How To Install WordPress on a mac in 5 Clicks for free

Webmaster, bloggers, and designers often need to work on wordpress design on a test site before sending something over to a live site, but most solutions for getting wordpress installs onto a mac involve complex virtual servers, and manual uploading and setup. There’s an easier way. Here’s how to set up a fully manipulable test install of WordPress on a mac in only five clicks.

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Instructions for Installing WordPress On Mountain Lion

  1. Open up the Mac App Store.
  2. Search for “BitNamiStackWordpress”.
  3. Install the free app of the same name, and launch it.
  4. The app will do all the heavy lifting for you. 
  5. In the app, go to the “manage servers” tab, and click “start all”. This will start up your new virtual server, and may take a minute.
  6. Go back to the welcome tab.
  7. Click “Visit Application”.
  8. Click “Access Bitnami WordPress Stack” on the web page that the last button has taken you to. 
  9. Welcome  to your new wordpress site. This is a fully functional wordpress, built for testing on your server. To get advanced with your skills, pick up a copy of wordpress for dummies.

How it Works

The app uses a variety of automated processes to set up a virtual server on your hard drive, and then installs open-source software like WordPress and PHP-MyAdmin for you, giving you full database control, and easy access to wordpress straight from your mac computer.

Michael Sitver

Michael Sitver is a technology insider who has been blogging about technology since 2011. Along the way, he's interviewed founders of innovative startups, and executives from fortune 500 companies, and he's tried dozens or hundreds of gadgets. Michael has also contributed to works featured in Newsday, The San Francisco Chronicle, and the associated press. Michael also occasionally consults, and writes for Seeking Alpha and Yahoo News.

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