How To Install ImpressPages CMS On Ubuntu 18.04?

Introduction
ImpressPages CMS is an open-source Content Management System (CMS) that features a built-in content editor that allows users to build a personal/business website.
It is a free and user-friendly platform that is MVC-based and written in PHP language with an open-source MySQL/MariaDB database system for storing content.
With ImpressPages, it’s easy to manage content on any device. You also get additional features on this platform including Drag&drop, Inline editing, Multi-language support, Widgets, translations, and Grids.
In this article, we will show you how to install ImpressPages CMS on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have the following:

A virtual machine or dedicated server running on Ubuntu 18.04.
Sudo privileges
ImpressPage CMS requires a web server (Apache), Database server (MariaDB or MySQL), and PHP. For this reason, you must have the LAMP (Apache, MariaDB, and PHP) stack installed on your Ubuntu 18.04 server. If you have not installed the LAMP stack follow our guide on “How to install the LAMP (Apache, MariaDB, and PHP) stack on Ubuntu 18.04.

If all the above requirements are in place, you are good to go!

Step 1 - Configuring The MariaDB Databases For ImpressPages

The first thing when configuring your database for ImpressPages is securing it. Run the command below to secure MariaDB.

$ sudo mysql_secure_installation

You will be asked to enter your current root password. If you have just installed MariaDB and have not created any password yet, your root password is blank. Just press Enter to continue. Here, you will be required to answer some questions and its recommended you respond with YES for all of them.

Set root password? [Y/n] type Y and press enter
New Password: Key in your preferred password and enter to continue.
Re-enter new password: Re-enter the password and press enter.
Remove anonymous users? [Y/n] type Y and press enter. 
Disallow root login remotely [Y/n] type Y and press enter
Remove test database and access it? [Y/n] type Y and press enter
Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n] type Y and press enter

Once you secure your databases, execute the command below to log into the MariaDB shell:

$ sudo mysql -u root -p

Enter your root password; the one created when securing your databases and press Enter to continue. By now you should be logged into the MariaDB database shell.

Execute the command below to create a database called impress for ImpressPages:

CREATEDATABASE impress;

Next, run the command below to create a new database user (impressuser) and a new password for the user:

CREATEUSER'impressuser'@'localhost'IDENTIFIEDBY'new_password_here';

Now, the user is created, but you need to grant the user access to the MariaDB database. Execute the command below to accomplish this:

GRANT ALL ON impress.* TO'impressuser'@'localhost'IDENTIFIEDBY'user_password_here'WITHGRANTOPTION;

Finally, run the command below to save the change and quite the MariaDB shell.

FLUSHPRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 2 - Installing ImpressPages

Run the command below to download the most recent stable version of ImpressPages from the official website:

$ wget http://download.impresspages.org/ImpressPages_5_0_3.zip

Now, unzip the file you have downloaded with the command below:

$ unzip ImpressPages_5_0_3.zip

Transfer these files to the Apache root directory:

$ sudo cp -r ImpressPages /var/www/html/impress

Next, run the commands below to stipulate the proper privileges to the directory (Impress) we created.

$ sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/impress/
$ sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/impress/

Step 3 - Configuring Apache 2

Now, run the command below to open the Apache2 configuration file and modify its content suit ImpressPages.

$ sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/impress.conf

Include the information below:

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerAdmin admin@example.com
     DocumentRoot /var/www/html/impress
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/html/impress/>
          Options FollowSymlinks
          AllowOverrideAll
          Requireall granted
     </Directory>

     ErrorLog${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
     CustomLog${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

</VirtualHost>

Now, save and exit the file.

Next, execute the command below to enable rewrite the module and Apache2 virtual host file.

$ sudo a2ensite impress.conf
$ sudo a2enmod rewrite

Now, restart Apache to apply the changes:

$ sudo systemctl restart apache2