Zimplit is a free, open-source, extremely lightweight content management system. It is simple, easy to install, customizable, and doesn’t need any database system. Zimplit consists of only one core engine file; you can edit your site by editing the HTML/CSS page. It has an on-site editor that enables you to do everything on the website directly without an admin area.

In this post, we will show you how to install Zimplit CMS on Ubuntu 20.04.

Step 1 – Install Apache and PHP

First, you will need to install Apache web server, PHP, and other PHP extensions to your system. You can install all of them using the following command:

apt-get install apache2 libapache2-mod-php php php-mysql php-xml php-curl php-imap php-gd php-mbstring php-soap php-sqlite3 php-ldap php-zip -y

Once all the packages are installed, start the Apache service and enable it to start at system reboot:

systemctl start apache2
systemctl enable apache2

Step 2 – Install Zimplit CMS

First, download the latest version of Zimplit CMS from Github using the following command:

wget https://github.com/niutech/zimplitcms/archive/3.0.zip

Once the download is completed, unzip the downloaded file with the following command:

unzip 3.0.zip

Next, move the extracted directory to the Apache root directory:

mv zimplitcms-3.0 /var/www/html/zimplitcms

Next, set proper permissions and ownership with the following command:

chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/zimplitcms
chmod -R 775 /var/www/html/zimplitcms

At this point, Zimplit CMS is downloaded to the Apache root directory.

Step 3 – Configure Apache for Zimplit CMS

Next, you will need to create an Apache virtual host configuration file for Zimplit CMS. You can create it with the following command:

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

Add the following lines:

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin [email protected]
DocumentRoot /var/www/html/zimplitcms
ServerName zimplit.domain.com

ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/zimplitcms-error_log
CustomLog /var/log/apache2/zimplitcms-access_log common
</VirtualHost>

Save and close the file, then activate the Zimplit virtual host with the following command:

a2ensite zimplit

Finally, restart the Apache service to apply the changes:

systemctl restart apache2

Step 4 – Access Zimplit CMS

Now, open your web browser and access the Zimplit CMS using the URL http://zimplit.domain.com/zimplit.php. You should see the following page:

Zimplit Create Account
Provide your admin username, password, email, and click on the Start button. You should see the following page:
Zimplit Accept License
Now, accept the terms of use and type any word then click on the OK.

Now, open a new browser window and type the URL http://zimplit.domain.com/zimplit.php. You should see your Zimplit CMS dashboard on the following page:
Zimplit Dashboard

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Zimplit CMS on Ubuntu 20.04 server. You can now create a new website easily using the Zimplit CMS – try it today on dedicated server hosting from Atlantic.Net.