Creating a Development Environment for IIS 7+

March 14, 2015

Outdated: This post is preserved for reference and may no longer reflect current tools or services.

This post describes how to enable IIS on Windows 7, along with setting up MySQL and PHP. You will need administrator access to complete these steps.

Enable IIS

To avoid permission issues when editing files with your logged-in account, create a folder outside of inetpub, making sure the full path has no spaces.

For example:

C:\webroot\

Next, update the folder permissions. Right-click the new folder and add permissions for any required users such as IIS_IUSRS, IUSR, and NETWORK SERVICE as needed.

Now, use the following guide to install IIS on your machine. After the initial setup, the default web root will be under the inetpub folder.

Since our new folder is already created, go ahead and point the server to use that location instead.

In IIS Manager, go to:

Default Web Site > Manage Web Site > Advanced Settings > Physical Path

Then change the path to the folder you created at the start of this step.

Install PHP

Go back into the Turn Windows features on or off menu, then expand Application Development Features. Enable the CGI checkbox.

Download the latest stable version of PHP (Non Thread Safe) and unzip it into a directory such as:

C:\PHP5

Next, rename php.ini-production to php.ini. Open the file and edit it to match the items below:

extension_dir = "C:\PHP5\ext"
log_errors = On<
error_log = "C:\inetpub\temp\php-errors.log"
fastcgi.impersonate = 1
fastcgi.logging = 0
cgi.fix_pathinfo=1
cgi.force_redirect = 0
display_errors = Off
upload_max_filesize = 8M
post_max_size = 8M

In IIS Manager, click once on your server name and then select Handler Mappings.

Click:

Actions > Add Module Mapping

Then enter the following:

Request path: *.php
Module: FastCgiModule
Executable: C:\PHP5\php-cgi.exe
Name: PHP_via_FastCGI

In the same window, click Request Restrictions > Mapping. Then check Invoke handler only if request is mapped to, and select File or Folder. Click OK through the dialog boxes to save the changes.

In IIS Manager, click on your Default Web Site, then Default Document, and add index.php to the list.

Finally, restart the Default Web Site and review the Security recommendations link in the Resources section for more ways to secure the setup.

Install MySQL

Download the latest stable version. At the time of writing, that was MySQL 5.x. Be sure to skip straight to the download near the bottom of the page.

July 21, 2021 note: If you use PHP 5.6 or below, MySQL may not work well with MySQL 8.

For most uses, the typical install is fine. Use the default MySQL options, and be sure to set a strong password for the root account.

Note: Never use root in your web applications.

Next, go into your php.ini file and uncomment:

extension=php_mysql.dll
extension=php_mysqli.dll

Save the file, then restart IIS.

Finally, create a MySQL user and database for your application. Be sure to use a strong password here as well.

Install the URL Rewrite plugin for IIS

Go to the Microsoft site to download the latest version.

Once installed successfully, restart the server again.

This step allows you to use “pretty URLs” in your blog.

Download and install WordPress

Download the latest version from WordPress.org. At the time of writing, that was version 4.1.1.

You can also check the translations page to download WordPress in your language, although some translations may not be on the latest version.

If you want to use WordPress in a subfolder, unzip it into your web root and rename the folder as needed, for example:

C:\webroot\blog

If you want WordPress at the root of the site, move the files out of the unzipped wordpress folder directly into:

C:\webroot\

Next, edit the wp-config.php file. You may need to rename the sample config file first. Update the WordPress username, password, and database name to match what you created after installing MySQL.

Open the secret key generator to automatically generate your secret keys, then paste them into wp-config.php.

Next, add the line below just above the comment that tells you to stop editing. This prevents WordPress from asking for FTP credentials during updates:

define('FS_METHOD','direct');

Note: Do not use this setting on external servers.

Save your changes, then open one of the following addresses in your browser:

Follow the setup steps and choose your site name and admin user as prompted.

If you run into issues, consult the WordPress documentation.

Add MIME types to IIS

If you are not able to serve content such as fonts, JSON, or video files, you may need to add the MIME type to your web.config file as shown below. Instead of editing web.config, this can also be done directly in the IIS server settings.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<configuration>
    <system.webServer>
        <staticContent>
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".json" mimeType="application/json" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".eot" mimeType="application/vnd.ms-fontobject" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".otf" mimeType="font/otf" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".ttf" mimeType="application/octet-stream" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".svg" mimeType="image/svg+xml" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".woff" mimeType="application/font-woff" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".woff2" mimeType="application/font-woff2" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".mp4" mimeType="video/mp4" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".m4v" mimeType="video/m4v" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".ogg" mimeType="video/ogg" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".ogv" mimeType="video/ogg" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".oga" mimeType="audio/ogg" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".spx" mimeType="audio/ogg" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".svg" mimeType="images/svg+xml" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".svgz" mimeType="images/svg+xml" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".appcache" mimeType="text/cache-manifest" />
          <mimeMap fileExtension=".rss" mimeType="application/rss+xml" />
     </staticContent>
    </system.webServer>
</configuration>

If the MIME types you need are not listed above, they may be included in this list of common MIME types.