How to Setup UliCMS with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux

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The text provides a detailed step-by-step guide on how to install the UliCMS content management system on Ubuntu using Nginx and PHP-7.2-FPM. The process includes setting up the Nginx HTTP server, MariaDB Database Server, PHP 7.2-FPM modules, creating a UliCMS database, enabling permissions, configuring Nginx, and installing the latest UliCMS release. Following successful installation, users…

This article explains how to set up UliCMS with Nginx support on Ubuntu Linux.

UliCMS is an open-source, user-friendly, and enhanced content management platform (CMS) inspired by the MVC framework, which lets you build great sites for personal or professional needs.

This fast and lightweight CMS platform gives web admins extensible features to collaborate and automate engaging experiences with users across multiple devices, including mobile.

For more about UliCMS, please check their Homepage

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

Install Nginx HTTP Server

UliCMS requires a web server, and the Nginx HTTP server is the most popular open-source web server available today. To install the Nginx server, run the commands below:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

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

sudo systemctl stop nginx.service
sudo systemctl start nginx.service
sudo systemctl enable nginx.service

Now that Nginx has been installed browse your browser to the URL below to test whether the web server works.

http://localhost

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

Install MariaDB Database Server

UliCMS also requires a database server to store its content. MariaDB is a great place to start if you want a genuinely 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 and start the service and enable it 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 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): 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

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

sudo mysql -u root -p

Type the root password when prompted.

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

Install PHP 7.2-FPM and Related Modules

UliCMS is a PHP-based CMS, and PHP is required. However, PHP 7.2-FPM may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. To run PHP 7.2-FPM on Ubuntu 16.04 and previous, 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-FPM

sudo apt update

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

sudo apt install php7.2-fpm 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-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-zip

After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open Nginx’s PHP default configuration file.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/fpm/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
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 360
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Restarting the Nginx web server whenever you change the PHP configuration file would be best. To do so, run the commands below:

sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Once PHP is installed, create a test file called phpinfo.php in the Nginx default root directory. ( /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 UliCMS CMS Database

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

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

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then, create a database called slices

CREATE DATABASE ulicms;

Create a database user called ulicmsuser with a new password

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

Then, grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON ulicms.* TO 'ulicmsuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download UliCMS Latest Release

To get UliCMS’s latest release, you may want to download it from its download page. Or use the commands below to use wget and get it downloaded.

Once downloaded, extract the downloaded content into the newly created UliCMS directory.

cd /tmp
wget https://www.ulicms.de/content/files/Releases/2019.2/ulicms-2019.2-colourful-chameleon-full.zip
unzip ulicms-2019.2-colourful-chameleon-full.zip
sudo mv ulicms /var/www/html/ulicms

Next, run the commands below to set the correct permissions for the UliCMS root directory and give Nginx control.

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

Configure Nginx

Finally, configure the Nginx site configuration file for UliCMS. This file will control how users access UliCMS content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called ulicms

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/ulicms

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.

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

    client_max_body_size 100M;

     location / {
            try_files   $uri $uri/ /index.php;
        }

    location ~ \.php$ {
         include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
         fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.2-fpm.sock;
         fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
         include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

Save the file and exit.

Enable the UliCMS and Rewrite Module

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

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

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

http://example.com

Then, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup. Finally, select the installation language and continue.

On the database connection page, type in the user and password you created above and continue.

Next, create an admin account and continue.

You can import demo data that may help you with designs and content.

After that, installation should be completed, and the site should be ready.

Congratulation! You have successfully installed UliCMS CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04.

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