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Install PrestaShop on Windows with XAMPP

Run a test PrestaShop store on your PC with XAMPP.

Online Stores2 min read15 steps5 screenshots

What you need

XAMPP gives you a local server:

  • X: works on Windows, macOS and Linux.
  • A: Apache, the web server.
  • M: MySQL (MariaDB), the database.
  • P: PHP.
  • P: Perl.

System requirements

  1. Windows 10 or later (64-bit).
  2. A 2 GHz or faster CPU.
  3. 4 GB of RAM or more.
  4. 1 GB or more of free disk space.
  5. A PHP version that your PrestaShop version supports (XAMPP has a recent one).
  6. MySQL 5.6 or later (XAMPP has a recent one).

Extras

  • A web browser (Chrome, Firefox or Edge).
  • A text editor for config files (Notepad++, for example).
  • An FTP client (optional).

Step 1: Download the software

Download XAMPP from the Apache Friends website and PrestaShop from the PrestaShop website. Check that the versions work together.

The software versions

Step 2: Install XAMPP and extract PrestaShop

  1. Install XAMPP (the default folder is C:\xampp). Start Apache and MySQL in the Control Panel.
  2. Extract the PrestaShop zip into C:\xampp\htdocs\prestashop. If the zip holds another zip called prestashop.zip, extract that one into the same folder.
    Extracting PrestaShop

Step 3: Create the database

Open http://localhost/phpmyadmin. Click New, enter a name such as prestashop and click Create.

Creating the database

Step 4: Run the installer

Open http://localhost/prestashop in your browser. The installer starts.

Installing PrestaShop
  1. Choose the language.
    Choosing the language
  2. Accept the license.
  3. The installer checks the system. If an extension is missing (for example intl or zip), enable it in php.ini (remove the ; before the line), save and restart Apache.
  4. Enter the store information and the admin account.
  5. Enter the database details: server localhost, database prestashop, user root and an empty password (default XAMPP).
  6. Click Next and wait for the install.
  7. Delete the install folder when it asks, and note the admin folder name.

Step 5: Open the store

  • The shop front is at http://localhost/prestashop.
  • The back office is at http://localhost/prestashop/admin-xxxx (the exact name is shown at the end of the install).
Warning: XAMPP is for local tests only. Do not publish this setup.

Quick recap

  • Install XAMPP, extract PrestaShop into htdocs.
  • Create a database in phpMyAdmin.
  • Run the web installer and delete the install folder.