How to Setup CSZ CMS on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx

CSZ CMS is a free, open source and powerful blogging engine built with PHP CodeIgniter and bootstrap that can be used to create website content and structure with control over everything, including designs with responsive layout.

If you want a Content Management System (CMS) that is easy to install, simple to maintain and extensible, then CSZ CMS is a good place to start. It is built with CodeIgniter and Bootstrap which makes your website fully responsive and very useful in helping you run your digital content.

This CMS platform is designed for ease of use to allow webmasters to collaborate and automate engaging experiences with users across multiple devices, including mobile.

For more about CSZ CMS, please check their Homepage

This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to install CSZ CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 / 18.10 and 18.04 LTS.

To get started with installing CSZ CMS, follow the steps below:

Install Nginx HTTP Server

CSZ CMS requires a web server and Nginx HTTP server is probably the second most popular open source web server available today. To install 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 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 is installed. to test whether the web server is working, open your browser and browse to the URL below.


nginx default home page test

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

Install MariaDB Database Server

CSZ CMS also requires a database server to store its content. If you’re looking for a truly open source database server, then MariaDB is a great place to start. To install MariaDB run the commands below:

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

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

Now that MariaDB is installed, to test whether the database server was successfully installed, run the commands below.

sudo mysql -u root -p

type the root password when prompted.

mariadb welcome

If you see a similar screen as shown above, then the server was successfully installed.

Install PHP 7.2-FPM and Related Modules

CSZ CMS is a PHP based CMS and PHP is required. However, PHP 7.2 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 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 PHP default configuration file for Nginx.

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

The lines below is a good settings for most PHP based CMS. Update the configuration file with these and save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
short_open_tag = On
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 360
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Everytime you make changes to PHP configuration file, you should also restart Nginx web server. To do so, run the commands below:

sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Now that PHP is installed, to test whether it’s functioning, create a test file called phpinfo.php in 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

/phpinfo.php

You should see PHP default test page.

PHP Test Page

Create CSZ CMS Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required for CSZ CMS to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First run the commands below to create a blank CSZ CMS database.

To logon to MariaDB database server, run the commands below.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called cszcms

CREATE DATABASE cszcms;

Create a database user called cszcmsuser with a new password

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

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON cszcms.* TO 'cszcmsuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download CSZ CMS Latest Release

To getCSZ CMS latest release you may want to go and download 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 cszcms directory.

cd /tmp
wget 
sudo mkdir /var/www/html/cszcms
sudo unzip CSZCMS-V1.2.1.zip -d /var/www/html/cszcms

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

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

Configure Nginx

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

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

Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your own domain name and directory root location.

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    root /var/www/html/cszcms;
    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;
    }

     location ^~ /data {
         deny all;
      }
}

Save the file and exit.

Enable the CSZ CMS and Rewrite Module

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

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

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


Then follow the on-screen instruction. Type in the database connection info you created above and create an admin account for the backend. When you’re ready, click Install Now!

CSZ CMS Ubuntu Install

That’s it! You can now logon and start creating great posts.

CSZ CMS Ubuntu Install

Log on to the back-end admin portal using the credential created above.

CSZ CMS Ubuntu Install

Enjoy!

CSZ CMS Ubuntu Install

Congratulation! You have successfully installed CSZ CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 and 18.10.

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