Install Instant CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 | 18.10 with Apache2, MariaDB and PHP 7.2

InstantCMS is a user-friendly, open source content management system (CMS) for creating complex websites and blogs. The engine is easy to install and easy to use. It’s multifunctional, but focused mainly on the creation of large portals, social networks, dating sites or any other high-loaded sites..

If you want a Content Management System (CMS) that has more features than many other CMS platforms, then InstantCMS is a good place to start. InstantCMS is built on an open source core with support for open standards, which might be very useful in helping you run your digital content.

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

For more about InstantCMS, please check their Homepage

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

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

Step 1: Install Apache2 HTTP Server

InstantCMS requires a web server and Apache2 HTTP server is the most popular open source web server available today. To install Apache2 server, run the commands below:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable 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

Now that Apache2 is installed. to test whether the web server is working, open your browser and browse to the URL below.

If you see the page above, then Apache2 is successfully installed.

Step 2: Install MariaDB Database Server

InstantCMS 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.

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

Step 3: Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules

InstantCMS 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 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

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-mysql php7.2-gmp php7.2-curl php7.2-intl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-gd php7.2-bcmath 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 Apache2.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/apache2/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
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 Apache2 web server. To do so, run the commands below:

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Now that PHP is installed, to test whether it’s functioning, create a test file called phpinfo.php in Apache2 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.

Step 4: Create InstantCMS Database

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

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

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called instantcms

CREATE DATABASE instantcms;

Create a database user called instantcmsuser with a new password

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

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON instantcms.* TO 'instantcmsuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 5: Download InstantCMS Latest Release

To get InstantCMS latest release you may want to download it from its download page. Use the link below to get the latest. At the time of this writing, the current version is 2.10.1

Download and extract the downloaded content into Apache2 root directory.

cd /tmp
wget 
sudo unzip -d /var/www/html/instantcms /tmp/instantcms_20180705_v2.10.1.zip

Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for InstantCMS root directory and give Apache2 control.

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

Step 6: Configure Apache2

Finally, configure Apahce2 site configuration file for InstantCMS. This file will control how users access InstantCMS content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called instantcms.conf

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/instantcms.conf

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.

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerAdmin [email protected]
     DocumentRoot /var/www/html/instantcms
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/html/instantcms/>
          Options FollowSymlinks
          AllowOverride All
          Require all granted
     </Directory>

     ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
     CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
    
     <Directory /var/www/html/instantcms/>
            RewriteEngine on
            RewriteBase /
            RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
            RewriteRule ^(.*) index.php [PT,L]
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Save the file and exit.

Step 7: Enable the InstantCMS and Rewrite Module

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

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

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

Then follow the on-screen instructions. Choose your installation language and continue.

Next, validate that your server meets the requirements and accept the installation path. and continue.

Next, type in the database configuration info you created above and continue.

Create an admin account and save. then complete the installation.

After that, InstantCMS should be installed and ready to use.

That’s it!

Run the commands below to delete the install directory.

sudo rm -rf /var/www/html/instantcms/install

To login as admin, go to:

admin

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

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