How to Connect My Domain to a Locally Hosted WordPress Site on XAMPP and Enable Secure Application Passwords?

Are you tired of using a temporary domain or IP address to access your locally hosted WordPress site on XAMPP? Do you want to connect your domain to your local site and enable secure application passwords for added security? Look no further! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll take you through the step-by-step process of connecting your domain to your locally hosted WordPress site on XAMPP and enabling secure application passwords.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the tutorial, make sure you have the following prerequisites in place:

• XAMPP installed on your local machine
• A locally hosted WordPress site set up on XAMPP
• A registered domain name (e.g., example.com)
• Access to your domain registrar’s DNS manager
• A basic understanding of DNS records and domain configuration

Step 1: Configure Your DNS Records

The first step is to configure your DNS records to point to your local machine’s IP address. You can do this by creating an A record and an MX record in your domain registrar’s DNS manager.

Creating an A Record

An A record maps your domain name to your local machine’s IP address. To create an A record, follow these steps:

1. Login to your domain registrar’s DNS manager.
2. Click on the “Add New Record” or “Create New Record” button.
3. Select “A” as the record type.
4. Enter your domain name (e.g., example.com) in the “Name” field.
5. Enter your local machine’s IP address in the “Value” field (e.g., 192.168.1.100).
6. Set the TTL (Time To Live) to a low value (e.g., 300 seconds).
7. Click the “Add Record” or “Save” button.

Creating an MX Record

An MX record specifies the mail server responsible for receiving emails for your domain. To create an MX record, follow these steps:

1. Login to your domain registrar’s DNS manager.
2. Click on the “Add New Record” or “Create New Record” button.
3. Select “MX” as the record type.
4. Enter your domain name (e.g., example.com) in the “Name” field.
5. Enter your local machine’s IP address in the “Value” field (e.g., 192.168.1.100).
6. Set the priority to a low value (e.g., 10).
7. Click the “Add Record” or “Save” button.

Step 2: Configure Your Local Machine’s Hosts File

The next step is to configure your local machine’s hosts file to map your domain name to your local machine’s IP address.

Windows

On Windows, you can edit the hosts file using Notepad as an administrator. Follow these steps:

1. Open Notepad as an administrator.
2. Open the hosts file located at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts.
3. Add the following line at the end of the file:

192.168.1.100 example.com www.example.com

4. Save the changes.

Mac/Linux

On Mac or Linux, you can edit the hosts file using the Terminal app. Follow these steps:

1. Open the Terminal app.
2. Run the following command to open the hosts file in a text editor:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

3. Add the following line at the end of the file:

192.168.1.100 example.com www.example.com

4. Save and exit the editor.

Step 3: Configure Your WordPress Site

Now that you’ve configured your DNS records and hosts file, it’s time to configure your WordPress site to use your domain name.

Update Your WordPress Site’s URL

Log in to your WordPress dashboard and go to the “General” settings page. Update the “WordPress Address” and “Site Address” fields to use your domain name (e.g., http://example.com). Click the “Save Changes” button.

Update Your WordPress Site’s Configuration File

You’ll also need to update your WordPress site’s configuration file to use your domain name. Follow these steps:

1. Open the wp-config.php file in a text editor.
2. Update the define('WP_HOME', 'http://localhost/wordpress'); line to use your domain name:

define('WP_HOME', 'http://example.com');

3. Update the define('WP_SITEURL', 'http://localhost/wordpress'); line to use your domain name:

define('WP_SITEURL', 'http://example.com');

4. Save and close the file.

Step 4: Enable Secure Application Passwords

To enable secure application passwords, you’ll need to install and configure the “Application Passwords” plugin.

Installing the Application Passwords Plugin

Follow these steps to install the Application Passwords plugin:

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click on the “Plugins” menu item.
3. Click the “Add New” button.
4. Search for “Application Passwords” and install the plugin.
5. Activate the plugin.

Configuring the Application Passwords Plugin

Follow these steps to configure the Application Passwords plugin:

1. Go to the “Users” menu item.
2. Click on your username.
3. Scroll down to the “Application Passwords” section.
4. Click the “Add New Application Password” button.
5. Enter a name for your application password (e.g., “XAMPP Local”).
6. Click the “Add” button.
7. Copy the generated application password.

You can now use your application password to connect to your WordPress site using external services, such as GitHub or Zapier.

Conclusion

That’s it! You’ve successfully connected your domain to your locally hosted WordPress site on XAMPP and enabled secure application passwords. You can now access your WordPress site using your domain name and enjoy the added security of application passwords.

Keyword	Frequency
Connect domain to locally hosted WordPress site	5
XAMPP	3
Secure application passwords	2
Configure DNS records	2
Configure hosts file	2

Note: The frequency of each keyword is just an example and may vary depending on the article's content and SEO optimization.

Frequently Asked Question

Getting your WordPress site up and running on XAMPP with a custom domain can be a challenge, but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are some frequently asked questions to help you connect your domain to a locally hosted WordPress site on XAMPP and enable secure application passwords.