CMSimple_XH is an open source, flat file Content Management System (CMS) that can help you create your personal or business websites in minutes without a separate database server. It offers features that may not be available to other PHP based CMS, like WordPress Joomla or Drupal.
For one, it doesn’t need a database server, all its data is simply stored in the file system (file-based, flat file CMS). It also provides native markdown WYSIWYG support, SEO friendly, flexible CSS framework with no installation required.
For more about CMSimple_XH, please check it homepage.
This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install CMSimple_XH on Ubuntu 16.04 / 18.10 / 18.04 LTS with Apache2 and PHP 7.2 support.
When you’re ready to get CMSimple_XH working, continue with the steps below:
Step 1: Install Apache2 HTTP Server on Ubuntu
Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server in use. so install it, since CMSimple_XH needs it.
To install Apache2 HTTP on Ubuntu 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
To test Apache2 setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see Apache2 default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Apache2 is working as expected.
Step 2: Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules
PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories for some systems. if you need it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories.
Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.2
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-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-sqlite3 php7.2-soap php7.2-gd php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-curl php7.2-zip
After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open PHP default config file for Apache2.
sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini
Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below are great settings to apply in your environments.
file_uploads = On allow_url_fopen = On memory_limit = 256M upload_max_filesize = 100M max_execution_time = 360 date.timezone = America/Chicago
After making the change above, save the file and close out.
Step 3: Restart Apache2
After installing PHP and related modules, all you have to do is restart Apache2 to reload PHP configurations.
To restart Apache2, run the commands below
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service
To test PHP 7.2 settings with Apache2, create a phpinfo.php file in Apache2 root directory by running the commands below
sudo nano /var/www/html/phpinfo.php
Then type the content below and save the file.
<?php phpinfo( ); ?>
Save the file. then browse to your server hostname followed by /phpinfo.php
/phpinfo.php
You should see PHP default test page.
Step 4: Download CMSimple_XH Latest Release
Next, visit CMSimple_XH site and download the latest package. or run the commands below to download CMSimple_XH pckages from github.
After downloading, run the commands below to extract the downloaded file and move it into a new CMSimple_XH root directory. After that, change into CMSimple_XH root directory to install PHP required packages.
Take notes of the branch number. if there are newer branch number, replace the one below with it.
cd /var/www/html/
sudo apt install git
sudo git clone --branch 1.7 cmsimplexh
cd /var/www/html/cmsimplexh
sudo composer installThen run the commands below to set the correct permissions for CMSimple_XH to function properly.
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/cmsimplexh/ sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/cmsimplexh/
Step 5: Configure Apache2 CMSimple_XH Site
Finally, configure Apache2 configuration file for CMSimple_XH. This file will control how users access CMSimple_XH content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called cmsimplexh.conf
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/cmsimplexh.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/cmsimplexh/
ServerName example.com
ServerAlias www.example.com
<Directory /var/www/html/cmsimplexh/>
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.
After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below
Step 6: Enable the CMSimple_XH Site and Rewrite Module
After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below, then restart Apache2 server.
sudo a2ensite cmsimplexh.conf sudo a2enmod rewrite
Restart Apache2
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service
Next, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see CMSimple_XH page. Login and change your password.
CMSimple_XH is a databaseless flat file content management system. It’s structure allowed you to have just the amount of functionality you needed in a flat file CMS solution, adding extensions (blade packs) for further functionality, whilst allowing setup on simple servers with no database.
To make changes to the system at all, you’ll have to log in. To do this, go to example.com/?&login at the bottom. (The login link is usually placed in the footer.) The standard password is set to test. By doing this you reach the admin mode, sometimes called “backend”.
/?&login
Use the temporary password test
The administration menu (Admin menu) is CMSimple_XH’s control center. After logging in a dark bar is displayed at the top of the screen.
At first you’ll have to change the default password:
Admin menu ⇒ Settings ⇒ Password
Always change the default password first! This is the most important step to prevent unauthorized access to the CMS.
The most important place to do that is:
Admin menu ⇒ Settings ⇒ Configuration
Here you should activate the contact form. Enter your e-mail address (section mailform) and select your preferred language for the backend. You should also check all the other settings.
Admin menu ⇒ Settings ⇒ Language
Here, only the first three points are important at the beginning: Site title and the two meta-specifications for search engines. Those and all other settings can be modified at any time.
Enjoy!
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