Anchor is a super simple, open-source, content management system (CMS) with a slick admin interface. its lightweight codebase is designed with performance in mind. This platform is for bloggers who just want to write and offers features that may not be available to other PHP-based CMS, like WordPress Joomla, or Drupal. It also provides native markdown WYSIWYG support, Drag-n-drop, SEO-friendly, flexible CSS framework, and easy installation and management. For more about Anchor CMS, check out its homepage.

How to install Anchor CMS on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support

As described above, Anchor is a super simple, open-source, content management system (CMS) with a slick admin interface. its lightweight codebase is designed with performance in mind. Below is how to install it on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx

Install Nginx HTTP Server on Ubuntu

Nginx HTTP Server is the second most popular web server in use. so install it, since Anchor needs it. To install Nginx HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below. After installing Nginx, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Nginx service to always start up with the server boots. To test the Nginx setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see the Nginx default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Nginx is working as expected.

Install MariaDB

Anchor CMS also requires a database server to function. and MariaDB database server is a great place to start. To install it run the commands below. After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots. Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Run these on Ubuntu 17.10 and 18.04 LTS 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

PHP 7.1-FPM 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 7.1-FPM Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.1-FPM 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 Nginx. Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is great setting to apply in your environments. After making the change above, save the file and close it out.

Create Anchor 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 Anchor CMS database. Run the commands below to log on into the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above. Then create a database called anchor Create a database user called anchoruser with a new password Then grant the user full access to the database. Finally, save your changes and exit.

Download Anchor Latest Release

Next, visit the Anchor site and download the latest package. or run the commands below to install git which is required to download Anchor packages from GitHub. After downloading, run the commands below to extract the downloaded file and move it into a new Anchor root directory. Next, run the commands below to install the composer package and install. you must have the curl package installed for the commands to work. if not, just run sudo apt install curl to install it… After that, change into Anchor root directory to install PHP required packages. Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Anchor to function properly.

Configure Nginx Anchor Site

Finally, configure the Nginx configuration file for Anchor. This file will control how users access Anchor content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called anchor 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. After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below

Enable the Anchor Site

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below, then restart the Nginx server. Next, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see the Anchor setup page. Next, enter the database connection details you created above. The anchor needs them to store all of your blog’s information, so you must fill these in correctly. If you don’t know what these are, you’ll need to contact your WebHost. Next, create an admin account for the backend and complete the installation. Enjoy! Don’t forget to run the commands below to delete the install folder. You may also like the post below: