What is localhost? How to Install?

 There is a lot of technical jargon commonly used when discussing networking, server administration and data transfer, and these terms can easily get confused.

If one of these terms, “localhost”, confuses you and you do not know exactly what localhost is, we have tried to explain it in detail for you below.

What is localhost?

127.0.0.1Localhost is your own computer with the default IP address. 127.0.0.1When you try to connect to, it will always connect to your own system or your own PC.

Localhost is simply the server used by your own computer. The term is largely used in the context of networking.

127.0.0.1The IP address is not registered anywhere and cannot be retrieved by any website or domain name on the web. It has a unique IP address range starting at 127. These do not exist in the WWW at all, they are only individual addresses created in Local Area Networks.

What Is Localhost Used For?

As you know, a certain bandwidth is required to communicate on the Internet. Localhost was created so that developers and network engineers can test it on their local system before going live on the main server or the internet.

Let's say we want to test a new design for our Kaeducator.com website. Before we go live, we need to test our website to make sure that all functions in the new design are working absolutely fine. 

Localhost is used for testing, so we can create our own computer as a server and test the functionality of the new theme. After testing all functions, we can stream the theme live on our website.

This will help us seamlessly transition from our old design to a new one without breaking any functionality on the website.

How Can I Find My Localhost Address?

In any computer network, the term localhost refers to the computer on which the program is running. The computer acts as a virtual server. Actually, the computer is not a physical object, but the system works virtually. 

So, just enter the IP address, if you want to find your localhost address. This must be entered on the computer from which the request is made. 127.0.0.1Using the address allows you to establish a connection and transfer information for server programs running on the same computer as the client program, regardless of the hardware configuration of the computer network.

The good thing is, you don't need a network card, modem or any other communication equipment for this. The interface is implemented using the device driver in the kernel of the operating system.

Uses of Localhost

Localhost has three main uses:

1. Speed ​​test

As a network administrator, you need to ensure that all equipment and TCP/IP protocols are working properly. You can check the connection by sending a ping request to localhost. The test will show if everything is ok. This also helps you fix any problem.

2. Test Program or Web Applications

Connecting to the localhost address serves a great purpose for developers when building a web application or any program that requires an internet connection. As we described above, our operating system becomes a simulated server.

Thus, you can upload the required program files to the server (i.e. local operating system) and check its performance and test various functions of our application before going live on the real server accessible to a wider audience.

3. Site Blocking

You can use localhost to block websites you don't want others to access. The loopback address interface is useful for preventing access to malicious websites and other unwanted content.

How to Install Localhost on Windows?

Click the Windows Start button and select " Control Panel ". A window opens with a list of system options and utilities 

Click the “ Programs ” link. Click “ Turn Windows Features On or Off ” in the list of options. Currently installed programs list will be displayed. 

Check the box labeled " Internet Information Services ". Click " OK ". Now the IIS service is installed on your computer. 

Restart the computer. After the computer boots, open a Web browser. Type “ in the navigation text box http://localhost/. Press Enter. ” The default web page for IIS opens.

How to Install WordPress Localhost?

Go to the official website of XAMPP. You Select your operating system and click the get button. There are different versions for different operating systems. Choose the perfect one for your device. Click the get button and Wait a few minutes. The file is about 150 MB, so you need to give it some time to get. 

After getting the software, you need to unzip the file. Once the file is ready, simply select or double-click the Upload button. After a while, the installation process will begin. 

In the next step, you will see some checkboxes that are already checked. You only need MySQL and phpMyAdmin, so uncheck the others. 

After a few minutes you will see a welcome notification. This means your installation is working perfectly. If you have any antivirus software installed on your computer, you may see a security alert. Don't worry, check any of the given networks and click on the Allow access button to continue. 

You will see a language selection screen option, tick the one you want and click the Save button.

The installation process almost at the end. On the screen that opens, just tick the question box and click the Finish button. XAMPP control panel will run automatically on your device.

Now it's time to create a database and start installing WordPress on localhost. To do this, you must need to install latest version of WordPress. 

Go to the WordPress official website, click the Get WordPress button at the top right. You will be redirected to a new page. Now press the WordPress get button. The zip file may take a few minutes for the get to start. Open the file and copy it for your next use.

To create a database, you must first prepare a folder on your PC where you want to save all the data of your local site. Now go to your local disk, where you saved the getted XAMPP file. htdocs folder and paste the latest version of WordPress you copied earlier.

Now, rename the WordPress folder. You can avoid this option if you want to create your site with the name “WordPress”. But you must remember the name you choose for your database.

Now open a new tab in your browser and go to localhost/phpmyadmin. Type the same name as you wrote to your local disk and finally click the Create button. In few seconds Your database will be created.

You have successfully created your localhost database. Now it's time to install WordPress on localhost. Before proceeding to the final step, you need to start both Apache Web Server and MySQL database from the Xampp control panel installed on your PC or Mac. You cannot access PHPMyAdmin without starting both. To do this just go to your application folder. Select the Xampp control panel and click the MySQL and Apache buttons.

Open a new tab in your browser and type your localhost/given name and press Enter. You will see a WordPress installation wizard. Choose your language and click continue. 

You will see a welcome notice on behalf of WordPress. In the next step, junñst click on the WordPress Let's go button. 

Enter your database name, you can type "root" as the username, leave the password option blank. Now click the Submit button.

This is the last step of your setup. Give your site a name, type in your username, create a strong password, type in your personal email address. Check the search engine visibility button carefully. The Google will start indexing your local site as soon as well. Finally, click the Install WordPress button.

Your installation is now complete. 

Now, it's time to check your local site. Make the necessary checks to see how it will look or work.