How to install PrestaShop with Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04

Install Nginx HTTP server on Ubuntu

Nginx is a web server that lets visitors access your PrestaShop website. Installing Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04 is a key step for your PrestaShop Nginx Ubuntu 24.04 setup. You can easily install Nginx using commands in the Ubuntu terminal.

To do that, open the Ubuntu terminal and run the commands below to install the Nginx web server.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

Once Nginx is installed, the commands below can start, stop, and enable the Nginx web server to start automatically when your server boots up.

sudo systemctl stop nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

You can test the Nginx web server by opening your web browser and browsing to the server’s localhost or IP address.

http://localhost

When you see “Welcome to nginx!” the Nginx HTTP server has been installed.

Additional help on installing Nginx on Ubuntu is in the link below.

How to install Nginx on Ubuntu

Install MariaDB database server on Ubuntu

Your PrestaShop store needs a database to store all its information. MariaDB is a reliable choice for this on Ubuntu 24.04. Installing the MariaDB database server is important for your PrestaShop Nginx Ubuntu 24.04 setup. You can install it using simple terminal commands.

To install and use the MariaDB database server, use the instructions below.

Open the Ubuntu terminal and run the commands below to install the MariaDB database server.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mariadb-server

Once the MariaDB database server is installed, use the commands below to stop, start, and enable the MariaDB server to start automatically when the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop mariadb
sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

Run the following commands to validate and test if the MariaDB database server is installed successfully.

sudo mariadb

Once you run the commands above, it will log you onto the MariaDB console and display a message similar to the one below.

Welcome to the MariaDB monitor.  Commands end with ; or g.
Your MariaDB connection id is 32
Server version: 10.11.2-MariaDB-1 Ubuntu 23.04

Copyright (c) 2000, 2018, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others.

Type 'help;' or 'h' for help. Type 'c' to clear the current input statement.

MariaDB [(none)]> 

The message tells you that the server is installed successfully.

Additional help on installing MariaDB.

• How to install MariaDB on Ubuntu Linux
• MariaDB without password prompt

Create a PrestaShop database

You need to create a database for PrestaShop to store its data after installing MariaDB. We will create a database called ‘prestashopdb’ and a user named ‘prestashopdbuser’ to manage it. This ensures your PrestaShop Nginx Ubuntu 24.04 installation has its own secure space for data.

As part of the setup, we will create a database named ‘prestashopdb‘ and a corresponding user account called ‘prestashopdbuser.’

Finally, we’ll grant the prestashopdbuser full access to the prestashopdb database.

All the database steps above can be done using the commands below:

But first, log on to the MariaDB database server:

sudo mariadb

Then run the commands below to complete the steps:

CREATE DATABASE prestashopdb CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
CREATE USER prestashopdbuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'type_your_password_here';
GRANT ALL ON prestashopdb.* TO prestashopdbuser@localhost WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Ensure to replace ‘type_your_password_here ‘with your password.

Install PHP-FPM on Ubuntu

PrestaShop needs PHP to run, and PHP-FPM helps manage it efficiently. Installing PHP-FPM on Ubuntu 24.04 is crucial for your PrestaShop Nginx Ubuntu 24.04 setup. You can install PHP-FPM and other necessary PHP extensions with a single command.

Run the commands below to install PHP-FPM.

sudo apt install php-fpm php-intl php-mysql php-curl php-cli php-zip php-xml php-gd php-common php-mbstring php-xmlrpc php-json php-sqlite3 php-soap php-zip

Additional help on installing PHP

How to install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

Download PrestaShop files

To get PrestaShop working, you must download its latest files to your Ubuntu server. These files are usually downloaded to the ‘/tmp’ folder first. After downloading, you’ll unpack them and move them to the right place so your Nginx web server can find them for your PrestaShop Nginx Ubuntu 24.04 site.

Stay up-to-date with PrestaShop’s latest version. Get it from the official download page and replace the link with the new version to ensure you benefit from the latest features and security updates.

cd /tmp/
wget https://assets.prestashop3.com/dst/edition/corporate/8.1.5/prestashop_edition_classic_version_8.1.5.zip
unzip prestashop_*.zip
sudo unzip prestashop.zip -d /var/www/prestashop
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/prestashop/

Once you have completed all the above steps, continue configuring the Nginx web server below to serve the PrestaShop content.

Run the commands below to create a Nginx virtual host file for PrestaShop.

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/prestashop.conf

Then, copy and paste the content block below into the Nginx server block.

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    index index.php;
    root /var/www/prestashop;
    server_name prestashop.example.com www.prestashop.example.com;

    access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com-access.log combined;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/example.com-error.log info;

    # Redirect 404 errors to PrestaShop.
    error_page 404 /index.php?controller=404;

    # Watch out: if you encounter issues with a quick view or shopping cart, you might want to use a different rule:
    # rewrite '^/((?!js|qq)[a-z]{2})/(.*)' /index.php?isolang=$1&$args last;

    # Images.
    rewrite ^/(d)(-[w-]+)?/.+.jpg$ /img/p/$1/$1$2.jpg last;
    rewrite ^/(d)(d)(-[w-]+)?/.+.jpg$ /img/p/$1/$2/$1$2$3.jpg last;
    rewrite ^/(d)(d)(d)(-[w-]+)?/.+.jpg$ /img/p/$1/$2/$3/$1$2$3$4.jpg last;
    rewrite ^/(d)(d)(d)(d)(-[w-]+)?/.+.jpg$ /img/p/$1/$2/$3/$4/$1$2$3$4$5.jpg last;
    rewrite ^/(d)(d)(d)(d)(d)(-[w-]+)?/.+.jpg$ /img/p/$1/$2/$3/$4/$5/$1$2$3$4$5$6.jpg last;
    rewrite ^/(d)(d)(d)(d)(d)(d)(-[w-]+)?/.+.jpg$ /img/p/$1/$2/$3/$4/$5/$6/$1$2$3$4$5$6$7.jpg last;
    rewrite ^/(d)(d)(d)(d)(d)(d)(d)(-[w-]+)?/.+.jpg$ /img/p/$1/$2/$3/$4/$5/$6/$7/$1$2$3$4$5$6$7$8.jpg last;
    rewrite ^/(d)(d)(d)(d)(d)(d)(d)(d)(-[w-]+)?/.+.jpg$ /img/p/$1/$2/$3/$4/$5/$6/$7/$8/$1$2$3$4$5$6$7$8$9.jpg last;
    rewrite ^/c/([w.-]+)/.+.jpg$ /img/c/$1.jpg last;

    # AlphaImageLoader for IE and FancyBox.
    rewrite ^images_ie/?([^/]+).(gif|jpe?g|png)$ js/jquery/plugins/fancybox/images/$1.$2 last;

    # Web service API.
    rewrite ^/api/?(.*)$ /webservice/dispatcher.php?url=$1 last;

    # Installation sandbox.
    rewrite ^(/install(?:-dev)?/sandbox)/.* /$1/test.php last;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php$is_args$args;
    }


    # Source code directories.
    location ~ ^/(app|bin|cache|classes|config|controllers|docs|localization|override|src|tests|tools|translations|var|vendor)/ {
        deny all;
    }

    # vendor in modules directory.
    location ~ ^/modules/.*/vendor/ {
        deny all;
    }

    # Prevent exposing other sensitive files.
    location ~ .(log|tpl|twig|sass|yml)$ {
        deny all;
    }

    # Prevent injection of PHP files.
    location /img {
        location ~ .php$ { deny all; }
    }

    location /upload {
        location ~ .php$ { deny all; }
    }

    location ~ [^/].php(/|$) {
         include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
         fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
         fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
         include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

Save the file.

To complete the PrestaShop installation, you will run specific commands to activate the virtual host file and then restart the Nginx web server. This restart ensures Nginx begins using the new virtual host configuration for your PrestaShop site.

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/prestashop.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Setup Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS for PrestaShop

Securing your PrestaShop website with a Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificate is vital for protecting visitor data. This process enables HTTPS, showing visitors a secure lock icon and building trust. You can easily set up these certificates for your PrestaShop Nginx Ubuntu 24.04 site, and they will renew automatically.

Please read the post below for additional resources on installing and creating Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates for Nginx.

How to set up Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate for Nginx on Ubuntu Linux

Once you have restarted the Nginx web server, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address defined in the Nginx server block.

http://prestashop.example.com

A PrestaShop installation wizard page should appear. Select the installation language and continue to the next page.

On the next page, confirm that all requirements are met and continue.

Then, type in the store’s name and create your admin account.

Next, confirm whether you want to install demo products and continue.

On the next page, type in the database name, user, and password created above and continue.

Your PrestaShop site should be set up and ready to use.

For security reasons, you’ll need to delete the installation directory. To do so, go back to the terminal and the command below.

sudo rm -rf /var/www/prestashop/install

That should do it!

Conclusion:

• Setting up PrestaShop on Ubuntu with Nginx support is straightforward and can significantly improve the performance and reliability of your e-commerce website.
• 💿 Installing Nginx, MariaDB, and PHP-FPM ensures a robust infrastructure for your PrestaShop site.
• Creating a PrestaShop database and configuring Nginx to serve the PrestaShop content are essential steps for a successful installation.
• Securing your PrestaShop installation with Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificates helps protect sensitive data and build customer trust.
• Following the outlined steps, you can confidently optimize your online store for speed, security, and a seamless customer experience.