Concrete5 is a popular and widely used open-source content management system based on PHP. It is designed to allow webmasters and users to create powerful and dynamic content websites. Looking for an alternative content management system to WordPress? Concrete5 may be a great place to start. If you’re looking for a functional, high-performance content management platform to manage your websites or blogs and 100% free, you’ll find Concrete5 to be useful. This post covers installing the latest version of Concrete5, which at the time of writing is version 8.2.1

How to install Concrete5 CMS on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support

As described above, Concrete5 is a popular and widely used open-source content management system based on PHP. It is designed to allow webmasters and users to create powerful and dynamic content websites. Below is how to install and use it on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support.

Install Nginx

Concrete5 requires a webserver and the second most popular web server in use today is Nginx. So, go and install Nginx on Ubuntu by running the commands below: Next, run the commands below to stop, start and enable the Nginx service to always start up with the server boots.

Install MariaDB

Concrete5 also requires a database server and MariaDB is a great place to start when looking for an open-source database server. 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 Nginx PHP default file. Then make the change to the following lines below in the file and save.

Create Concrete5 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 the Concrete5 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 concrete5 Create a database user called concrete5user with a new password Then grant the user full access to the database. Finally, save your changes and exit.

Download Concrete5 Latest Release

Next, visit the Concrete5 site and download the latest version. After downloading, run the commands below to extract the download file into the Nginx root directory. Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Concrete5 to function.

Configure Nginx Site

Finally, configure the Nginx server block configuration file for Concrete5. This file will control how users access Concrete5 content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called concrete5 Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your domain name and root location. Save the file and exit.

Enable Concrete5 server block

After configuring the server block above, enable it by running the commands below To load all the settings above, restart Apache2 by running the commands below. Next, open your browser and browse to the server domain name followed by install. You should see the Concrete5 setup wizard complete. Please follow the wizard carefully. Then confirm all the requirements are met Finally, enter your site info and the database connection settings and click Install Concrete5 to complete Congratulations! You’ve successfully installed Concrete5 on the Ubuntu server.