Last month, a new tool was introduced to create or test WordPress sites on desktop systems, but it was initially limited to Apple Mac devices. This month, it’s been announced that WordPress Studio is now available for Microsoft Windows as well.
According to recent data, Microsoft Windows users make up over 25% of WordPress developers. However, it is likely that many more non-developers who utilize WordPress for their websites would be interested in learning how to create with it.
WordPress Studio is an intuitive development platform designed to assist both developers using Microsoft Windows and non-developers who aim to learn how to use WordPress without affecting a live website.
The official announcement highlighted:
“We recently launched Studio, our free and open-source local WordPress development environment, for MacOS, and we’re happy to share that the Windows version of Studio is now available!
As a reminder, we’ve built Studio to be the fastest and simplest way to build WordPress sites locally.”
Local WordPress Development
Local development refers to working on a website from your desktop rather than directly on a web host. This approach offers various benefits, with convenience being the foremost. When you develop a site locally, the chances of accidentally making it public are minimized, thereby avoiding any unintended repercussions for the live site. This is another reason why local development is popular.
Additionally, local development is often cheaper and faster, and for those with fewer development skills, it’s generally easier than setting up an online testing site. This method allows testing of new plugins to ensure they don’t break the website or simply creating a demo site to share with clients or team members.
One downside to local development has been the steep learning curve of many popular platforms, which can be inconvenient for publishers and small-to-medium businesses lacking time to learn another skill.
WordPress Studio
A new solution has been introduced specifically for WordPress users, making local WordPress development easier for testing, developing, and learning. Until now, testing WordPress plugins or getting comfortable with WordPress often involved additional costs or complex setups.
Notable benefits listed include:
- Demo sites:
Share interactive snapshots of your local sites with clients or colleagues. - Superfast WordPress installation:
Create unlimited local sites quickly and efficiently. - Dependency-free building:
Build lightweight and reliable local WordPress sites without additional software like Docker, NGINX, Apache, or MySQL. - One-click admin:
Access WP Admin for each site with just one click, saving time on password management. - Open your site anywhere:
Open your site’s code in your favored Integrated Development Environment (IDE), Command-Line Interface (CLI), or file browser. - Support from top WordPress contributors:
With 109 active contributors, the platform is built by some of the most knowledgeable contributors to WordPress.
Create And Share A Demo Site
One impressive feature of WordPress Studio is the ability to share demo sites with team members or clients to receive feedback and make iterative improvements. Users need to create an account and connect the local Studio desktop app. Five demo sites can be hosted for free on a temporary domain. Demo sites remain active for 7 days after the last update. If an extension is needed, simply update the demo site.
All demo sites can be manually deleted from both the hosted demo and desktop environments.
Screenshot Of How To Delete A Website In Studio
Support For Exporting A Theme
The WordPress Studio local development environment allows for exporting themes. Users can create a theme on their desktop and then export it as a zip file for uploading to a live site or staging environment online.
The instructions for using Studio suggest it is considerably easier compared to other local development solutions, which are generally designed to accommodate a wide variety of websites, not just WordPress sites. The learning curve appears to be relatively gentle.
Learn more about the Windows version of WordPress Studio:
Studio: Now Available for Windows
Download a Windows or Mac version of Studio, both versions are free:
Build Fast, Ship Faster with Studio
