Hi,
> Will the DB remain there, or would it have to be re-created ?
You can not use the same database for two (or more) Wordpress sites.
Indeed, Wordpress writes several information about the site, including the url, in the configuration table.
> Any links to web pages that set out "Best Practises" ?
I have no links! See with Codex Wordpress for Wordpress.
For Apahce, PHP or MySQL, see the related documentation.
> Is it easy to create backups of the development hosts ?
For databases -> Export into SQL file by PhpMyAdmin or Adminer
For the site itself, backup of the folder.
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Documentation Apache -
Documentation PHP -
Documentation MySQL -
Wampserver install files & addons