Prototype ← Light Host
LH Light Host

Build a website on your own computer

Nothing goes online until you say so. Make as many practice sites as you like — you can delete them any time.

Takes about a minute

What are you making?

Pick something to start from. You can change everything later — this just saves you starting from a blank page.

You'll open it at my-first-site.test in your browser.
Setting things up

Building your website

This only takes a moment. You can leave this window open.

  • Making space for your files
  • 2Setting up where your content is saved
  • 3Installing WordPress
  • 4Adding your starter pages
  • 5Giving it an address on this computer

My websites

Two sites, one running

My first site
my-first-site.test
Running
School project
school-project.test
Paused

Paused sites don't use any of your computer's memory.

Show someone your site

Get a temporary web address you can send to a teacher or a friend. They'll see your site exactly as it is right now, without you putting anything online permanently.

Good to know

Your visitor can see your site, but they can't change anything. Your files stay on your computer — nothing is uploaded.

Putting your site online · Step 1 of 3

What's your real web address?

The address people will type to visit your site. If you've bought one already, type it here. If you haven't, you'll need one before this step.

Don't include "http" or "www" — just the address itself.

What happens next

We'll prepare two files for you and show you exactly where each one goes. Your site here on your computer keeps working normally — nothing is moved or deleted.

Putting your site online · Step 3 of 3

Your files are ready

Two files, two places. Follow them in order and your site will be live.

📁 Your website filesEverything visitors will see · 24 MB
🗂️ Your content backupYour pages, posts and settings · 2 MB

What to do with them

  • 1Upload the website filesYour hosting company gives you a folder for this, usually called public_html. Put everything from the first file in there.
  • 2Import the content backupIn your hosting control panel, look for phpMyAdmin, then choose Import and pick the second file.
  • 3Tell your site its new homeYour host will give you a username and password for your content. We've written them into a file called wp-config.php — open it and replace the placeholder details with theirs.

We already changed every web address inside your content, so your links and images will point to the right place.

Something's in the way

Another program is using the web address slot

Only one program on your computer can hand out local web addresses at a time, and something else got there first. Your sites and files are completely safe.

  • If you have XAMPP, WAMP or Laragon installed, close it and try again.
  • Skype and some video call apps do this too. Closing them usually fixes it.
  • Still stuck? Restarting your computer clears it almost every time.

Light Host never changes or removes other programs on your computer.

Settings

Sensible defaults are already set. You shouldn't need to change anything here.

Skip the login screenGo straight into editing without typing a password
Start sites automaticallyYour running sites come back after you restart your computer
Keep a backup before publishingA safety copy, in case you want to undo
Where your sites are savedDocuments › Light Host

Looking for versions, addresses or logs? They're under Advanced, top right.