Install CMS Made Simple with Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04

Install Nginx HTTP server on Ubuntu

Nginx is the web server that will show your CMS Made Simple website to visitors. You need to install Nginx on your Ubuntu system first. This guide will show you how to install it using the terminal, and then how to start and stop the Nginx service.

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 the Welcome to nginx!, it means the Nginx HTTP server is successfully installed.

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

How to install Nginx on Ubuntu

Install the MariaDB database server on Ubuntu

Your CMS Made Simple website needs a database to store all its content, like text and pictures. We will install the MariaDB database server on Ubuntu to handle this. You can install MariaDB using simple commands in the Ubuntu terminal, and this section will guide you through it.

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 CMSMS database

With MariaDB installed, you need to create a specific database for CMS Made Simple to use, which we will call ‘cmsmsdb’. This involves setting up the database itself, creating a user named ‘cmsmsdbuser’, and giving that user full permissions for the ‘cmsmsdb’ database using terminal commands.

Finally, we’ll grant the cmsmsdbuser full access to the cmsmsdb 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 cmsmsdb CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
CREATE USER cmsmsdbuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'type_your_password_here';
GRANT ALL ON cmsmsdb.* TO cmsmsdbuser@localhost WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Ensure to replace ‘type_your_password_here ‘with your password.

Install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

CMS Made Simple needs PHP to run, so installing the latest version on your Ubuntu system is essential for it to work right. The installation process is straightforward and involves running a specific command in your Ubuntu terminal to get all the needed PHP parts.

Then, run the commands below to install the latest PHP version.

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-bcmath php-json php-sqlite3 php-soap php-zip

Additional help on installing PHP

How to install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

Download CMSMS files

Next, you need to download the CMS Made Simple files onto your Ubuntu server. You can find the most recent version on the CMSMS download page, so it’s a good idea to check for updates and use the correct download link. We will download the files to a temporary spot first.

First, navigate to the /tmp/ directory and download CMSMS files. After unzipping the file, move the content into the CMSMS folder in the Nginx root directory.

The final step is to change the permissions. This will allow the Nginx web server to interact safely with the files, ensuring a secure environment for your CMSMS installation.

cd /tmp/
wget https://s3.amazonaws.com/cmsms/downloads/15179/cmsms-2.2.21-install.zip
sudo unzip cmsms-2.2.21-install.zip -d /var/www/cmsms
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/cmsms

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

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

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

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

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

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

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?page=$request_uri;
    }

    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.

The commands below will activate the Nginx virtual host for CMS Made Simple and restart the Nginx server, which is necessary for the website to load correctly.

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

Setup Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS for CMSMS

To make your CMS Made Simple website secure and let visitors use HTTPS, you must set up a Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificate. This guide will help you find resources for installing these certificates specifically for Nginx on Ubuntu. After setting it up, you’ll need to restart Nginx.

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://cmsms.example.com/cmsms-2.2.21-install.php

A CMSMS installation wizard page should appear. Select the installation language and continue.

Click the “Install” button to continue.

Type the database connection details created above and continue.

Create an admin account and continue.

Continue with the default settings and finish the installation.

Visit your site or admin panel and begin using your new site.

Once everything works correctly, run the command below to delete the installer.

sudo rm /var/www/cmsms/cmsms-2.2.21-install.php

After the installation, you can add the line below to the /var/www/cmsms/config.php file in the root directory to enable pretty URLs.

$config['url_rewriting'] = 'mod_rewrite';

That should do it!

Conclusion:

Installing CMS Made Simple (CMSMS) with Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04 involves setting up the web server, database, and scripting environment. Following the steps in this article lets you have a fully functional CMSMS site.

Key Takeaways:

• Nginx Installation: Successfully 💿 installing Nginx is crucial as it serves the web pages for your CMSMS site.
• Database Setup: MariaDB provides a robust database solution to store and manage your site’s content.
• PHP Requirement: Ensuring the latest version of PHP is installed improves compatibility and security for running CMS Made Simple.
• CMSMS Deployment: ⬇️ Downloading the CMSMS files and configuring the server settings allows your site to function correctly.
• Secure Your Site: Implementing SSL/TLS with Let’s Encrypt enhances the security of your website.
• Post-Installation: Remember to remove the installation files to maintain security and prevent unauthorized access.

Key takeaways for installing CMS Made Simple with Nginx on Ubuntu include successfully installing Nginx as your web server, setting up MariaDB for content storage, and ensuring PHP is installed for CMSMS to run. Downloading the correct CMSMS files and securing your site with Let’s Encrypt SSL are also crucial steps.