How to Install Zikula on Ubuntu 16.04

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How to Install Zikula on Ubuntu 16.04

We’ll show you how to install Zikula on Ubuntu 16.04. Zikula is an open-source web application framework written in PHP. You can develop interactive and editable websites using Zikula Framework. It is a cross-platform application and supports all popular operating systems, but this tutorial was written for Ubuntu 16.04.

At the time of writing this tutorial, the latest stable version of Zikula is 2.0.1 and it requires:

  • PHP 5.5.9 or higher (preferably the latest), with mbstring, JSON, curl, Intl, mysql and GD PHP extensions enabled.
  • MySQL 5, MariaDB 5 or later
  • Apache web server 2.0 or higher compiled with mod_rewrite module and AllowOverride set to ‘All’ (please note, the default setting for AllowOverride in Apache 2.3.9 and higher is ‘None’).

This install guide assumes that Apache is already installed and configured on your virtual server.

Let’s start with the installation.

1. Update the System Packages

Make sure your server OS packages are fully up-to-date:

apt-get update 
apt-get upgrade

2. Install the Required Packages

Install the required packages for Ziula:

apt-get install php7.0-curl php7.0-gd php7.0-mbstring php7.0-mysql php7.0-intl

3. Enable Apache Rewrite Module

Enable Apache rewrite module if it is not already done so:

a2enmod rewrite

4. Restart Apache

Restart the Apache service for the changes to take effect:

service apache2 restart

5. Install Zikula on Ubuntu 16.04

Download the latest version of Zikula available at https://github.com/zikula/core/releases to the /opt/ directory on the server:

cd /opt/
wget https://github.com/zikula/core/releases/download/2.0.1/Zikula_Core-2.0.1.zip
unzip Zikula_Core-2.0.1.zip
mv 2.0 /var/www/html/zikula

6. Set a Proper Ownership

All files have to be readable by the web server, so set a proper ownership:

chown www-data:www-data -R /var/www/html/zikula

7. Create Database and User

Create a new MySQL database and user:

mysql -u root -p
mysql> SET GLOBAL sql_mode='';
mysql> CREATE DATABASE zikuladb;
mysql> CREATE USER 'zikulauser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'y0uR-pa5sW0rd';
mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON zikuladb.* TO 'zikulauser'@'localhost';
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
mysql> quit

Do not forget to replace ‘y0uR-pa5sW0rd’ with a strong password.

8. Create a New Virtual Host

Create a new virtual host directive in Apache. For example, create a new Apache configuration file named ‘zikula.conf’ on your virtual server:

touch /etc/apache2/sites-available/zikula.conf
ln -s /etc/apache2/sites-available/zikula.conf /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/zikula.conf
vi /etc/apache2/sites-available/zikula.conf

Then, add the following lines:

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin admin@your-domain.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/html/zikula/
ServerName your-domain.com
ServerAlias www.your-domain.com
<Directory /var/www/html/zikula/>
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride All
Order allow,deny
allow from all
</Directory>
ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/your-domain.com-error_log
CustomLog /var/log/apache2/your-domain.com-access_log common
</VirtualHost>

Remove the 000-default.conf file:

rm /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf

9. Restart Apache Web Server

Restart the Apache web server for the changes to take effect:

service apache2 restart

Open http://your-domain.com in your favorite web browser and follow the easy instructions on the install screen inserting the necessary information as requested:

Database type: MySQL
Storage Engine: InnoDB
Database Host: localhost
Database Username: zikulauser
Database Password: y0uR-pa5sW0rd   // change this password with your actual password
Database Name: zikuladb

10. Continue Zikula Installation in Web Browser

On the next page, create a new Zikula administrator account.

Click ‘Begin Installer’.

That is it. Zikula has been installed on your server.

Log in to the Zikula administration back-end and start creating new content, install new extensions, add new users and so on…

How to Install Zikula on Ubuntu 16.04

Of course you don’t have to Install Zikula on Ubuntu 16.04,  if you use one of our PHP VPS Hosting services, in which case you can simply ask our expert Linux admins to install Zikula on Ubuntu 16.04, for you. They are available 24×7 and will take care of your request immediately.

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