How to Install Drupal with Apache and Let's Encrypt SSL on Debian 11

Installing Drupal with Apache and Let’s Encrypt SSL on Debian 11 can seem like a daunting task, but with the right instructions and a little bit of patience, it can be done relatively easily. This article will provide a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to get everything set up and running smoothly.

First, let’s go over the prerequisites for this installation. You will need a server running Debian 11, access to the root user account, and a registered domain name. You will also need to have Apache, MySQL, and PHP installed on your server.

Once you have these prerequisites in place, you can begin the installation process.

apt update

Install the Apache web server, PHP, and the necessary PHP extensions by running the following command:

apt install apache2 php php-mysql php-gd php-xml php-mbstring

Enable the Apache mod_rewrite module, which is required for Drupal’s clean URLs feature:

a2enmod rewrite

Restart the Apache web server to apply the changes:

systemctl restart apache2

Next, we’ll need to create a MySQL database and user for Drupal. Log in to the MySQL shell as the root user:

mysql -u root -p

Once you’re logged in, create a new database for Drupal:

CREATE DATABASE drupal;

Then, create a new MySQL user and grant them access to the Drupal database:

CREATE USER 'drupaluser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON drupal.* TO 'drupaluser'@'localhost';

Finally, flush the MySQL privileges to apply the changes and exit the MySQL shell:

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Now, we can download and install Drupal. First, download the latest stable version of Drupal using wget:

wget <https://www.drupal.org/download-latest/tar.gz>

Extract the downloaded archive and move the resulting directory to the Apache web root directory:

tar xzf tar.gz
mv drupal-* /var/www/html/drupal

Next, we need to set the correct permissions for the Drupal directory. Run the following commands to give the Apache user ownership of the Drupal directory and its contents:

cd /var/www/html/drupal
chown -R www-data:www-data .

Now, we need to configure Apache to serve Drupal. Create a new Apache configuration file for Drupal by running the following command:

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

Paste the following configuration into the file, replacing example.com with your registered domain name:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName example.com
  ServerAlias www.example.com
  DocumentRoot /var/www/html/drupal
   <Directory /var/www/html/drupal>
     Options -Indexes +
     Options -Indexes +FollowSymLinks
     AllowOverride All
     Require all granted
   </Directory>
 </VirtualHost>

Save and close the file, then enable the new Apache configuration by running the following commands:

a2ensite drupal.conf
systemctl reload apache2

Now, open a web browser and navigate to your domain name (e.g., http://example.com). You should see the Drupal installation page. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.
Once Drupal is installed, we can proceed to installing Let’s Encrypt SSL to secure our website. Install the Let’s Encrypt client certbot by running the following command:

apt install certbot

To obtain a SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt, run the following command, replacing example.com with your domain name:

certbot --apache -d example.com -d www.example.com

This will automatically obtain a SSL certificate for your domain and configure Apache to use it. You should now be able to access your Drupal website over HTTPS.
Finally, to ensure that your SSL certificate stays valid and is automatically renewed, you can set up a cron job to run the certbot renewal command periodically. Edit the crontab by running the following command:

crontab -e

Add the following line to the end of the file, which will run the certbot renewal command every week:

0 0 * * 0 /usr/bin/certbot renew --quiet

And that’s it! Your Drupal website should now be up and running, securely served over HTTPS using Apache and Let’s Encrypt SSL on Debian 11.