Prerequisites

• Windows 11 operating system
• Administrative access to your computer
• Internet connection for downloading PHP
• Web server (e.g., Apache, IIS) installed (optional)

Installation

1. Visit the official PHP website: https://www.php.net/downloads.php
2. Download the latest PHP 8.3.x ZIP package for Windows (x64 Non Thread Safe)
3. Extract the ZIP file to a directory of your choice (e.g., C:\php)
4. Rename the extracted folder to 'php'
5. Add the PHP directory to your system's PATH:
   • Open the Start menu and search for "Environment Variables"
   • Click "Edit the system environment variables"
   • Click the "Environment Variables" button
   • Under "System variables", find and select the "Path" variable, then click "Edit"
   • Click "New" and add the path to your PHP directory (e.g., C:\php)
   • Click "OK" to close all windows
6. Copy the php.ini-development file in the PHP directory and rename it to php.ini
7. Open php.ini in a text editor and make any necessary configurations

Verification

1. Open Command Prompt
2. Type php -v and press Enter
3. You should see output similar to:

   PHP 8.3.x (cli) (built: ...) (NTS)
   Copyright (c) The PHP Group
   Zend Engine v4.3.x, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
           

4. To test PHP with a web server, create a file named info.php in your web server's document root with the following content:

   <?php
   phpinfo();
   ?>
           

5. Access the file through your web browser (e.g., http://localhost/info.php)
6. If you see a page with detailed PHP configuration information, the installation is successful