How to Install Composr CMS with Apache on Ubuntu Linux

This article explains installing Composr CMS with Apache support on Ubuntu Linux.

Composr is a flexible, open-source content management system (CMS) built on the LAMP or LEMP stack with advanced social, interactive, and dynamic functionality. Whether you’re creating a personal or business website, Composr can help you manage great content on every device.

Installing Composr CMS with Apache on Ubuntu Linux is a great way to start with this flexible and powerful content management system. Composr is an open-source CMS built on the LAMP or LEMP stack and offers a range of advanced social, interactive, and dynamic functionality.

By installing Composr on Ubuntu with Apache support, you can manage great content on every device and use powerful features to help you create a personal or business website.

This tutorial will show you how to install Composr CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 / 17.10 and 18.04 and get started with its powerful features.

For more on Composr, please visit its home page.

When you’re ready to get Composer working on Ubuntu, please continue with the steps below:

Install Apache2 HTTP Server on Ubuntu

Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server. Install it since Composr needs it.

To install Apache2 HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, the commands below can 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

To test the Apache2 setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address. You should see the Apache2 default test page, as shown below. When you see that, Apache2 will work as expected.

http://localhost

Install MariaDB Database Server

MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers for Magento. 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 service to start 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 17.10 and 18.04 LTS

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

After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

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

• Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just 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

Restart MariaDB server

Type the commands below to log on to the MariaDB server to see if MariaDB is installed.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then, type the password you created above to sign on. If successful, you should see a MariaDB welcome message.

Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules

PHP 7.1-FPM may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. To install it, you must get it from third-party repositories.

Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.2

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-sqlite php7.2-curl php7.2-intl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-mysql php7.2-gd php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-zip

After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open the PHP default config file for Apache2.

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

Then, save the changes on the following lines below in the file. The value below is an ideal setting to apply in your environment.

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

After making the change above, please save the file and close it.

After installing PHP and related modules, you must restart Apache2 to reload PHP configurations.

To restart Apache2, run the commands below

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

To test PHP 7.2 settings with Apache2, create a phpinfo.php file in the Apache2 root directory by running the commands below

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

Then, type the content below and save the file.

<?php phpinfo( ); ?>

Save the file. Then browse to your server hostname followed by /phpinfo.php

http://localhost/phpinfo.php

You should see the PHP default test page.

Create Magento Database

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

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

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then, create a database called composr

CREATE DATABASE composr;

Create a database user called composruser with a new password

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

Then, grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON composr.* TO 'composruser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download and Install Composr

Run the commands below to download Composr content.

cd /tmp && wget http://compo.sr/site/dload.php?id=457 -O composr.zip
sudo mkdir /var/www/html/composr
sudo unzip composr.zip -d /var/www/html/composr

Next, run the commands below to change the root folder permissions.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/composr/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/composr/

Configure Apache Composr Site

Finally, configure the Apache2 configuration file for Composr. This file will control how users access Composr content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called compost. conf.

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/composr.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 [email protected]
     DocumentRoot /var/www/html/composr
     ServerName example.com

     <Directory /var/www/html/composr/>
          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.

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

Enable the Composr Site and Rewrite the Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, please enable it by running the commands below, then restart the Apache2 server.

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

Next, open your browser, go to the URL, and continue with the installation.

http://example.com/install.php

Click Next to continue the installation wizard.

If you want to enable Composr’s forum, choose it and continue with the wizard. Also, choose MySQL database server and continue.

On the next screen, create an admin account with a master password, set up the database connection info you made above, and continue.

After that, run the commands below to delete the install.php file from your server.

sudo rm -rf /var/www/html/composr/install.php

You’ll find the private website configuration system at http://example.com/adminzone

Enjoy!

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