MAMP is for server side technologies on the Mac. WAMP does the same for windows. I only talk about MAMP. If you are using a PC, replace MAMP with WAMP.
It is an acronym that stands for either Mac or Windows, Apache, MYSQL and PHP. Apache is the web server, MYSQL is the database and you all know about PHP.
MAMP allows you to run PHP and CMS on your computer, rather than relying on a server and internet connections, which can be slow or not functioning at all, as we have witnessed. Once you have a developed a site using MAMP, it is possible to transfer the PHP documents, resources and database information to a server.
Linda.com has a tutorial on how to install MAMP for wordpress
Accessing PHP files
Download MAMP. Run the MAMP software. The initial settings allows you to access information stored in the htdocs folder, located inside of the MAMP folder in your Applications folder. If you place a hello.php file into that folder, you can access it by typing http://localhost:8887/hello.php in the browser address bar.
Text for the “hello.php” file:
<!DOCTYPE html> <?php echo "Hello World!"; ?>
That’s it! You should see “Hello World!” when you open the page. You can develop your modular final in a local environment with includes such as PHP navigation. This should make the process much more immediate.
Running WordPress
Download WordPress. Install the uncompressed WordPress files into the htdocs folder. Do not drag the folder itself, just the files inside of the folder.
WordPress requires the MYSQL database. MAMP takes care of this, but you need to manage it using Sequel Pro.
Download Sequel Pro. For Windows, try MYSQL Workbench. Open Sequel Pro and click on the Socket tab. The host name will be localhost. Default user name is root and Password is root.
This information can be found on the Open WebStart Page of MAMP. Enter name and password and hit the connect button.
Create a new database for WordPress to use by clicking in the menu and elect add Database. Make up a simple name.
Go to the localhost root folder in the browser: http://localhost:8888/. This will bring up WordPress’s famous five-minute installation process.
WordPress asks you what language you want to proceed in. Select the language and click continue
It tells you what information is required to connect to the database. Click Let’s go!
Fill in the name you gave the database, the User Name and the Password. Click Submit.
WordPress tells you that everything you have done has worked, and you can run the WordPress install. If not, you did something wrong. Click Run the install.
WordPress requires more information, like the Site Title, Username of the Administrator, Password, remain address. Click Install WorldPress when you have completed all of the information.
You now have your own locally hosted WordPress Site!