Studio by WordPress: A New Desktop Tool for Easy Site Building

Studio by WordPress is a new local development tool announced by WordPress that allows developers and publishers to easily set up a WordPress site on their desktop. It is designed for designing, testing, or learning how to use WordPress. Studio by WordPress aims to simplify the process of creating WordPress sites on the desktop by eliminating manual tool configuration, slow site setup, and clunky local development workflows. It is an open source project, currently available for Mac, with a Windows version coming soon.

Local development environments offer several benefits for WordPress users:

• Safe Testing: They provide a secure space to try out new WordPress themes and plugins without risking a live website.
• Avoiding Google Indexing: Local environments prevent accidental indexing by search engines like Google.
• Conflict Testing: They allow for testing plugin updates offline to check for conflicts before updating on a live site.
• Learning Platform: They serve as a learning environment for those new to WordPress.
• Development Flexibility: Advanced local environments offer more flexibility and options for developers.

You can download Studio by WordPress for Mac from the official WordPress announcement or by visiting the WordPress.com website and locating the download link for Studio. The Mac version is currently available, and you can start using it for local WordPress development on your desktop. Here is the direct link to Download the Mac version.

Apart from Studio by WordPress, there are several other popular WordPress local development environments:

• DevKinsta: Developed by Kinsta managed web host, it's dedicated to designing and testing WordPress sites on the desktop.
• Local WP: Made by WP Engine, it includes features like image optimization, backup uploads, link checking, and the ability to import and export sites.
• DDEV with Docker: An open source app that simplifies the use of Docker for setting up content management systems.
• Laragon: A free local development environment that is easy to use and intuitive, not specific to WordPress.
• Mamp: Popular with advanced coders, available for Mac and Windows, allows for easy site cloning.
• WAMP and XAMPP: WAMP is for Windows, while XAMPP works on Linux, Mac, and Windows, both are used for PHP development.