Setting up a local environment for WordPress is a common need for developers. Since everything runs on your computer, loading times are significantly lower and you can safely test things before you try them out in a live production environment.
Local WordPress installations aren’t just for coders, though. As a user, local environments let you try out themes and plugins much more quickly, create as many installations as you need, and play around with WordPress without fear of wreaking havoc on your live website.
Many people use XAMPP or MAMP instead of the somewhat newer Vagrant. These are great choices but Vagrant is a lot more flexible and just as easy.
In this guide I’ll give you easy to follow, instructions on how to set up Vagrant you can copy and paste. We’ll go from zero to a fully functioning WordPress installation, so let’s dig in!