‍FlatPress is a lightweight, efficient, and database-less content management system (CMS) written in PHP. It is an ideal solution for those who want to create a blog or website without the need for a database. With its support for multiple languages, plugins, themes, and widgets, FlatPress offers great flexibility and customization options. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of installing FlatPress on an Ubuntu 22.04 server and securing it with Let’s Encrypt SSL.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following:

• A server running Ubuntu 22.04
• A non-root user with sudo privileges

Step 1: Install Apache and PHP

By default, Ubuntu 22.04 comes with PHP 8.1. However, FlatPress only supports PHP 8.0. Therefore, we need to add the PHP 8.0 repository to our system. Let’s start by installing Apache, PHP, and the required PHP extensions:

apt install software-properties-common -y
add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
apt-get install apache2 php8.0 php8.0-mysql php8.0-curl php8.0-cgi libapache2-mod-php8.0 php8.0-mcrypt php8.0-xmlrpc php8.0-gd php8.0-mbstring php8.0 php8.0-common php8.0-xmlrpc php8.0-soap php8.0-xml php8.0-intl php8.0-cli php8.0-ldap php8.0-zip php8.0-readline php8.0-imap php8.0-tidy php8.0-sql php8.0-intl wget unzip-y

Once the installation is complete, start the Apache service and enable it to start on boot:

systemctl start apache2
systemctl enable apache2

Step 2: Install FlatPress

Now, let’s download and install the latest version of FlatPress. First, navigate to the FlatPress Git repository and download the package:

wget https://github.com/flatpressblog/flatpress/archive/1.2.1.zip

Next, extract the downloaded file:

unzip1.2.1.zip

Copy the extracted directory to the Apache root directory and set the proper permissions:

cp -r flatpress-1.2.1 /var/www/html/flatpress
chown -R www-data.www-data /var/www/html/flatpress
chmod -R 775 /var/www/html/flatpress

Step 3: Configure Apache for FlatPress

To configure Apache for FlatPress, we need to create a virtual host file. Open the Apache virtual host configuration file using your preferred text editor:

nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/flatpress.conf

Add the following configuration to the file:

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

     <Directory /var/www/html/flatpress/>
          AllowOverride All
          Require all granted
     </Directory>

     ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/flatpress_error.log
     CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/flatpress_access.log combined

</VirtualHost>

Save and close the file. Then, enable the virtual host:

a2ensite flatpress

Next, enable the Apache rewrite module and restart the Apache service:

a2enmod rewrite
systemctl restart apache2

You can verify the status of Apache with the following command:

systemctl status apache2

Step 4: Secure FlatPress with Let’s Encrypt SSL

Now, let’s secure our FlatPress site with a Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate. First, we need to install the Certbot client, which helps us download and manage SSL certificates:

apt-get install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y

Once the Certbot client is installed, run the following command to install the Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate for your website:

certbot --apache -d flatpress.example.com

You will be prompted to enter your email address and agree to the terms of service. Provide your email address and accept the terms. The Certbot client will automatically obtain and install the SSL certificate for your site.

Step 5: Access FlatPress CMS

Now that your FlatPress site is secured with Let’s Encrypt SSL, you can access it securely using the HTTPS protocol. Open your web browser and enter the URL https://flatpress.example.com. You will be redirected to the FlatPress installation page.

Follow the on-screen instructions to create the admin user and complete the installation process. Once done, you can log in to the FlatPress admin panel and start customizing your website or blog.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have successfully installed FlatPress CMS on an Ubuntu 22.04 server and secured it with Let’s Encrypt SSL. With FlatPress, you can create a lightweight and efficient website or blog without the need for a database. By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you can have your FlatPress site up and running in no time.

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Christian Wells