Install Wardrobe CMS on Ubuntu Linux with Apache

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install Wardrobe CMS on Ubuntu 18.04 | 16.04 with Apache2 HTTP server.

Wardrobe CMS is an open-source, Laravel based CMS that you’ll want to use to power your websites and blogs.

It is a new, lightweight blogging platform written entirely in the Laravel PHP Framework which will help you simplify the process of building and maintaining a website for businesses or individuals.

When you use Composer to install Wardrobe CMS packages, you can easily upgrade from the command line with Composer, which is much simpler.

Wardrobe CMS also has built-in modules that extend its functionality and the platform is actively being developed.

For more about Wardrobe CMS, please check its homepage

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

Install Apache2 HTTP Server on Ubuntu

Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server in use. so install it since Wardrobe CMS 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.

Install MariaDB Database Server

Wardrobe CMS also needs a database server to store its content. and MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open source database servers to use with Wardrobe CMS.

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

sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

After that, run the commands below to secure MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access.

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

Restart MariaDB server

To test if MariaDB is installed, type the commands below to logon to MariaDB server

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then type the password you created above to sign on. if successful, you should see MariaDB welcome message

Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules

PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. in order to install 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-gmp php7.2-curl php7.2-intl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-mysql 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 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
short_open_tag = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 360
max_input_vars = 1500
date.timezone = America/Chicago

After making the change above, save the file and close out.

Create Wardrobe CMS Database

Now that you’ve install all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First create a Wardrobe CMS database.

Run the commands below to logon to MariaDB. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called wardrobe

CREATE DATABASE wardrobe;

Create a database user called wardrobeuser with new password

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

Then grant the user full access to the wardrobe database.

GRANT ALL ON wardrobe.* TO 'wardrobeuser'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

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.

PHP 7.2 ubuntu nginx



Download Wardrobe CMS Latest Release

To get Wardrobe CMS latest release you may want to use Github repository. Install Composer, Curl and other dependencies to get started.

sudo apt install curl git
curl -sS  | sudo php -- --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer

After installing curl and Composer above, change into the Apache2 root directory and download Wardrobe CMS packages from Github.

cd /var/www
sudo composer composer create-project wardrobe/wardrobe wardrobe
cd /var/www/wardrobe

After running this command, modify your config/database.php file with your database credentials

sudo nano /var/www/wardrobe/config/database.php

Then update the highlighted lines and save the file.

    | All database work in Laravel is done through the PHP PDO facilities
    | so make sure you have the driver for your particular database of
    | choice installed on your machine before you begin development.
    |
    */

        'mysql' => [
            'driver' => 'mysql',
            'host' => env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1'),
            'port' => env('DB_PORT', '3306'),
            'database' => env('DB_DATABASE', 'wardrobe'),
            'username' => env('DB_USERNAME', 'wardrobeuser'),
            'password' => env('DB_PASSWORD', 'enter_password_here'),
            'unix_socket' => env('DB_SOCKET', ''),
            'charset' => 'utf8mb4',
            'collation' => 'utf8mb4_unicode_ci',
            'prefix' => '',
            'prefix_indexes' => true,
            'strict' => true,
            'engine' => null,
        ],

After editing the file above, run the commands below

sudo composer update
sudo php artisan wardrobe:migrate

When you run the lines above, you’ll be prompted to enter the database hostname, database and the database user name. please provide that info using the info created above.

When you run the lines above, you’ll be prompted to enter the database hostname, database and the database user name. please provide that info using the info created above.
After that, run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Wardrobe to function.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/wardrobe/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/wardrobe/

Configure Apache2

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

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/wardrobe.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/wardrobe/public
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/wardrobe/public/>
        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.

Enable the Wardrobe CMS

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

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

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name. You should see Wardrobe CMS default home page.

Now to access the admin portal, go to:

admin

Start building your site

Conclusion:

You have learned how to install Wardrobe CMS on Ubuntu with Apache2 HTTP server. If you find any error above, please leave a comment below

Thanks,

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