Post Published on November 3, 2016.
Last Updated on November 3, 2016 by davemackey.
DesktopServer
This product is essentially a WAMP / MAMP application that has been extended to include some additional WordPress oriented functionality.
In its free version the customizations that stood out to me are
- its inclusion of Xdebug,
- support for Domain Name Mapping,
- auto-creation of Apache Virtual Hosts,
- and its auto-install of WP.
I was surprised to note that they list PHP 5.5 as being included but no mention of PHP 7.
When one moves up to their premium product ($100) one receives
- a trace utility for PHP debugging (which one?),
- LAN sharing for mobile testing,
- a few plugins (bypass login, airplane mode, enhanced Coda2 preview, Adobe Dreamweaver),
- “blueprints for automated WordPress configurations”,
- the ability to direct deploy to a live server,
- and the ability to import (from BackupBuddy, Duplicator, BackWP Up, BackUp WordPress, InfiniteWP, ManageWP), export, and archive sites.
I didn’t spend a ton of time with it, as at the time I was looking for something that was virtualized – e.g., using Vagrant or Docker.
I’d want the premium version – but $100 is quite pricey, imho, especially when much of the product consists of open source components.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand this has had some significant time and effort put into it, but I’ll blog about a few other solutions available that are free and open source and you’ll see how they can stand shoulder to shoulder with DesktopServer.