Setting Up and Configuring a Self-Hosted Concrete CMS: A Comprehensive Tutorial

Concrete CMS (formerly known as Concrete5) is an open-source content management system designed for ease of use. It offers flexibility in building and managing various types of websites. This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide to setting up, configuring, and customizing Concrete CMS.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure that you have the following:

• A web server (Apache or Nginx).
• PHP version 7.2 or later.
• MySQL database version 5.7 or later.
• Access to your server’s command line.

Step 1: Download Concrete CMS

First, download the latest version of Concrete CMS from the official website. As of writing this tutorial, the latest version is Concrete CMS 9.x.x.

To download it, use the wget command:

wget <https://www.concretecms.org/download_file/-/view/120897/8497/> -O concretecms.zip

Next, unzip the file into your web server’s root directory:

unzip concretecms.zip -d /var/www/html/concretecms

Step 2: Setting Up a MySQL Database

Concrete CMS requires a MySQL database to store its content. To get started, log in to your MySQL server using the following command:

mysql -u root -p

Once logged in, create a new database and user:

CREATE DATABASE concrete_db;
CREATE USER 'concrete_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'strong_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON concrete_db.* TO 'concrete_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Remember to replace ‘strong_password’ with a strong, unique password.

Step 3: Configure Your Web Server

To configure your web server, follow these instructions:

For Apache:

1. Create a .conf file in /etc/apache2/sites-available/ to add a new virtual host.
2. In the configuration file, point to the directory where you unzipped Concrete CMS.
3. Enable the site using the following commands:

a2ensite your_domain.com
systemctl reload apache2

Here’s an example configuration file for Apache:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName your_domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/concretecms

    <Directory /var/www/html/concretecms>
        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>

For Nginx:

1. Add a new server block in /etc/nginx/sites-available/ to configure the virtual host.
2. In the configuration file, point to the directory where you unzipped Concrete CMS.
3. Enable the site using the following commands:

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/your_domain.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
systemctl reload nginx

Here’s an example configuration file for Nginx:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your_domain.com;
    root /var/www/html/concretecms;

    index index.php index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php$is_args$args;
    }

    location ~ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.2-fpm.sock;
    }

    location ~ /\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}

Step 4: Install Concrete CMS

To install Concrete CMS, navigate to your domain in a web browser. You should see the Concrete CMS installation page. Follow the prompts, and when you get to the database setup section, enter the database name, username, and password that you created earlier.

Step 5: Installing and Customizing Themes

After successfully installing Concrete CMS, you can log in to your admin dashboard and install a theme. Here’s how:

1. In the Concrete CMS dashboard, navigate to ‘Pages & Themes > Themes’.
2. Click on ‘Get More Themes’, which will redirect you to the marketplace.
3. Select your desired theme and click ‘Purchase’ (free themes will have a ‘Download’ button instead).
4. After purchasing, return to your dashboard and go to ‘Extend concrete5 > Add Functionality’.
5. Find the theme you purchased and click ‘Download and Install’.

To customize your theme:

1. Navigate to ‘Pages & Themes > Themes’.
2. Next to the theme you want to customize, click on ‘Activate’ if it’s not already active, then click ‘Customize’.
3. In the customization interface, you can change colors, fonts, and other visual aspects of your theme.
4. Click ‘Save Changes’ when you’re finished.

SEO Optimization in Concrete CMS

SEO is crucial for any website. Concrete CMS has built-in SEO tools to make optimization easier. Here are some key SEO practices you can implement:

1. Use Meta Tags: Meta tags help search engines understand the content of your page. Navigate to ‘Pages & Themes > Attributes’ in the Concrete CMS dashboard, and you’ll find ‘Meta Title’, ‘Meta Description’, and ‘Meta Keywords’ options.
2. URLs: Ensure your URLs are SEO-friendly. This means they should be easy to read, relevant to the page’s content, and include keywords. In Concrete CMS, you can set up pretty URLs by going to ‘System & Settings > SEO & Statistics > Pretty URLs’.
3. XML Sitemap: A sitemap helps search engines discover pages on your website. Concrete CMS automatically generates an XML sitemap for you. You can find this by adding ‘/sitemap.xml’ to your domain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml).
4. Page Speed: A faster website can improve your search engine ranking. Concrete CMS has built-in caching that you can enable to improve performance. Navigate to ‘System & Settings > Optimization > Cache & Speed Settings’.

By following this tutorial, you’ll have a fully functional Concrete CMS website, complete with a customized theme and SEO optimization. Remember, the key to mastering any CMS is consistent learning and exploration. Enjoy building with Concrete CMS!

Please note, this article assumes you have basic knowledge of server management and command-line usage. Always ensure to backup your data before making significant changes to your website. And remember, using strong, unique passwords for databases and user accounts is a fundamental part of secure practices.

Wrapping Up

Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up a self-hosted Concrete CMS website. Whether you’re building a personal blog or a fully-fledged eCommerce platform, Concrete CMS provides the tools and scalability you need.

This guide has taken you through each step of the installation process, from initial setup, through database creation, to web server configuration and beyond. We’ve covered how to install and customize themes, making your website as unique as your content.

Lastly, we’ve explored some key SEO practices to boost your site’s visibility in search engine rankings, including the use of meta tags, friendly URLs, XML sitemaps, and page speed optimization. These steps will give your site the best chance to stand out in a crowded internet landscape.

Remember, the world of Concrete CMS is wide and diverse. While this guide has provided a solid foundation, there’s much more to explore and learn. Continuous learning is key, and luckily, the Concrete CMS community is rich with resources and people ready to help.

Happy website building, and here’s to your success!