How to Install Zen Cart with Apache on Ubuntu Linux

This article describes the steps to install and use Zen Cart on Ubuntu Linux with Apache support.

Zen Cart is a free, user-friendly, open-source shopping cart software based on PHP. It has comprehensive product features for small, medium, and large businesses to create and manage online stores for free.

If you’re looking for a functional, high-performance eCommerce platform to manage your online storefront that’s 100% free, you’ll find Zen Cart to be helpful.

This post covers installing the latest version of Zen Cart, which at the time of writing is version 5.5.

How to install Zen Cart on Ubuntu Linux with Apache support

As described above, Zen Cart is a free, user-friendly, open-source shopping cart software based on PHP. It has comprehensive product features for small, medium, and large businesses to create and manage online stores for free.

Below is how to install and use it on Ubuntu Linux.

Install Apache

Zen Cart requires a webserver to function, and the most popular web server today is Apache2. So, go and install Apache on Ubuntu by running the commands below:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

Next, run the commands below 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

Install MariaDB

Zen Cart also requires a database server to function, and the MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking for an open-source database.

To install it, run the commands below.

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

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

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.

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

Install PHP and Related Modules

Zen Cart is a PHP-based application and requires PHP to function. To install PHP and related modules, run the commands below.

sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-common php-mbstring php-xmlrpc php-soap php-gd php-xml php-intl php-mysql php-cli php-mcrypt php-ldap php-zip php-curl

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

sudo nano /etc/php/7.1/apache2/php.ini # Ubuntu 17.10
sudo nano /etc/php/7.0/apache2/php.ini # Ubuntu 17.04

Then change to the following lines below in the file and save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 64M

Create Zen Cart Database

Now that you’ve installed all the required packages, continue below to start configuring the servers.

First, run the commands below to create Zen Cart database.

Run the commands below to log on to the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called zencart

CREATE DATABASE zencart;

Create a database user called zencartuser with a new password

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

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON zencart.* TO 'zencartuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download Zen Cart Latest Release

Next, visit the Zen Cart site and register for a free account. You must register before you’re allowed to download a copy.

The community edition is what you’ll want to download.

After downloading, run the commands below to extract the download file into the Apache2 root directory.

cd /tmp && wget https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/zencart/CURRENT%20-%20Zen%20Cart%201.5.x%20Series/zen-cart-v1.5.5e-03082017.zip
unzip zen-cart-v1.5.5e-03082017.zip
sudo mv zen-cart-v1.5.5e-03082017 /var/www/html/zencart

Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Zen Cart to function.

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

Configure Apache

Finally, configure the Apahce2 virtual host configuration file for Zen Cart. This file will control how users access Zen Cart content.

Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called zencart.conf.

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/zencart.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/html/zencart/
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/html/zencart/>
        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 Zen Cart and Rewrite Module

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

sudo a2ensite zencart.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite

Restart Apache2 by running the commands below to load all the settings above.

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Next, open your browser and browse the server domain name. Finally, you should see the Zen Cart setup wizard complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.