How to Install ChurchCRM with Apache on Ubuntu Linux

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install and configure the ChurchCRM platform on Ubuntu 18.04 | 16.04 with Apache2 HTTP servers.

For the uninitiated, ChurchCRM is an open-source CRM software built for churches that can serve as a strong alternative to the popular CRM systems in use today.

If you own a church and want a CRM platform, then ChurchCRM might just be what you want. It comes with an intuitive dashboard that provides a quick view of your members, Sunday school activities, financial modules, and more.

For more about ChurchCRM, please check its homepage.

To get started with installing ChurchCRM, follow the steps below:

Install Apache2 HTTP Server

ChurchCRM requires a web server and the Apache2 HTTP server is the most popular open-source web server available today.

To install the Apache2 server, run the commands below:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop apache2.service
sudo systemctl start apache2.service
sudo systemctl enable apache2.service

Now that Apache2 is installed, open your browser and browse to the URL below to test whether the web server is working.

http://localhost

If you see the page above, then Apache2 is successfully installed.

Install MariaDB Database Server

ChurchCRM also requires a database server to store its content. MariaDB is a great place to start if you’re looking for a truly open-source database server.

To install MariaDB run the commands below:

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing MariaDB, the commands below can stop, start and enable the MariaDB service to start up when the server boots.

Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

sudo systemctl stop mysql.service
sudo systemctl start mysql.service
sudo systemctl enable mysql.service

Run these on Ubuntu 18.10 and 18.04 LTS

sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

Next, run the commands below to secure the database server with a root password if you were not prompted to do so during the installation.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

• Enter current password for root (enter for none): Press the Enter
• Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
• New password: Enter password
• Re-enter new password: Repeat password
• Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
• Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
• Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]:  Y
• Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]:  Y

Once MariaDB is installed, run the commands below to test whether the database server was successfully installed.

sudo mysql -u root -p

type the root password when prompted.

The server was successfully installed if you see a similar screen as shown above.

Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules

ChurchCRM is a PHP-based platform and for now, only PHP 7.2. PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. To run PHP 7.2 on Ubuntu 14.04, you may need to run the commands below:

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2

sudo apt update

Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules.

sudo apt install php7.2 libapache2-mod-php7.2 php7.2-common php7.2-mysql php7.2-gmp php7.2-curl php7.2-intl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-gd php7.2-bcmath php7.2-imap php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-zip

After installing PHP 7.1, run the commands below to open the PHP default configuration file for Apache2.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini

The lines below are a good setting for most PHP-based CMS. Update the configuration file with these and save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
short_open_tag = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 360
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Every time you make changes to the PHP configuration file, you should also restart the Apache2 web server. To do so, run the commands below:

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Once PHP is installed, create a test file called phpinfo.php in the Apache2 default root directory to test whether it’s functioning. ( /var/www/html/)

sudo nano /var/www/html/phpinfo.php

Then type the content below and save the file.

<?php phpinfo( ); ?>

Next, open your browser and browse to the server’s hostname or IP address followed by phpinfo.php

http://localhost/phpinfo.php

You should see the PHP default test page.

Create ChurchCRM Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages required for ChurchCRM to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create a blank ChurchCRM database.

To log on to the MariaDB database server, run the commands below.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called churchcrm

CREATE DATABASE churchcrm;

Create a database user called churchcrmuser with a new password

CREATE USER 'churchcrmuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON churchcrm.* TO 'churchcrmuser'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download ChurchCRM Latest Release

The churchCRM community edition can be downloaded from its download page here.

On the Ubuntu terminal, run the commands below to download, then extract to its root directory.

cd /tmp
wget https://github.com/ChurchCRM/CRM/releases/download/3.5.5/ChurchCRM-3.5.5.zip
unzip ChurchCRM-3.5.5.zip
sudo mv churchcrm /var/www/churchcrm

Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for the ChurchCRM root directory and give Apache2 control.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/churchcrm/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/churchcrm/

Configure Apache2

Finally, configure the Apahce2 site configuration file for ChurchCRM. This file will control how users access ChurchCRM content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called churchcrm.conf

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/churchcrm.conf

Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your domain name and directory root location.

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerAdmin admin@example.com
     DocumentRoot /var/www/churchcrm
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/churchcrm/>
          Options FollowSymlinks
          AllowOverride All
          Require all granted
     </Directory>

     ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
     CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Save the file and exit.

Enable the ChurchCRM and Rewrite Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below

sudo a2ensite churchcrm.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name. You should see the ChurchCRM setup wizard complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.

http://example.com/

Then follow the on-screen instruction. Validate that all requirements are met and continue

During the setup, you’ll be prompted to enter a Root Path

For the tutorial, we’re going to be accessing the portal from our main domain ( http://example.com ). Leave blank.

Next, type in the database name, username, and password, then complete the setup

After that, you should be able to log in with the credentials below:

Username: Admin
Password: changeme

Conclusion:

You have successfully learned how to install the ChurchCRM platform on Ubuntu. You may need to configure additional settings, but the steps above give you a basic starting point.

If you find errors with the steps above, please comment below:

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