Prerequisites

• Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or later
• Administrator privileges on your computer
• A web server (e.g., Apache, IIS) installed and configured
• Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015-2022

Installation

1. Visit the official PHP website (php.net) and navigate to the downloads section.
2. Download the latest PHP 8.3 Windows ZIP package (Thread Safe version recommended for most users).
3. Extract the ZIP file to a directory of your choice (e.g., C:\php).
4. Copy php.ini-development to php.ini in the same directory.
5. Open php.ini and make the following changes:
   • Uncomment extension_dir = "ext"
   • Uncomment required extensions (e.g., mysql, mysqli, pdo_mysql)
6. Add the PHP directory to your system's PATH environment variable.
7. Configure your web server to use PHP (refer to your web server's documentation for specific instructions).
8. Restart your web server.

Verification

1. Open a command prompt and type php -v. You should see the PHP version information.
2. Create a file named phpinfo.php in your web server's document root with the following content:

   <?php phpinfo(); ?>

3. Access the file through your web browser (e.g., http://localhost/phpinfo.php). You should see the PHP configuration information page.
4. Check that the PHP version displayed is 8.3.x and that all required extensions are loaded.