Install X-Cart on Ubuntu 17.04 | 17.10 with Apache2, MariaDB and PHP

X-Cart is a powerful commercial open source eCommerce platform written in PHP. It enables individuals to setup eCommerce and online stores in minutes. This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users an easy way to get X-Cart working on Ubuntu 17.04 | 17.10

X-Cart is written in PHP and requires the LAMP / LEMP stack. X-Cart is easy to setup and maintain and can can be used to set up with your own online stores… Many reputable online stores and brick and mortar establishments are using this software to run their eCommerce stores…

X-Cart is not free, however, you only pay is a one-time licensing fee! No fee for transactions, no large monthly fees. If other eCommerce platforms are not suitable in your environments, you may want to consider X-Cart.

To get started with installing X-Cart, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Install Apache2

X-Cart requires a webserver to function and the most popular webserver in use today is Apache2. So, go and install Apache2 on Ubuntu by running the commands below:

sudo apt-get install apache2

After installing Apache2, run the commands below to disable directory listing.

sudo sed -i "s/Options Indexes FollowSymLinks/Options FollowSymLinks/" /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

Next, run the commands below to stop, start and enable Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop apache2.service
sudo systemctl start apache2.service
sudo systemctl enable apache2.service

Step 2: Install MariaDB

X-Cart also requires a database server to function.. and MariaDB database server is a great place to start. To install it run the commands below.

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

After that, run the commands below to secure MariaDB server.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter
Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
New password: Enter password
Re-enter new password: Repeat password
Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]: Y
Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]: Y

Restart MariaDB server

sudo systemctl restart mariadb.service

Step 3: Install PHP and Related Modules

X-Cart also requires PHP to function. To install PHP and related modules run the commands below

sudo apt-get install php php-common php-mbstring php-xmlrpc php-soap php-gd php-xml php-intl php-mysql php-cli php-mcrypt php-ldap php-zip php-curl

After installing PHP, run the commands below to open Apache2 PHP default file.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.1/apache2/php.ini      # Ubuntu 17.10
sudo nano /etc/php/7.0/apache2/php.ini      # Ubuntu 17.04

Then change the following lines below in the file and save. You may increase the value to suite your environment.

max_execution_time = 180
max_input_time = 60
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 64M

Step 4: Create X-Cart Database

Now that you’ve install all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First run the commands below to create X-Cart database.

Run the commands below to logon to the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called xcart

CREATE DATABASE xcart;

Create a database user called xcartuser with new password

CREATE USER 'xcartuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON xcart.* TO 'xcartuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 5: Download X-Cart Latest Release

Next, visit X-Cart site and register for a free account. You must enter your email address before you’re allowed to download a copy. The english edition is what you’ll want to download.

https://www.x-cart.com/download.html

After downloading, run the commands below to extract the download file into Apache2 root directory.

unzip x-cart-5.3.3.4-gb.zip
sudo mv x-cart /var/www/html/xcart

Change or modify the directory permission to fit Apache2 configuration.

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

Step 6: Configure Apache2

Finally, configure Apahce2 site configuration file for X-Cart. This file will control how users access X-Cart content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called xcart.conf

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

Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your own domain name and directory root location.

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

     <Directory /var/www/html/xcart/>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
        AllowOverride All
        Order allow,deny
        allow from all
     </Directory>

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

Save the file and exit.

Step 7: Enable the X-Cart and Rewrite Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below

sudo a2ensite xcart.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite

Step 8 : Restart Apache2

To load all the settings above, restart Apache2 by running the commands below.

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name. You should see X-Cart setup wizard to complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.

http://example.com/install

Type the database connection info and continue

Wait a few seconds and X-Cart should be installed.

Enjoy!

Congratulations! You’ve just successfully installed X-Cart on Ubuntu