter content
• Custom setup steps

Studio includes featured Blueprints for different use cases, including quick starts, development, and ecommerce.

For example, an ecommerce Blueprint can provide a starting environment designed around WooCommerce.

This can save considerable time if you frequently build similar websites.

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Tips for Using WordPress Studio

Here are some practical tips that can make your local WordPress workflow easier.

1. Keep backups

Your website is stored on your computer.

If your computer fails and you don’t have a backup, your local website could be lost.

Export important projects regularly.

2. Don’t treat your local site as a permanent backup

A local development environment should not be your only backup.

Keep important website backups in a separate location.

3. Test plugins before using them on a live site

Install a plugin on your Studio site first.

Test it.

Check for conflicts.

Then consider installing it on your production website.

4. Don’t develop directly on your live website when you can avoid it

Making major changes directly to a production website can cause unexpected problems.

Building and testing locally gives you a safer workflow.

5. Keep WordPress and plugins updated

Use your local environment to test updates before applying major changes to production.

6. Be careful when changing PHP versions

Studio allows you to change PHP versions, but plugins and themes may not work correctly with every PHP version.

If a site starts producing errors after changing versions, check your active plugins and themes first.

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Common Problems and Solutions

WordPress Studio won’t start

First, restart Studio and your computer.

Then check whether you’re running a supported version of the application and operating system.

If the problem persists, consult the official Studio documentation and troubleshooting resources.

My website isn’t loading

Check the Studio sidebar.

If the site isn’t running, click:

Start

A stopped site won’t be available in your browser until you start it again.

A plugin doesn’t work

Try disabling other plugins to determine whether there’s a compatibility conflict.

You can also test the plugin on a fresh Studio installation.

My website works locally but not on hosting

This can happen because the local and production environments aren’t identical.

Check:

• PHP version
• WordPress version
• Plugin compatibility
• Theme compatibility
• Database settings
• File permissions
• Site URLs
• SSL configuration

Always test the migrated website carefully before considering the migration complete.

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Can You Build a Complete Website with WordPress Studio?

Absolutely.

You can build virtually every component of a normal WordPress website locally.

For example, you can build:

• Personal blogs
• Business websites
• Portfolio websites
• Magazine websites
• Membership websites
• Ecommerce websites
• Landing pages
• Client websites
• Custom WordPress themes
• Custom WordPress plugins

The important limitation is that your Studio website is local.

It isn’t automatically a public website.

When you’re ready to launch, you’ll need to move the website to a hosting environment or use an appropriate deployment/sync workflow.

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Who Should Use WordPress Studio?

WordPress Studio is especially useful for:

Beginners

If you’re learning WordPress, you can experiment without paying for hosting.

Bloggers

You can create and test a complete blog before publishing it.

Web designers

You can build websites locally and show clients temporary previews.

WordPress developers

You can develop and test themes and plugins locally.

Agencies

You can create separate local environments for different client projects.

Website owners

You can clone or import an existing website and safely test changes before applying them to your live site.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is WordPress Studio free?

Yes. The WordPress Studio desktop application is available as a free download.

Can I use WordPress Studio without hosting?

Yes.

That’s one of its main purposes. Your WordPress website runs locally on your computer.

Do I need a domain name?

No.

You can use the default local address or configure a custom .local domain.

Can I install plugins?

Yes.

You can install and test WordPress plugins just as you would on a normal WordPress installation.

Can I install themes?

Yes.

You can install WordPress themes and customize your website locally.

Can I build an ecommerce website?

Yes.

You can install WooCommerce or use a suitable Blueprint to create an ecommerce development environment. Studio currently provides an ecommerce-oriented featured Blueprint.

Can other people see my local website?

Not normally.

Your Studio website runs on your computer.

However, Studio’s Preview Sites feature can create a temporary online version that you can share for feedback.

Can I move my Studio website to hosting?

Yes.

Studio supports full-site exports that can be used as part of a migration workflow. Compatible WordPress.com and Pressable sites can also use Studio Sync.

Do I need a WordPress.com account?

You can use Studio for local development without treating WordPress.com as your web host. Some Studio features, such as Preview Sites and certain synchronization functions, require WordPress.com authentication or compatible hosting plans.

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Final Thoughts

Studio makes it genuinely easy to get hands-on with WordPress without any of the traditional setup headaches. Whether you’re a complete beginner curious about how WordPress works, or a developer who wants a faster local environment for client projects, it’s worth adding to your toolkit. Download it, create your first site, and see how far you can get before you ever need to think about hosting.

You can install WordPress on your computer, create pages and posts, experiment with themes and plugins, test changes, and develop an entire website without making anything publicly accessible.

A simple workflow is:

Install Studio → Create a WordPress site → Build → Customize → Test → Export → Move to hosting

The biggest advantage is that you can experiment without putting your live website at risk.

Once you’re comfortable with your locally developed website, you can move it to a real hosting server and connect your domain name.

For anyone learning WordPress—or anyone who regularly builds websites—having a local development environment is a valuable addition to your toolkit.