This article explains installing LiteCart with Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04.
LiteCart is an eCommerce platform built with PHP, jQuery, and HTML 5. It’s lightweight, fast, clean, straightforward, easy to install and use, and supports jQuery and the latest HTML 5.
Nginx is a widely used web server that provides high performance and scalability for web applications. Ubuntu Linux is a popular server operating system that provides a stable and secure environment for running LiteCart with Nginx.
Installing LiteCart with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux gives users a lightweight, fast, clean, and straightforward eCommerce platform.
Install Nginx HTTP server on Ubuntu
LiteCart requires a web server. This post will install and use the Nginx web server to run LiteCart.
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
The next component required to run LiteCart is a database server. This post will install and use the MariaDB database server.
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.
Create a LiteCart database
Upon successfully installing the MariaDB database server, create a blank database on the server specifically for the LiteCart application.
As part of the setup, we will create a litecartdb database and a user account called litecartdbuser.
Finally, we’ll grant the litecartdbuser full access to the litecartdb 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 litecartdb CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
CREATE USER litecartdbuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'type_your_password_here';
GRANT ALL ON litecartdb.* TO litecartdbuser@localhost WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit
Ensure to replace ‘type_your_password_here ‘with your password.
Install PHP on Ubuntu Linux
The last component you will need to run LiteCart is PHP. The LiteCart application is PHP-based and supports the latest versions of PHP.
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 LiteCart files
Let’s begin downloading and configuring the LiteCart files on Ubuntu Linux.
First, create a root directory for LiteCart at /var/www/litecart/. Next, download the LiteCart installer into the 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 LiteCart installation.
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/litecart
cd /var/www/litecart
sudo apt install curl
sudo curl --output index.php https://raw.githubusercontent.com/litecart/installer/master/web/index.php
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/litecart
Once you have completed all the above steps, continue configuring the Nginx web server below to serve the LiteCart content.
Run the commands below to create a Nginx virtual host file for LiteCart.
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/litecart.conf
Then, copy and paste the content block below into the Nginx server block.
server {
listen 80;
listen [::]:80;
root /var/www/litecart;
index index.php;
server_name litecart.example.com;
access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.access.log;
error_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.error.log;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php$is_args$args;
}
location ~ \.php$ {
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;
}
location ~ .(htaccess|htpasswd|inc.php)$ {
deny all;
}
location ~ ^/(data|logs|vendor|vmods|vqmod)/ {
deny all;
}
}
Save the file.
Then, run the commands below to enable the virtual host and restart the Nginx server.
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/litecart.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx
Setup Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS for LiteCart
You may want to install an SSL/TLS certificate to secure your LiteCart site. Secure your LiteCart installation with HTTPS from Let’s Encrypt.
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://litecart.example.com
A LiteCart installation wizard page should appear. Ensure all requirements are met and type in the database details above.
Create an admin account and click Install.
After installing, run the commands below to delete the installer folder.
sudo rm -rf /var/www/litecart/install/
Your LiteCart site should be ready to use.
That should do it!
Conclusion:
Installing LiteCart with Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04 is a straightforward process that provides a robust eCommerce platform. Here are the key takeaways:
- Lightweight and Fast: LiteCart is designed to be efficient and quick, making it ideal for eCommerce businesses.
- Secure Environment: Utilizing Nginx and SSL/TLS certificates enhances the security of your online store.
- Easy Installation: The installation process is simple and can be completed with command line instructions.
- Full Database Integration: MariaDB provides a reliable database solution for managing your eCommerce data.
- User-Friendly Interface: LiteCart offers an intuitive interface for managing products and transactions once installed.
By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can successfully set up and launch your LiteCart store, ready to provide a seamless shopping experience for your customers.
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