Learning how to setup joombla + apache2 with https

1. Prepare Your System

• Update Packages:
  Run: 

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

• Install the LAMP Stack:
  Install Apache, MariaDB, and PHP with the necessary extensions

sudo apt install apache2 mariadb-server php php-cli php-curl php-json php-intl php-xml php-gd php-mysql php-mbstring php-zip unzip -y

• Secure MariaDB:
  Run:

NOTE: apache and nginx cant run at same time on same ip and port no double localhost port at same time =)

• Extract Files to Web Root:
  Create a directory for your Joomla site (e.g., in /var/www/html/joomla) and extract:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html/joomla
sudo unzip https://downloads.joomla.org/cms/joomla4/x-x-x/Joomla_x-x-x-Stable_Full_Package.zip -d /var/www/html/joomla

• Set Ownership and Permissions:
  Make Apache (typically user www-data) the owner:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/joomla
sudo find /var/www/html/joomla -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
sudo find /var/www/html/joomla -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

4. Configure Apache

• Create a Virtual Host:
  Create a new Apache configuration file (e.g., /etc/apache2/sites-available/joomla.conf):

• <VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerName yourwebsite.com
     ServerAlias www.yourwebsite.com
     Redirect permanent / https:/yourwebsite.com/
  </VirtualHost>
  
  
• Enable the Site and Modules:
  Run: these might need to rerun later on if not working. so you can copy to .txt these ones

sudo a2ensite joomla.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl reload apache2
sudo systemctl restart apache2

5. Install Joomla via the CLI Installer

Starting with Joomla 4.3, Joomla offers a CLI installation option that lets you complete the setup without a web browser. This is especially useful on a server without a GUI.

• Run the Joomla CLI Installer:
  Change to your Joomla installation directory and run:

cd /var/www/html/joomla

sudo su 

php installation/joomla.php install

exit

use exit after install so you leave sudo su

1.2 Https aka ssl

• Install Certbot and the Apache Plugin:
  Run the following command to install Certbot and its Apache integration:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y

• Run Certbot:
  Execute Certbot with the Apache plugin, replacing yourdomain.com with your actual domain and providing your email:

sudo certbot --apache --agree-tos --redirect --hsts --staple-ocsp --email [email protected] -d yourdomain.com

• Test Renewal:
  To ensure automatic renewal is set up correctly, run:

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

now here /etc/apache2/sites-available this should now exist joomla-le-ssl.conf 

sudo cd /etc/apache2/sites-available/ 

sudo nano joomla-le-ssl.conf 

nano like a normal person remember that!

<IfModule mod_ssl.c>
<VirtualHost *:443>
   ServerAdmin This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
   ServerName yoursite.com
   ServerAlias www.yoursite.com
   DocumentRoot /var/www/html/joomla

   <Directory /var/www/html/joomla>
       Options FollowSymlinks
       AllowOverride All
       Require all granted
   </Directory>

   ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/joomla_error.log
   CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/joomla_access.log combined

   SSLEngine on
   SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/yoursite.com/fullchain.pem
   SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/yoursite.com/privkey.pem
   Include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-apache.conf
   Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000"
</VirtualHost>
</IfModule>