How to Install Drupal on Windows 11

Drupal is an open-source content management system used for creating and managing websites. If you're on Windows 11 and want to install Drupal, here's a tutorial to guide you through the process.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with the installation, make sure you have:

  • A webserver installed on your computer (such as Apache, IIS, or Nginx)
  • PHP version 7.4 or higher installed
  • MySQL version 5.5.3 or higher installed

Step 1: Download Drupal

Go to https://www.drupal.org/download and download the latest version of Drupal. Select the "Drupal x.x.x" button to download the latest version.

Step 2: Extract the Files

Extract the downloaded files into your webserver's document root. If you're using Apache, this will typically be C:\xampp\htdocs.

Step 3: Create a Database

Create a new database for your Drupal installation. You can do this using the "phpMyAdmin" tool, which should be available in your webserver's control panel.

  1. Open "phpMyAdmin" and click on the "Databases" tab.
  2. Enter the name of your new database in the "Create database" field and select "utf8mb4_unicode_ci" as the collation.
  3. Click the "create" button to create the database.

Step 4: Install Drupal

  1. Open a web browser and go to http://localhost/drupal (if you extracted Drupal into C:\xampp\htdocs\drupal).
  2. The installer will automatically start. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.
  3. In the "Database configuration" section, select "MySQL, MariaDB, Percona Server, or equivalent" as the database type.
  4. Enter the database name, username, and password you created in step 3.
  5. Click "Save and Continue" to proceed with the installation.
  6. Follow the on-screen instructions to customize your Drupal installation.

Congratulations! You've successfully installed Drupal on your Windows 11 computer.