How to install Serendipity CMS in XAMPP Windows 11

Serendipity is a content management system that you can use to install and create a blog or website for free. It was developed by Serendipity Developer Team. And for this post, we are going to make a blog out of this CMS. But first, you need to download the XAMPP and Serendipity files below. The download links are also provided for your convenience.

Requirements:

• xampp-win32-7.3.0-0-VC15-installer [download here]
• serendipity-2.3.5 [download here]

Assuming that you downloaded the files above, continue to the tutorials below.

Table of Contents

• XAMPP Installation
• Opening XAMPP and running Apache and MySQL
• Copying and pasting Serendipity installation folder inside htdocs
• Creating Database needed for Serendipity installation via Localhost
• Installing Serendipity website using localhost via web browser
• Opening Serendipity website homepage
• Accessing Serendipity website admin page

Here are the steps on how to install Serendipity website using XAMPP in Windows pc

XAMPP Installation

1. Open the XAMPP file you downloaded. If a Question about antivirus running appears, just press Yes to continue.

2. Under Warning about User Account Control (UAC) just press OK to proceed.

3. In the Setup - XAMPP press NEXT to proceed.

4. In the Select Components, just leave it as it is and press NEXT to proceed.

5. In the Installation folder, do not change the default location which is C:\xampp. Just press NEXT again to continue.

6. Under Bitnami for XAMPP, just press NEXT to proceed.

7. We are now ready to install XAMPP. Press NEXT to confirm.

8. Wait for the installation to finish.

9. When done, just press Finish to exit the installer.

Opening XAMPP and running Apache and MySQL

1. To run XAMPP, go to This PC > C drive > xampp folder. Inside xampp, click xampp-control.exe.

2. Inside XAMPP Control Panel, click the Start buttons for Apache and MySQL.

3. Apache and MySQL are both running now if you see two STOP buttons.

4. If there is also a Windows Security Alert, just press Allow access.

Copying and pasting Serendipity installation folder inside htdocs

1. Extract the Serendipity zip file that you downloaded. Rename the extracted folder as serendipity. Copy your serendipity folder and go to This PC.

2. Inside This PC, open your C driver.

3. Inside C, open the xampp folder.

4. And inside xampp, open htdocs.

5. Paste your serendipity folder inside htdocs.

Creating Database needed for Serendipity installation via Localhost

1. We need a database to install Serendipity. To make one, first, open your web browser and go to 127.0.0.1 and press ENTER.

2. Inside, click phpMyAdmin.

3. Inside, click Databases.

4. In the Create database, name it as serendipity_db. Next to it, set the value to utfmb4_unicode_ci and press Create to proceed.

5. In the Create table, name it as serendipity_table and set columns to 4. Press Go to proceed.

6. In structure, name the field as serendipity and next to it set Type to INT.

7. For Collation, set it to utf8_unicode_ci and leave all the other fields blank.

8. Save your work.

Installing Serendipity website using localhost via web browser

1. We are now ready to install our Serendipity website. Open your web browser again and go to 127.0.0.1/serendipity and press ENTER.

2. In the Serendipity installation welcome page, make sure there is no error. Errors are displayed in RED. In the "Verify Installation Integrity" make sure "All required files verified" is you are going to see. Continue to STEP 3.

3. In the "Select which installation type you wish to use" click on Expert installation to proceed.

4. Under Database Settings, do the following: Database type - MySQLi. Database host - localhost. Database user - root. Database password - none or blank. Database name - serendipity_db. Table prefix - serendipity_ and leave the remaining fields to default.

5. Under General Settings, do the following: Admin username - admin. Admin password - your desired password, verify it and do not forget it. Real name - Administrator. Admin email - enter a valid email. Blog name - set a name for your blog. Blog description - describe your blog. Blog's email address - enter a valid one.

6. Leave all the other settings and fields as they are and do not change any of those. Then click on Complete installation.

7. Done! Serendipity has been successfully installed.

Opening Serendipity website homepage

1. To open your Serendipity blog homepage, just go to 127.0.0.1/serendipity or localhost/serendipity.

Accessing Serendipity website admin page

1. To access your blog admin login page, just click the "Open login screen" link under Blog Administration located in your homepage.

2. You can also directly type 127.0.0.1/serendipity/serendipity_admin.php in your web browser address bar to access your admin account login page. Enter your username and password and press Login to proceed.

3. Inside your blog's administration page, you will see there the controls and settings for your blog's Content, Media, Activity and other useful and important Settings.

Thank you for reading this post guys. I do hope that you have learned a lot while doing all the tutorials included on this post. If you have a question, just leave a comment below. Cheers!