Bludit is an open-source flat-file CMS with a slick admin interface and gaining a lot of attention. It offers features that may not be available to other PHP-based content management systems, like WordPress Joomla, or Drupal. When you’re looking for a truly open-source, flat-file content management system to power your website or blog, you should look at Bludit CMS. For one, it doesn’t need a database server to function.  it’s a flat-file CMS. It also provides native markdown WYSIWYG support, SEO friendly, flexible CSS framework, and easy installation and management.

How to install Bludit CMS on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support

As described above, Bludit is an open-source flat-file CMS with a slick admin interface and gaining a lot of attention. It offers features that may not be available to other PHP-based content management systems, like WordPress Joomla, or Drupal. Below is how to install it on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support.

Install Nginx HTTP Server on Ubuntu

Nginx HTTP Server is the second most popular web server in use. so install it, since Bludit needs it. To install Nginx HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below. After installing Nginx, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Nginx service to always start up with the server boots. To test the Nginx setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see the Nginx default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Nginx is working as expected.

PHP 7.2 isn’t available on Ubuntu 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 7.2-FPM Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2-FPM Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules. After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open the PHP default config file for Nginx. Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is great setting to apply in your environments. After making the change above, save the file and close it. After installing PHP and related modules, all you have to do is restart Nginx to reload PHP configurations. To restart Nginx, run the commands below

Download Bludit Latest Release

Next, visit the Bludit site and download the latest package. or run the commands below to download and extract Bludit content. After downloading, run the commands below to extract the downloaded file and move it into a new Bludit root directory. Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Bludit to function properly.

Configure the Nginx Bludit Site

Finally, configure the Nginx configuration file for Bludit. This file will control how users access Bludit content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called bludit. sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/bludit Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your domain name and directory root location. Save the file and exit. After configuring the Virtual Host above, enable it by running the commands below

Enable the Bludit Site

After configuring the Virtual Host above, enable it by running the commands below, then restart the Nginx server.

Install Let’s Encrypt Client

To get Let’s Encrypt free SSL/TLS certificates on your Ubuntu machine, you should first install its client. The client helps automate the process for you. To install it, run the commands below. If python-certbot-Nginx isn’t already installed, you may have to add its PPA repository and install the package.

Obtaining your free SSL/TLS Certificates

After installing Let’s Encrypt Certbot client module for Nginx, run the commands below to obtain your free Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificate in the domain specified. Make sure to replace example.com with your domain. After running the above commands, you should get prompted to accept the licensing terms. If everything is checked, the client should automatically install the free SSL/TLS certificate and configure the Nginx site to use the certs. Choose Yes ( Y ) to share your email address This is how easy is it to obtain your free SSL/TLS certificate for your Nginx-powered website. Pick option 2 to redirect all traffic over HTTPS. This is important! After that, the SSL client should install the cert and configure your website to redirect all traffic over HTTPS. The highlighted code block should be added to your Nginx Bludit configuration file automatically by Let’s Encrypt certbot. Your Bludit site is ready to be used over HTTPS. You’ll have to manually renew the certificates. You’ll get an email reminder to reset when the certificates are about to expire. To test the renewal process run the commands below. To set up a process to automatically renew the certificates, add a cron job to execute the renewal process. Then add the line below and save. The cron job will attempt to renew 30 days before expiring After that, open your browser and browse your domain name to launch the Bludit configuration wizard. You should see the Bludit setup wizard complete. Please follow the wizard carefully. You should see the Bludit installer wizard to choose your language. when you’re done, click Next. Create the admin account and log on to manage the site. and click Install to finish the installation Enjoy!