What Is WordPress Playground and How to Use It in a Browser?

Imagine you could build and test an entire WordPress website without hosting, without setup, and without risk. No installs, no local servers, no tangled databases. Just open your browser and start experimenting instantly. That’s exactly what WordPress Playground offers.

Think of it as your personal WordPress sandbox—where developers, designers, and curious beginners can try out themes, plugins, custom code, or full website builds with zero consequences. Whether you’re learning, prototyping, or debugging, Playground gives you the full power of WordPress right in your browser. It’s like having a WordPress lab in your pocket, ready to spin up a site in seconds anytime, anywhere.

Perfect for testing ideas, teaching clients, or building demos—without touching your live site.

What is WordPress Playground?

WordPress Playground is an open-source browser-based version of WordPress that lets you run a full WordPress website without needing to install anything on your local machine or server. It uses WebAssembly (WASM) to run PHP and WordPress directly in your browser, giving you a fast and secure environment to test themes, plugins, custom code, or even entire websites without affecting your live site.

Whether you’re a developer testing new features, a designer experimenting with themes, or a beginner learning WordPress, Playground offers a powerful, zero-risk way to explore and build.

Important: If you refresh the WordPress Playground page, all customizations will be lost. However, you can download your WordPress instance and re-upload it to WordPress Playground.

How Does WordPress Playground Work?

WordPress Playground utilizes some technologies to run WordPress in a browser.

1. WebAssembly binary (WASM): It allows you to run PHP code directly in your web browser, enabling WordPress to function without a traditional server. Additionally, it ensures compatibility with all browsers, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari.
2. SQLite database: It uses a lighter, file-based database system called SQLite instead of MySQL, which runs directly in your browser.
3. Service Worker and Worker Threads APIs: It helps manage background tasks and browser requests, so WordPress runs fast and smoothly right in your browser.

These technologies allow developers to integrate WordPress Playground with Node.js, Visual Studio Code, CLI applications, and even OpenAI.

Key Features That Make WordPress Playground a Game-Changer

1. Version Switching – Test Across Any WordPress Version Instantly

One of the biggest challenges for WordPress developers is maintaining compatibility with various WordPress versions. Different clients may be on different versions, and plugins/themes need to be tested across them.

With Playground:

• A simple dropdown lets you switch between any major WordPress version, from older stable releases to the latest beta.
• You can instantly spin up an environment running, for example, WP 5.8, 6.1, or the newest dev build.
• This allows you to check:
  • If a theme/plugin works with older WordPress versions
  • How the upcoming changes might break compatibility
  • What features were introduced or removed in a given version

2. Real-Time Previewing

• Modify theme files, plugin code, or content and see changes reflected immediately.
• No server-side rendering delay or database writes.
• Great for visual builders and theme developers to preview UI changes.

3. API & Tooling Integration

WordPress Playground offers several APIs for better integration with development workflows.

• Playground Blueprints: JSON files that define pre-built environments
• GitHub Actions: Use Playground in CI/CD workflows to test code automatically
• VS Code Integration: Open files and run Playground alongside code editors
• WordPress CLI (WP-CLI) in-browser support

How To Set Up WordPress Playground?

Setting up WordPress Playground is super easy and takes just a few clicks. You don’t need to install anything; it runs directly in your browser.

1. Go to the official WordPress Playground site.
2. Wait a few seconds for the Playground to load. You’ll see a basic WordPress site using a default theme.

Customize Your Setup (Optional but Recommended)

If you want to test specific features or match your real site environment, you can adjust the settings.

1. Open Settings

• Click the settings (gear icon) in the top-right corner.

2. Choose a WordPress Version

• Select the version you currently use or plan to use.
• You can also try the “WordPress Nightly” version, which includes the latest developer updates—great for testing future features.

If you’re a plugin or theme developer, you can test compatibility with the next WordPress update.

If you want to load an older version of WordPress in Playground, you can use the Query API.

For example, to use WordPress version 6.2, visit:

https://playground.wordpress.net/?wp=6.2

3. Select a PHP Version

• Choose the same PHP version your live website uses.
• Only newer PHP versions (7.0+) are available.

Note: WordPress Playground does not support older PHP version because it runs on WebAssembly (WASM), which limits which PHP versions can be bundled and executed in-browser.

4. Pick Your Language

• Choose your preferred admin dashboard language (e.g., English – United States).

5. Enable Extra Features

• Turn on “Allow network access” so you can install plugins/themes directly.
• Turn on “Create a multisite network” if you want to test WordPress Multisite.
• Click “Apply Settings & Reset Playground” to reload with your selected options.

Access Admin Area or Site Editor

Once your Playground is ready:

• Hover over the site title and click “Dashboard” to go to the admin panel.
• Or click “Edit site” to open the Full Site Editor.

What are WordPress Playground Blueprints, and How to Use them?

Blueprints are like ready-made WordPress setups. They’re small JSON files that tell WordPress Playground how to build a site, what version to use, which plugins and themes to install, and even how your site should look.

Blueprints save time and help you:

• Quickly recreate test environments
• Share setups with your team or clients
• Load demo sites without doing everything manually

Once defined, you can load a blueprint into Playground and get the exact same environment every time.

How to Use Blueprints?

1. Click the four-square icon in the top-left corner of the Playground.
   
2. Go to the “Blueprints Gallery” tab.

   Here, you can explore public blueprints shared by other users. There are numerous options available to choose from. You can use the “Create Block Theme” feature to design a custom block theme with the Create Block Theme plugin, or you can try “Stylish Press” to set up a demo WooCommerce website.

3. Click the “Preview” button on any blueprint to load it instantly into Playground.
   

   You can also convert your own WordPress Playground instance into a blueprint.

4. Switch to the ‘Temporary Playground’ tab, click the three-dot icon next to ‘Homepage,’ and select ‘View Blueprint.’
   

   This will display your instance as a blueprint .json file.

5. To save the blueprint file to your computer, simply click the floppy disk ‘Save’ icon.
   

   Saving your blueprint is helpful for future reference, and you can also share it in the blueprints gallery by following the Contribution Guidelines.

   To load a saved blueprint, click the open folder icon located next to the floppy disk button. Select your blueprint.json file, and WordPress will automatically configure your environment based on that file.

How to Install Themes and Plugins in WordPress Playground?

Installing plugins and themes in WordPress Playground is almost like using a normal WordPress site. You just need to choose the method that works for your setup.

There are three main ways to install them:

Method 1: Install Directly from the WordPress Dashboard

Hover over the site title and click “Plugins” and “Themes” to go to the admin panel.

You can install WordPress plugins and themes as you do on your regular WordPress website. Please follow our articles below.

How to Install a WordPress Plugin?

How to Install Theme in WordPress Website?

Use this method if you’re working with free plugins/themes from the WordPress repository.

Method 2: Manual Upload

First, download the theme or plugin file.

1. For free options, visit WordPress.org, search for your desired theme or plugin, and click the ‘Download’ button. This will save a zip file to your computer.
   
2. Next, open the WordPress Playground dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New Plugin.
3. Click the ‘Upload Plugin’ button, then select ‘Choose File’ to upload the zip file you downloaded earlier.
   
4. Click ‘Install Now’ to complete the installation.

   When you first use the WordPress Playground, a default theme will be installed for you. However, if you’d like to use a different theme, either free or premium, you can download it from your preferred source.

5. To upload a new theme, go to Appearance > Themes in the Playground and click on the ‘Add New Theme’ button.
6. On the following screen, click the ‘Upload Theme’ button. Then, select the theme file you downloaded earlier and click ‘Install Now’ to complete the installation.
   

Method 3: Install Using URL Parameters

Another easy way to install themes and plugins in WordPress Playground is by using the Query API method. This approach allows you to add special parameters to the Playground URL, enabling the automatic installation of certain plugins or themes when the page loads.

For example, if you want to test the free version of the Jetpack plugin, first visit its page on WordPress.org & copy the URL slug.

Now, open a new browser tab and enter the following URL:

https://playground.wordpress.net/?plugin=jetpack

When you press Enter, WordPress Playground will open with the Jetpack plugin already installed and ready to use.

You can install the theme in the same way.

Install Multiple Themes and Plugins at Once

You can even install multiple plugins and themes at once by combining their slugs in the URL. Just separate each parameter with an & symbol. For instance, to load the Jetpack and Two-Factor plugins along with the Hello Elementor theme, use:

https://playground.wordpress.net/?theme=hello-elementor&plugin=jetpack&plugin=two-factor

How to Save a WordPress Playground Instance in Your Browser?

WordPress Playground allows you to save your work directly in your browser, so you can come back to it later.

1. Click the four-square icon in the top-left corner of the Playground.
2. Once the menu opens, go to the “Temporary Playground” tab.
3. Then, click the “Save” button and choose “Save in this browser.”
   

   WordPress will now store your Playground instance in your browser’s local storage. It will take some time.

4. Once it’s saved, you’ll see a new section called “Saved Playgrounds”. WordPress automatically assigns a fun name to your saved project.
   

   You can still adjust a few environment settings here, like the PHP version and network access, but some options will be limited. After making any changes, just click “Save & Reload” to re-open your saved instance.From this point on, all changes you make in the Playground will be auto-saved to your browser, even if you close and reopen the tab later.

5. Additionally, WordPress Playground lets you save your instance as local files on your computer. Just click the same “Save” button again, and choose “Save in a local directory.”This option downloads your Playground as a set of regular WordPress files—unzipped—with familiar folders like wp-content, wp-admin, and more.
   

   This method is perfect if you want to take the site you built in Playground and move it to a staging environment or upload it to your hosting account. It’s especially useful for developers and designers who prefer to build prototypes in Playground and then continue development in a traditional server setup.

How to Download a WordPress Playground Site?

1. Click the four-square icon in the top-left corner of WordPress Playground.
2. Go to the “Temporary Playground” tab or open one of your saved playgrounds.
3. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) next to the “Homepage” button.
4. Select “Download as .zip” from the dropdown.
5. Your browser will start downloading a ZIP file of your current Playground instance.

This ZIP file acts as a full backup and can be restored later or shared with others.

How to Restore a ZIP File in WordPress Playground?

1. Return to the four-square menu, then locate the section above “Temporary Playground”.
2. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) again and choose “Import from .zip”.
   
3. A pop-up will appear, click to upload your previously downloaded Playground ZIP file.
4. After selecting your file, click “Import”.
   
5. If the file is valid, you’ll see a success message. Click “OK” to close it.
   

   Now, your Playground will reload with the exact same content, plugins, and settings from your backup.

   One standout feature of WordPress Playground’s zip exports is that they can be utilized with Studio by WordPress.com, which serves as WordPress.com’s local development tool. This allows you to continue developing your site in a true local environment.

How to Embed WordPress Playground on Your Website?

You can add WordPress Playground to your own website using a small piece of code called an iframe. It looks like this:

When someone visits your site, this will show a fully working WordPress inside your page, like a mini website that runs in the browser. You can customize how it works using Playground tools like:

• Query API (by adding plugins/themes via the URL)
• Blueprints (pre-made setups in JSON format)
• JavaScript (to control it with code)

Think of it like embedding a live, private WordPress demo right inside your site.

However, if you only use the main Playground site (playground.wordpress.net), it might slow down or go offline during high traffic.

Limitations of WordPress Playground

• All data is lost unless you save or export your instance.
• External requests (like plugin/theme downloads) require enabling “Network Access” and may not work offline.
• Runs entirely in the browser using WebAssembly, so it’s not ideal for large-scale testing or high-performance scenarios.

Conclusion

WordPress Playground is an open-source project that is still under active development, so there are a few limitations. However, it remains an excellent resource for safely exploring PHP and WordPress development in a controlled, disposable environment.

It’s important to remember that Playground is built for temporary development and testing, not for live production sites. Once you’re ready to launch your website or move your work online, switching to a reliable WordPress hosting provider is the next logical step.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I Need to Install Anything to Use WordPress Playground?

No, you don’t need to install anything.

WordPress Playground runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly and SQLite. Just visit playground.wordpress.net and start building instantly

2. Is WordPress Playground Suitable for Beginners?

Yes, absolutely.

WordPress Playground is a beginner-friendly platform that provides a safe, no-risk environment to learn and explore WordPress. There’s no need for installation or technical setup, just open it in your browser and start practicing.

3. Can I Export My Work From WordPress Playground to a Live WordPress Site?

Yes, you can export your Playground site to go live.

You can download your site as a .zip file and move it to your web hosting account. However, WordPress Playground runs on SQLite (a lightweight database), while most live hosting environments use MySQL or MariaDB. To ensure compatibility, you may need to convert your SQLite database before going live.