how to host a multiplayer online game on a local server like xampp before transferring to a life server online

hello guys...i want to develop a multiplayer(2 players) online game with unity but for now i want to run the game on my local machine first(a local server like xampp). That is, i want to be able to play the game while hosted on my local machine, possibly by splitting the screen and acting as both players at the same instance. please is there any way by which i can accomplish this?