CMSMS is a popular and widely used open-source content management system that relies on the LAMP or LEMP stack. It is designed to allow webmasters and users to create powerful and dynamic content websites. If you’re looking for a true open-source WordPress alternative, CMS Made Simple might be a good place to start. It’s built using PHP and the Smarty Engine, which keeps content, modules, and templates separated. This post covers installing the latest version of CMSMS, which at the time of writing is 2.2.6.

How to install CMS Made Simple on Ubuntu Linux with Apache

As described above, CMSMS is a popular and widely used open-source content management system that relies on the LAMP or LEMP stack. It is designed to allow webmasters and users to create powerful and dynamic content websites. Below is how to stall CMSMS on Ubuntu Linux with Apache.

Install Apache

CMS Made Simple requires a webserver and the most popular web server in use today is Apache2. So, go and install Apache2 on Ubuntu by running the commands below: Next, run the commands below to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots.

Install MariaDB

CMSMS also requires a database server, and the MariaDB database server is a great place to start. To install it run the commands below. After installing, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots. After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server. 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

PHP 7.1 isn’t available on Ubuntu’s 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 7.1 Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.1 Run the commands below to install PHP 7.1 FPM and related modules. After installing PHP, run the commands below to open the Apache2 PHP default file. Then make the change to the following lines below in the file and save.

Create CMSMS Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create a CMSMS database. Run the commands below to log on to the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above. Then create a database called cmsmsdb Create a database user called cmsmsuser with a new password Then grant the user full access to the database. Finally, save your changes and exit.

Download CMSMS Latest Release

Next, visit the CMSMS site and download the latest version. After downloading, run the commands below to extract the download file into the Apache2 root directory. Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for CMSMS to function.

Configure Apache

Finally, configure Apache virtual host configuration file for CMSMS. This file will control how users access CMSMS content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called cmsms.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 CMSMS and Rewrite Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below To load all the settings above, restart Apache2 by running the commands below. Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name followed by install. You should see CMS Made Simple setup wizard complete. Please follow the wizard carefully. You should now be presented with a welcome screen. If instead, you see a white screen it probably means that your server is running old, or incompatible software and that you may be forced to use the traditional installer. When you did, delete the installer file by running the commands below. And you’re done.