How to Install Joomla on Ubuntu 20.04

Joomla is a popular open-source content management system (CMS) that allows you to build websites and powerful online applications. In this guide, we will walk you through the process of installing Joomla on Ubuntu 20.04.

Step 1: Update System Packages

Before installing any software, it is recommended to update the system packages to their latest versions. Open a terminal and run the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2: Install LAMP Stack

Joomla requires a web server, PHP, and a database server to run. We can install the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack to fulfill these requirements.

Open a terminal and run the following command to install the LAMP stack:

sudo apt install apache2 mysql-server php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql

Step 3: Create MySQL Database and User

Next, we need to create a MySQL database and user for Joomla. Run the following commands in the terminal:

sudo mysql
CREATE DATABASE joomladb;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON joomladb.* TO 'joomlauser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Replace 'joomladb' with your desired database name, 'joomlauser' with your preferred username, and 'password' with a strong password.

Step 4: Download and Extract Joomla

Now, we need to download the latest stable version of Joomla from the official website. Open a terminal and run the following command to download Joomla:

wget https://downloads.joomla.org/cms/joomla3/3-10-4/Joomla_3-10-4-Stable-Full_Package.tar.gz

Once the download is complete, extract the downloaded file using the tar command:

tar xzf Joomla_3-10-4-Stable-Full_Package.tar.gz

Step 5: Move Joomla Files

Move the extracted Joomla files to the Apache document root directory. Run the following command in the terminal:

sudo mv Joomla_3-10-4-Stable-Full_Package/* /var/www/html/

Step 6: Set File Permissions

We need to set appropriate file permissions for Joomla to function correctly. Run the following commands in the terminal:

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

Step 7: Configure Apache

By default, Apache comes with a configuration file for each website under the /etc/apache2/sites-available/ directory. We need to create a new configuration file for Joomla.

Open a terminal and run the following command to create a new configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/joomla.conf

Add the following content to the file:

 
    ServerAdmin [email protected]
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/
    ServerName your-domain.com

    
        Options FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    

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

Replace '[email protected]' with your email address and 'your-domain.com' with your domain name or IP address.

Save the file and exit the text editor.

Next, disable the default Apache configuration and enable the newly created Joomla configuration. Run the following commands:

sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf
sudo a2ensite joomla.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite

Finally, restart Apache for the changes to take effect:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 8: Complete Joomla Installation

Open a web browser and visit your domain or IP address. You will be redirected to the Joomla installation page.

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. Provide the database details, such as database type, host, name, username, and password that you created earlier.

Once the installation is complete, you can log in to Joomla's administrator panel and start building your website.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Joomla on Ubuntu 20.04.