SEO
10 Creative Digital Marketing Ideas for Local Businesses
How did you find your favorite coffee shop, restaurant, or antique shop?
Maybe your friends showed it to you. Maybe you just saw a nice sign and came in one time. Or maybe you saw one of their amazing marketing campaigns.
One social media ad or a blog post from an influencer can do wonders for a local business.
However, there is a problem: for local businesses, it’s often harder to find budgets for marketing activities.
They often don’t have the resources of huge commercial chains and corporations to pour them into advertising, celebrity collaborations, and so on.
Nonetheless, marketing doesn’t have to be expensive.
You’ll just have to get more creative with it.
In this article, we hope to inspire you with marketing ideas that local businesses can implement on a smaller budget – or even for free!
1. Collaborate With A Local Influencer
You might not have a budget to buy a promotional post from an Instagram blogger with 1 million followers, but micro-influencers can be just as (if not more) effective.
And who is a better candidate for collaboration than a blogger or an industry expert who lives in your area?
The problem is, how do you find such an influencer?
A simple Google search won’t do – it’ll likely show you bigger accounts and popular names and not micro-bloggers.
Besides, it’s difficult to make Google focus on a specific town for this task.
What you need here is social listening software.
Such tools are able to find accounts with any given number of followers that talk about particular topics.
In addition to that, you’re able to choose your town in the settings to make sure you only get relevant results.
You can filter your search results by the minimum and maximum amounts of followers and look through the profiles.
Choose the people you think will be a good fit and reach out to them!
You can invite them to your store and give them a tour or offer a free product.
This is a mutually beneficial collaboration. You help them create content, and they raise your brand awareness by connecting you to their audience.
- Screenshot from Awario, January 2022
Pro tip: You can also create a social listening alert with your brand name and look for the influencers mentioning your company organically.
Maybe there’s a blogger that is your regular visitor and you don’t even know it.
If that’s the case, you can foster these relationships to promote your business even further.
2. Write Your Business Into A Local Narrative
People love stories!
That’s perhaps one of the most essential parts of human experience – creating and consuming stories.
You can create a story around your brand to make it more memorable.
Create a character that would always sit in your cafe in a particular seat with this specific drink, or make up a lovely anecdote about the building your business occupies.
Sometimes you don’t even have to make up everything – you can do a little research about the town’s history and find out some unexpected and exciting stories.
Talk to the local historians, go to the archives and museums, and maybe you’ll discover something that will bring you even more clients.
-
- Screenshot from Tripadvisor, January 2022
Once you have the narrative, incorporate it into your brand.
Add it to your description on the website, social media, and review sites.
Create social media posts and blog posts referring to the story.
Make sure it runs through all your marketing messages so that people remember it.
3. Create Search-friendly Content About Your Town
Local SEO is a great way to get more customers. First, you bring more traffic to your website, then you get more foot traffic in your store.
However, it’s something that every business should do – so I wouldn’t call it a creative marketing idea.
The thing is, businesses tend to optimize their website for the most obvious requests; for example, “buy furniture Nashville.”
The content I’m talking about is more entertaining in nature. Its goal is to tell locals and visitors about your town and simultaneously promote your business.
Both goals should be represented in your social media posts, articles, or videos.
Lists are a great type of content here.
For example, an article about the top five coffee places in your area will be a great way to mention your business organically and give value to potential customers.
Of course, you don’t want to promote your competitors, so choose a topic that will allow for representing different businesses.
For example, you could craft an article about amazing dating spots can feature cafes, museums, and sightseeing places in one list and make sure that only your restaurant is mentioned in it.
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- Screenshot from milwaukeemom.com, January 2022
Think about timing, as well.
Holiday marketing is an effective way to bring more attention to your business.
Offer some holiday-related products and activities and then publish a guide titled “What to do with your family in (town name) on (holiday name).”
This will please both the search engines and potential clients alike.
4. Join And Engage On Local Facebook Groups
- Screenshot from Facebook, January 2022
Facebook Groups are THE places your audience hangs out.
By joining a Facebook Group in your district, you kill two birds with one stone: you are able to learn more about your clients and at the same time promote your business.
The ultimate rule of promotion on Facebook Groups is to not be too sales-y.
You don’t want to post about your discounts and new offers every other day.
Even if such kind of spam is tolerated in the group, it’s unlikely to make people actually interested in your business.
What you could do instead is to initiate conversations that would allow you to bring up your business organically.
You could do it in a sneaky way from your personal account or in a more genuine way, without hiding the fact that you’re a local business owner.
A great way to do it is by actually trying to give value to the people.
For example, you are a bookstore owner and you want more locals to know about your bookstore.
You can ask people in the group if they would be interested in participating in a reading club and what kind of books they would like to read.
It doesn’t even have to be book-related: You can start a conversation about anything, for example, should you allow dogs in the store or not.
Your goal is to start a discussion that will draw attention, but be wary of controversial topics.
While they can generate a lot of buzz, you will certainly alienate a lot of people.
5. Utilize Your “Localness” In Digital Marketing
As a local business, you have an inherent advantage over corporations and chains in that it’s much harder for them to target specific locations since their shops are everywhere.
You can benefit from this by creating such hyper-focused ads yourself.
Here are some tips on how to create such ads aimed at people in your local communities:
- Use Google Search Console to find new ad group options based on what’s the driver of search impressions.
- Try including your Zip Code or name of the street in the ad and make it visible.
- Talk about the distance to your location in your targeted ads.
6. Take Care Of All The Reviews
Now, asking for reviews or monitoring your business on Yelp is not the most creative idea.
But the thing most local businesses neglect is that review sites are not the only place people talk about your business.
Social media, blogs, and forums are equally important when it comes to reviews.
Nowadays, everyone with a social media profile has an audience – even if it’s just their family and friends.
And they might post an opinion about your business.
You’re lucky if they tag you and you’ll see it – but what if you miss the post, either because they don’t tag you or because you have too many notifications?
best place for tea ☕️ time.
nak breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner pun boleh! 😋📍Lisette’s Café & Bakery, Subang Jaya
Open daily (8am – 10pm) pic.twitter.com/136gNbvvTy— Luqqyyyyyy (@luqqssssss) November 11, 2021
If it’s a positive opinion, you’re missing a marketing opportunity; you could repost it, save it, and use it in your marketing materials in the future.
If it’s a negative opinion, you’re risking a reputational crisis by ignoring it.
Use a social media monitoring tool to make sure you notice every time your company gets mentioned, both on review platforms and elsewhere.
You can choose free options; for example, a combination of Google Alerts and Tweetdeck.
Or, opt for a more robust social listening tool that offers real-time notifications, covers more online sources, and provides handy filters to organize your mentions.
7. Reach Out To Local Media
Almost every town has a local newspaper or online media, and you’d be surprised how influential they are!
While you’re creating content for your own website and social media, don’t forget to establish contact with your local media.
You can participate in the topical materials about local businesses in your town or even give commentaries on the news events – from the perspective of a local business owner.
The links on their website will be good for SEO.
In addition to that, your commentary and perspective will establish you as an active member of the community that will draw more attention to your business.
8. Dive Into Event Marketing
Speaking about the community, if your business allows it, organize an event for the locals.
Given the interconnected world we live in now, it can even be an online event if you don’t set a goal of driving customers to your physical store.
The best option is to organize an event with a purpose everyone feels connected to — maybe there’s an issue in your community that needs more attention and funding to solve it, and you could organize a charity event to highlight the issue.
You can promote the event on local Facebook Groups or run social media ads.
During the event try to communicate with new people and establish connections.
That way people will feel welcome and will be enticed to come again.
You can even set up a series of events or regular meetings to get a long-running marketing effect.
9. Run A Social Media Contest
Christmas is one of the most popular holidays in the world for many reasons, but one of them is non-stop gift giving. People love gifts!
While your customers are not your friends or family, you can try handing out small presents to promote your business.
One way to boost foot traffic to your business is to launch a contest. You could promote it through social media and your website.
For example, you could suggest that the first 20 people that come to your place on a specific day will get their product or service for free.
This tactic works great for newly opened businesses that need to get the word going.
10. Form A Local Partnership
As a local businessperson, you’re a part of the community.
Try to establish relationships with other local business owners.
This will not only help you have a support network to consult and exchange experience with.
Regular communication with other businesses gives you a lot of promotional opportunities.
You may discover local brands and businesses that perfectly supplement and support your brand while targeting similar audiences. Consider offering them cross-promotional opportunities.
This tactic kills two birds with one stone: on one hand, you’re raising your brand awareness and utilizing the goodwill of your partners.
On the other hand, by establishing these relationships, you’re building a support network for local businesses, a community that can represent your interests.
You can start by connecting and engaging with local businesses on social media.
Try running offers for bundles with both of your products, promoting in each other’s stores, and organizing events together.
These 10 tips are great to use as jumping-off points for your local business.
Use your strength and the resources available. The power of community can be much more effective than money poured into advertising.
More resources:
Featured Image: Sammby/Shutterstock
SEO
Google’s John Mueller On Website Recovery After Core Updates
John Mueller, a Google Search Advocate, provided guidance this week regarding the path forward for websites impacted by recent search algorithm updates.
The discussion started on X (formerly Twitter) by SEO professional Thomas Jepsen.
Jepsen tagged Mueller, asking:
“Google has previously said Google doesn’t hold a grudge and sites will recover once issues have been solved. Is that still the case after HCU?”
Mueller’s response offered hope to site owners while being realistic about the challenges ahead.
Addressing Recovery Timelines
Mueller affirmed Google’s stance on not holding grudges, stating, “That’s still the case.”
However, he acknowledged the complexity of rankings, saying:
“…some things take much longer to be reassessed (sometimes months, at the moment), and some bigger effects require another update cycle.”
That’s still the case. That said, some things take much longer to be reassessed (sometimes months, at the moment), and some bigger effects require another update cycle. https://t.co/WDy7Q4dpzb has some more.
— John 🧀 … 🧀 (@JohnMu) April 29, 2024
Mueller pointed to a Google help document explaining the nuances. The document reads:
“Broad core updates tend to happen every few months. Content that was impacted in Search or Discover by one might not recover—assuming improvements have been made—until the next broad core update is released.
Do keep in mind that improvements made by site owners aren’t a guarantee of recovery, nor do pages have any static or guaranteed position in our search results. If there’s more deserving content, that will continue to rank well with our systems.”
The Comments Sparking Debate
Jepsen probed further, asking, “Is a core update what’s needed for HCU-affected sites to recover (assuming they’ve fixed their issues)?”
Mueller’s response highlighted how situations can differ:
“It depends on the situation… I realize there’s a big space between the situations, but generalizing doesn’t help. Sometimes it takes a lot of work on the site, a long time, and an update.”
It depends on the situation. https://t.co/F9s3Hli9t7 and https://t.co/pLdm29PjPD has some on that. I realize there’s a big space between the situations, but generalizing doesn’t help. Sometimes it takes a lot of work on the site, a long time, and an update.
— John 🧀 … 🧀 (@JohnMu) April 29, 2024
The thread grew as user @selectgame raised concerns about Google Discover traffic, to which Mueller replied:
“Google Discover is affected by core updates as well as other parts of Search (and there are more policies that apply to Discover).”
Google Discover is affected by core updates as well as other parts of Search (and there are more policies that apply to Discover). If you’re seeing these changes when a core update rolled out, that might be what you’re seeing.
— John 🧀 … 🧀 (@JohnMu) April 29, 2024
Growing Frustrations
Prominent industry figure Lily Ray voiced mounting frustrations, stating,
“…many HCU-affected websites – which have been making all kinds of improvements over the last 7 months – have only seen further declines with the March Core Update.
I have seen some sites lose 90% or more of their SEO visibility since the HCU, with the last few weeks being the nail in the coffin, despite making significant improvements.”
Ray continued:
“And in my professional opinion, many of these sites did not deserve anywhere near that level of impact, especially the further declines over the past month.”
Mueller hasn’t responded to Ray’s tweet at this time.
John, any chance you can comment on the fact that many HCU-affected websites – which have been making all kinds of improvements over the last 7 months – have only seen further declines with the March Core Update?
I have seen some sites lose 90% or more of their SEO visibility… https://t.co/lvYRAScRQQ
— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) April 29, 2024
Looking Ahead
As the search community awaits Google’s next moves, the path to recovery appears arduous for many impacted by recent algorithm reassessments of “Helpful Content.”
Site improvements don’t guarantee immediate recovery, so publishers face an uphill battle guided only by Google’s ambiguous public advice.
Why SEJ Cares
The March 2024 core update has proven disastrous for many websites, with severe traffic losses persisting even after sites try to improve low-quality content, address technical issues, and realign with Google’s guidelines.
Having clear, actionable guidance from Google on recovering from core update updates is invaluable.
As evidenced by the frustrations expressed, the current communications leave much to be desired regarding transparency and defining a straightforward recovery path.
How This Can Help You
While Mueller’s comments provide some insights, the key takeaways are:
- Regaining previous rankings after an algorithm hit is possible if sufficient content/site quality improvements are made.
- Recovery timelines can vary significantly and may require a future core algorithm update.
- Even with enhancements, recovery isn’t guaranteed as rankings depend on the overall pool of competing content.
The path is undoubtedly challenging, but Mueller’s comments underscore that perseverance with substantial site improvements can eventually pay off.
FAQ
Can SEO professionals predict recovery time for a website hit by core updates?
SEO professionals can’t pinpoint when a site will recover after a core Google algorithm update.
Reasons for this include:
- Google releases core updates every few months, so sites may need to wait for the next one.
- It can take months for Google to reassess and adjust rankings.
- How competitive the query is also impacts if and when a site recovers.
Does making site improvements after a core update ensure recovery in rankings and visibility?
After making improvements following a Google algorithm update, regaining your previous rankings isn’t guaranteed.
Reasons why include:
- Your impacted content may not recover until the next core update, provided you’ve implemented enough site improvements.
- Google’s search results are dynamic, and rankings can fluctuate based on the quality of competitor content.
- There’s no fixed or guaranteed position in Google’s search results.
What is the relationship between Google Discover traffic and core search updates?
Google’s core algorithm updates that impact regular search results also affect Google Discover.
However, Google Discover has additional specific policies that determine what content appears there.
This means:
- Improving your content and website quality can boost your visibility on Google Discover, just like regular searches.
- You may see changes in your Discover traffic when Google rolls out core updates.
- Your SEO and content strategy should account for potential impacts on regular searches and Google Discover.
Featured Image: eamesBot/Shutterstock
SEO
5 Things To Consider Before A Site Migration
One of the scariest SEO tasks is a site migration because the stakes are so high and the pitfalls at every step . Here are five tips that will help keep a site migration on track to a successful outcome.
Site Migrations Are Not One Thing
Site Migrations are not one thing, they are actually different scenarios and the only thing they have in common is that there is always something that can go wrong.
Here are examples of some of the different kinds of site migrations:
- Migration to a new template
- Migrating to a new web host
- Merging two different websites
- Migrating to a new domain name
- Migrating to a new site architecture
- Migrating to a new content management system (CMS)
- Migrating to a new WordPress site builder
There are many ways a site can change and more ways for those changes to result in a negative outcome.
The following is not a site migration checklist. It’s five suggestions for things to consider.
1. Prepare For Migration: Download Everything
Rule number one is to prepare for the site migration. One of my big concerns is that the old version of the website is properly documented.
These are some of the ways to document a website:
- Download the database and save it in at least two places. I like to have a backup of the backup stored on a second device.
- Download all the website files. Again, I prefer to save a backup of the backup stored on a second device.
- Crawl the site, save the crawl and export it as a CSV or an XML site map. I prefer to have redundant backups just in case something goes wrong.
An important thing to remember about downloading files by FTP is that there are two formats for downloading files: ASCII and Binary.
- Use ASCII for downloading files that contain code, like CSS, JS, PHP and HTML.
- Use Binary for media like images, videos and zip files.
Fortunately, most modern FTP software have an automatic setting that should be able to distinguish between the two kinds of files. A sad thing that can happen is to download image files using the ASCII format which results in corrupted images.
So always check that your files are all properly downloaded and not in a corrupted state. Always consider downloading a copy for yourself if you have hired a third party to handle the migration or a client is doing it and they’re downloading files. That way if they fail with their download you’ll have an uncorrupted copy backed up.
The most important rule about backups: You can never have too many backups!
2. Crawl The Website
Do a complete crawl of the website. Create a backup of the crawl. Then create a backup of the backup and store it on a separate hard drive.
After the site migration, this crawl data can be used to generate a new list for crawling the old URLs to identify any URLs that are missing (404), are failing to redirect, or are redirecting to the wrong webpage. Screaming Frog also has a list mode that can crawl a list of URLs saved in different formats, including as an XML sitemap, and directly input into a text field. This is a way to crawl a specific batch of URLs as opposed to crawling a site from link to to link.
3. Tips For Migrating To A New Template
Website redesigns can be can be a major source of anguish when they go wrong. On paper, migrating a site to a new template should be a one-to-one change with minimal issues. In practice that’s not always the case. For one, no template can be used off the shelf, it has to be modified to conform to what’s needed, which can mean removing and/or altering the code.
Search marketing expert Nigel Mordaunt (LinkedIn), who recently sold his search marketing agency, has experience migrating over a hundred sites and has important considerations for migrating to a new WordPress template.
This is Nigel’s advice:
“Check that all images have the same URL, alt text and image titles, especially if you’re using new images.
Templates sometimes have hard-coded heading elements, especially in the footer and sidebars. Those should be styled with CSS, not with H tags. I had this problem with a template once where the ranks had moved unexpectedly, then found that the Contact Us and other navigation links were all marked up to H2. I think that was more of a problem a few years ago. But still, some themes have H tags hard coded in places that aren’t ideal.
Make sure that all URLs are the exact same, a common mistake. Also, if planning to change content then check that the staging environment has been noindexed then after the site goes live make sure that the newly uploaded live site no longer contains the noindex robots meta tag.
If changing content then be prepared the site to perhaps be re-evaluated by Google. Depending on the size of the site, even if the changes are positive it may take several weeks to be rewarded, and in some cases several months. The client needs to be informed of this before the migration.
Also, check that analytics and tracking codes have been inserted into the new site, review all image sizes to make sure there are no new images that are huge and haven’t been scaled down. You can easily check the image sizes and heading tags with a post-migration Screaming Frog crawl. I can’t imagine doing any kind of site migration without Screaming Frog.”
4. Advice For Migrating To A New Web Host
Mark Barrera (LinkedIn), VP SEO, Newfold Digital (parent company of Bluehost), had this to say about crawling before a site migration in preparation for a migration to a new web host:
“Thoroughly crawl your existing site to identify any indexing or technical SEO issues prior to the move.
Maintain URL Structure (If Possible): Changing URL structures can confuse search engines and damage your link equity. If possible, keep your URLs the same.
301 Redirects: 301 Redirects are your friend. Search engines need to be informed that your old content now lives at a new address. Implementing 301 redirects from any old URLs to their new counterparts preserves link equity and avoids 404 errors for both users and search engine crawlers.
Performance Optimization: Ensure your new host provides a fast and reliable experience. Site speed is important for user experience.
Be sure to do a final walkthrough of your new site before doing your actual cutover. Visually double-check your homepage, any landing pages, and your most popular search hits. Review any checkout/cart flows, comment/review chains, images, and any outbound links to your other sites or your partners.
SSL Certificate: A critical but sometimes neglected aspect of hosting migrations is the SSL certificate setup. Ensuring that your new host supports and correctly implements your existing SSL certificate—or provides a new one without causing errors is vital. SSL/TLS not only secures your site but also impacts SEO. Any misconfiguration during migration can lead to warnings in browsers, which deter visitors and can temporarily impact rankings.
Post migration, it’s crucial to benchmark server response times not just from one location, but regionally or globally, especially if your audience is international. Sometimes, a new hosting platform might show great performance in one area but lag in other parts of the world. Such discrepancies can affect page load times, influencing bounce rates and search rankings. “
5. Accept Limitations
Ethan Lazuk, SEO Strategist & Consultant, Ethan Lazuk Consulting, LLC, (LinkedIn, Twitter) offers an interesting perspective on site migrations on the point about anticipating client limitations imposed upon what you are able to do. It can be frustrating when a client pushes back on advice and it’s important to listen to their reasons for doing it.
I have consulted over Zoom with companies whose SEO departments had concerns about what an external SEO wanted to do. Seeking a third party confirmation about a site migration plan is a reasonable thing to do. So if the internal SEO department has concerns about the plan, it’s not a bad idea to have a trustworthy third party take a look at it.
Ethan shared his experience:
“The most memorable and challenging site migrations I’ve been a part of involved business decisions that I had no control over.
As SEOs, we can create a smart migration plan. We can follow pre- and post-launch checklists, but sometimes, there are legal restrictions or other business realities behind the scenes that we have to work around.
Not having access to a DNS, being restricted from using a brand’s name or certain content, having to use an intermediate domain, and having to work days, weeks, or months afterward to resolve any issues once the internal business situations have changed are just a few of the tricky migration issues I’ve encountered.
The best way to handle these situations require working around client restrictions is to button up the SEO tasks you can control, set honest expectations for how the business issues could impact performance after the migration, and stay vigilant with monitoring post-launch data and using it to advocate for resources you need to finish the job.”
Different Ways To Migrate A Website
Site migrations are a pain and should be approached with caution. I’ve done many different kinds of migrations for myself and have assisted them with clients. I’m currently moving thousands of webpages from a folder to the root and it’s complicated by multiple redirects that have to be reconfigured, not looking forward to it. But migrations are sometimes unavoidable so it’s best to step up to it after careful consideration.
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Krakenimages.com
SEO
Studio By WordPress & Other Free Tools
WordPress announced the rollout of Studio by WordPress, a new local development tool that makes it easy for publishers to not just develop and update websites locally on their desktop or laptop but is also useful for learning how to use WordPress. Learn about Studio and other platforms that are make it easy to develop websites with WordPress right on your desktop.
Local Development Environments
Local Environments are like web hosting spaces on the desktop that can be used to set up a WordPress site. They’re a fantastic way to try out new WordPress themes and plugins to learn how they work without messing up a live website or publishing something to the web that might get accidentally indexed by Google. They are also useful for testing if an updated plugin causes a conflict with other plugins on a website, which is useful for testing updated plugins offline before committing to updating the plugins on a live website.
Studio joins a list of popular local development environments that are specific for WordPress and more advanced platforms that are that can be used for WordPress on the desktop but have greater flexibility and options but may be harder to use for non-developers.
Desktop WordPress Development Environments
There are currently a few local environments that are specific to WordPress. The advantages of using a dedicated WordPress environment is that they make it easy to start creating with WordPress for those who only need to work with WordPress sites and nothing more complicated than that.
Studio By WordPress.com
Studio is an open source project that allows developers and publishers to set up a WordPress site on their desktop in order to design, test or learn how to use WordPress.
According to the WordPress announcement:
“Say goodbye to manual tool configuration, slow site setup, and clunky local development workflows, and say hello to Studio by WordPress.com, our new, free, open source local WordPress development environment.
Once you have a local site running, you can access WP Admin, the Site Editor, global styles, and patterns, all with just one click—and without needing to remember and enter a username or password.”
The goal of Studio is to be a simple and fast way to create WordPress sites on the desktop. It’s currently available for use on a Mac and a Windows version is coming soon.
Download the Mac version here.
Other Popular WordPress Local Development Environments
DevKinsta
DevKinsta, developed by Kinsta managed web host, is another development environment that’s specifically dedicated for quickly designing and testing WordPress sites on the desktop. It’s a popular choice that many developers endorse.
That makes it a great tool for publishers, SEOs and developers who just want a tool to do one thing, create WordPress sites. This makes DevKinsta a solid consideration for anyone who is serious about developing WordPress sites or just wants to learn how to use WordPress, especially the latest Gutenberg Blocks environment.
Download DevKinsta for free here.
Local WP
Local WP is a popular desktop development environment specifically made for WordPress users by WP Engine, a managed WordPress hosting provider.
Useful Features of Local WP
Local WP has multiple features that make it useful beyond simply developing and testing WordPress websites.
- Image Optimizer
It features a free image optimizer add-on that optimizes images on your desktop which should be popular for those who are unable to optimize images on their own. - Upload Backups
Another handy feature is the ability to upload backups to Dropbox and Google Drive. - Link Checker
The tool has a built-in link checker that scans your local version of the website to identify broken links. This is a great way to check a site offline without using server resources and potentially slowing down your live site. - Import & Export Sites
This has the super-handy ability to import WordPress website files and export them so that you can work on your current WordPress site on your desktop, test out new plugins or themes and if you’re ready you can upload the files to your website.
Advanced Local Development Environments
There are other local development environments that are not specific for WordPress but are nonetheless useful for designing and testing WordPress sites on the desktop. These tools are more advanced and are popular with developers who appreciate the freedom and options available in these platforms.
DDEV with Docker
An open source app that makes it easy to use the Docker software containerization to quickly install a content management system and start working, without having to deal with the Docker learning curve.
Download DDEV With Docker here.
Laragon
Laragon is a free local development environment that was recommended to me by someone who is an advanced coder because they said that it’s easy to use and fairly intuitive. They were right. I’ve used it and have had good experiences with it. It’s not a WordPress-specific tool so that must be kept in mind.
Laragon describes itself as an easy to use alternative to XXAMPP and WAMP.
Mamp
Mamp is a local development platform that’s popular with advanced coders and is available for Mac and Windows.
David McCan (Facebook profile), a WordPress trainer who writes about advanced WordPress topics on WebTNG shared his experience with MAMP.
“MAMP is pretty easy to setup and it provides a full range of features. I currently have 51 local sites which are development versions of my production sites, that I use for testing plugins, and periodically use for new beta versions of WordPress core. It is easy to clone sites also. I haven’t noticed any system slowdown or lag.”
WAMP And XAMPP
WAMP is a Windows only development environment that’s popular with developers and WordPress theme and plugin publishers.
XAMPP is a PHP development platform that can be used on Linux, Mac, and Windows desktops.
So Many Local Development Platforms
Studio by WordPress.com is an exciting new local development platform and I’m looking forward to trying it out. But it’s not the only one so it may be useful to try out different solutions to see which one works best for you.
Read more about Studio by WordPress:
Meet Studio by WordPress.com—a fast, free way to develop locally with WordPress
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Wpadington
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