Setup WebsiteBaker CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 | 18.10 with Nginx, MariaDB and PHP 7.2-FPM

For those who want to run WebsiteBaker on Ubuntu with Nginx HTTP server and PHP 7.2-FPM support, the steps below should be a great place to start.

WebsiteBaker is a free, easy and secure, flexible and extensible open source content management system (CMS) that can be used to create powerful and dynamic websites and blogs.

It’s easy to set up and install. Just download, install with two clicks and you’re done!

If you want a Content Management System (CMS) that is easy to use and manage, then WebsiteBaker CMS is a good place to start. WebsiteBaker CMS is built on an open source core with support for open standards, which might be very useful in helping you run your digital content.

For more about WebsiteBaker CMS, please check their Homepage

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

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

Step 1: Install Nginx HTTP Server

WebsiteBaker CMS requires a web server and Nginx HTTP server is the 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.

Step 2: Install MariaDB Database Server

WebsiteBaker 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.

Step 3: Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules

WebsiteBaker 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 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-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-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 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
memory_limit = 256M
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0
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

Step 4: Create WebsiteBaker Database

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

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

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called websitebaker

CREATE DATABASE websitebaker;

Create a database user called websitebakeruser with a new password

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

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON websitebaker.* TO 'websitebakeruser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 5: Download WebsiteBaker Latest Release

To get WebsiteBaker latest release you may want to get it from its download page below

Extract the downloaded content and copy it to Nginx root directory.

cd /tmp
wget  -O WebsiteBaker-2_12_0_r81.zip 
sudo unzip -d /var/www/html/websitebaker ~/Downloads/WebsiteBaker-2_12_0_r81.zip

Next, run the commands below to create WebsiteBaker config.php file.

sudo cp /var/www/html/websitebaker/config.php.new /var/www/html/websitebaker/config.php

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

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

Step 6: Configure Nginx

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

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

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/websitebaker;
    index  index.php index.html index.htm;
    server_name  example.com www.example.com;

     client_max_body_size 100M;

     autoindex off;
  
     location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
      }

    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.

Step 7: Enable the WebsiteBaker and Rewrite Module

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

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

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

Then follow the on-screen instructions. Confirm that all the requirements and met and continue.

WebsiteBaker Ubuntu install

Next, type in the database information you created above and create an admin account. and click Install WebsiteBaker.

WebsiteBaker ubuntu setup

After a moment, WebsiteBaker should be installed and ready to use. You should be able to logon with the admin account created above.

websiteBaker ubuntu setup

That’s it!

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

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