Run a WooCommerce Store Locally on WordPress

// Before you start

What you need

A computer running macOS, Linux, or Windows with WSL enabled
WordPress already installed locally (e.g. via LocalWP, XAMPP, or MAMP)
PHP 7.4 or higher installed
At least 2 GB of free disk space
A modern web browser

Step 1 of 5

Install WooCommerce from the WordPress plugin directory

3 min

The easiest way to get WooCommerce running is directly through your WordPress dashboard — no terminal needed. This installs the stable, release version of the plugin, which is what almost every real store uses. The GitHub repository is the developer source code; for a working store you want the packaged plugin instead.

Terminal · mac

$ 1. Log in to your WordPress admin panel (usually http://localhost/wp-admin)

$ 2. Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin

$ 3. Search for: WooCommerce

$ 4. Click Install Now on the result by Automattic

$ 5. Click Activate

What you should see

A 'WooCommerce' item appears in your WordPress left-hand menu. A setup wizard welcome screen may appear automatically.

This might happen

Plugin install fails with a permissions error

Your local server's web folder may be owned by the wrong user. In LocalWP this never happens. In XAMPP/MAMP, make sure the 'htdocs' or 'www' folder is writable by your web server user, or upload the plugin manually via FTP.

Step 2 of 5

Run the WooCommerce setup wizard

5 min

WooCommerce walks you through the minimum information needed to open a store: your country, currency, and what you plan to sell. You can change every answer later, so just pick the closest option for now. Skipping the wizard is fine too — you can configure everything manually under WooCommerce → Settings.

Terminal · mac

$ 1. Click 'Set up my store' on the wizard welcome screen

$ 2. Choose your store's country and region

$ 3. Select your industry (e.g. 'Other')

$ 4. Choose product types (start with 'Physical products')

$ 5. Enter rough business details and click Continue

$ 6. Skip any paid feature upsells by clicking 'Not right now'

What you should see

You land on the WooCommerce home screen inside WordPress admin showing tasks like 'Add your first product'.

This might happen

Wizard screen is blank or keeps reloading

Disable all other active plugins temporarily, then re-run the wizard. A conflicting plugin is almost always the cause.

Step 3 of 5

Add your first product

5 min

A store with no products can't be tested. Adding one simple physical product lets you verify the whole cart-to-checkout flow is working. You don't need real images or prices — dummy data is fine for a local test.

Terminal · mac

$ 1. Go to Products → Add New

$ 2. Enter a product name, e.g. 'Test Widget'

$ 3. Scroll to the 'Product data' box → set a Regular price, e.g. 9.99

$ 4. Add a short description in the right-hand box

$ 5. Click Publish

What you should see

The product page saves and shows 'Product published'. A 'View Product' link appears at the top of the page.

This might happen

Product data box is missing from the edit screen

Click 'Screen Options' at the top-right of the page and make sure 'Product data' is checked.

Step 4 of 5

Set up a payment method for testing

3 min

WooCommerce includes a built-in 'Cash on Delivery' option that requires zero configuration and lets you place test orders immediately without connecting a real payment processor. Enable this so you can walk through a full checkout.

Terminal · mac

$ 1. Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Payments

$ 2. Find 'Cash on delivery' and toggle it ON

$ 3. Click Save changes

What you should see

'Cash on delivery' shows as Enabled in the payments list.

Step 5 of 5

Place a test order end-to-end

5 min

Visit your store's front end, add the product to the cart, and complete checkout. This confirms WooCommerce, your theme, and WordPress are all talking to each other correctly. If checkout completes, your local store is fully functional.

Terminal · mac

$ 1. Click 'View Product' on your published product (or visit http://localhost/?p=<product-id>)

$ 2. Click 'Add to cart'

$ 3. Click 'View cart' → 'Proceed to checkout'

$ 4. Fill in any name and address (fake data is fine)

$ 5. Select 'Cash on delivery'

$ 6. Click 'Place order'

What you should see

An order confirmation page appears: 'Thank you. Your order has been received.' The order also appears under WooCommerce → Orders in your admin panel.

This might happen

Checkout page shows a blank page or 404 error

Go to Settings → Permalinks in WordPress and click Save Changes (without changing anything). This flushes the URL rules and fixes most checkout 404s.

// Status

cooked. baked. worked.

A locally running WooCommerce store with at least one product, a working cart, and a completed test order visible in the admin panel.

// the honest bit

The honest part

This guide installs the stable release plugin — not the GitHub monorepo source code. The monorepo is for plugin developers who want to modify WooCommerce's core code; it requires Node.js, PNPM, PHP, and Composer, and building it from source is a multi-hour developer task not suited to non-developers. For a real production store, use a managed WordPress host (Bluehost, SiteGround, WP Engine) instead of a local setup. WooCommerce is powerful but complex — advanced features like shipping rates, taxes, and payment gateways each require their own configuration time.