Coaster CMS is a next-generation Laravel-based content management system (CMS) designed to be flexible and user-friendly 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. Coaster CMS also has built-in modules that extend its functionality and the platform is actively being developed. For more about Coaster CMS, please check its homepage To get started with installing Coaster 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 Coaster CMS needs it. To install Apache2 HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below. After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots. To test the Apache2 setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see the Apache2 default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Apache2 is working as expected.

Install MariaDB Database Server

Coaster 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 Coaster CMS. To install MariaDB run the commands below. After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service always to start up when the server boots. Run these on Ubuntu After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access. 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 into the MariaDB server Then type the password you created above to sign on. if successful, you should see MariaDB welcome message

PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. 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 Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2 Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules. After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open the PHP default config file for Apache2. Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is a great setting to apply in your environment. After making the change above, save the file and close it.

Create Coaster CMS Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, create a Coaster CMS database. Run the commands below to log on to MariaDB. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above. Then create a database called coastercms Create a database user called coastercmseuser with a new password Then grant the user full access to the coastercms database. Finally, save your changes and exit. After installing PHP and related modules, you must restart Apache2 to reload PHP configurations. To restart Apache2, run the commands below To test PHP 7.2 settings with Apache2, create a phpinfo.php file in the Apache2 root directory by running the commands below Then type the content below and save the file. Save the file. then browse to your server hostname followed by /phpinfo.php You should see the PHP default test page.

Download Coaster CMS Latest Release

To get Coaster CMS’s latest release you may want to use the GitHub repository. Install Composer, Curl and other dependencies to get started. After installing curl and Composer above, change into the Apache2 root directory and download Coaster CMS packages from Github. After that, run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Coaster to function.

Configure Apache2

Finally, configure the Apahce2 site configuration file for Coaster CMS. This file will control how users access Coaster CMS content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called coastercms.conf Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your domain name and directory root location. Save the file and exit.

Enable the Coaster CMS and Rewrite Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name. You should see the Coaster CMS setup wizard. Verify that all is good and continue. On this screen, enter the database name, database user, and password, and continue Next, create an admin account and continue. After that, select a theme to use and complete the installation. Now to access the admin portal, go to: Start building your site Conclusion: You have learned how to install Coaster CMS on Ubuntu with an Apache2 HTTP server. If you find any error above, please leave a comment below Thanks, You may also like the post below: