diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/create/CreateProjectModal.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/create/CreateProjectModal.tsx
index 59e58cf..1bae70d 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/create/CreateProjectModal.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/create/CreateProjectModal.tsx
@@ -19,25 +19,11 @@ import { getTypeLabel, PROJECT_TYPES } from './types/registry'
 import { GenericSetup } from './types/GenericSetup'
 import { WordpressSetup } from './types/WordpressSetup'
 import type { TypeSetupHandle } from './types/shared'
+import { isValidProjectName, slugifyProjectName } from './projectName'
 import docksideIcon from '../../assets/dockside-icon.png'
 
 type Step = 'site' | 'setup'
 
-// DDEV project names must be valid hostname labels: alphanumeric and
-// hyphens only, can't start/end with a hyphen.
-const PROJECT_NAME_PATTERN = /^[a-zA-Z0-9]([a-zA-Z0-9-]*[a-zA-Z0-9])?$/
-
-export function isValidProjectName(name: string): boolean {
-  return PROJECT_NAME_PATTERN.test(name)
-}
-
-export function slugifyProjectName(raw: string): string {
-  return raw
-    .toLowerCase()
-    .replace(/[^a-z0-9]+/g, '-')
-    .replace(/^-+|-+$/g, '')
-}
-
 const fieldClass =
   'w-full rounded-lg border border-neutral-300 bg-white/80 px-3 py-2 text-sm shadow-sm transition placeholder:text-neutral-400 focus:border-cyan-400 dark:border-white/10 dark:bg-neutral-950/70 dark:placeholder:text-neutral-600'
 
@@ -92,12 +78,20 @@ export function CreateProjectModal({ onClose }: { onClose: () => void }): React.
     setIsSubmitting(true)
     try {
       await createProject.mutateAsync({ directory, projectName: name, projectType, docroot })
-      await setupRef.current?.runPostCreate({ directory, projectName: name })
-      selectProject(name)
-      onClose()
-    } finally {
+    } catch {
       setIsSubmitting(false)
+      return
     }
+
+    // Post-create (starting the project, downloading/installing WordPress,
+    // etc.) can run long. Close the modal as soon as the quick `ddev
+    // config` step succeeds instead of blocking the whole wizard on it —
+    // the terminal panel already tracks and surfaces this operation's
+    // progress and any failure independently of the modal.
+    const runPostCreate = setupRef.current?.runPostCreate
+    selectProject(name)
+    onClose()
+    runPostCreate?.({ directory, projectName: name }).catch(() => {})
   }
 
   return (
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/create/projectName.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/create/projectName.test.ts
index 63168fb..5e0b3d0 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/create/projectName.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/create/projectName.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
-import { isValidProjectName, slugifyProjectName } from './CreateProjectModal'
+import { isValidProjectName, slugifyProjectName } from './projectName'
 
 describe('isValidProjectName', () => {
   it('accepts hostname-safe names', () => {
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/create/projectName.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/create/projectName.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1f28590
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/create/projectName.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+// DDEV project names must be valid hostname labels: alphanumeric and
+// hyphens only, can't start/end with a hyphen.
+const PROJECT_NAME_PATTERN = /^[a-zA-Z0-9]([a-zA-Z0-9-]*[a-zA-Z0-9])?$/
+
+export function isValidProjectName(name: string): boolean {
+  return PROJECT_NAME_PATTERN.test(name)
+}
+
+export function slugifyProjectName(raw: string): string {
+  return raw
+    .toLowerCase()
+    .replace(/[^a-z0-9]+/g, '-')
+    .replace(/^-+|-+$/g, '')
+}