Zen Cart is a free, user-friendly, open-source shopping cart software based on PHP. It has comprehensive product features for small, medium, and large businesses to create and manage their online stores for free. If you’re looking for a functional, high-performance eCommerce platform to manage your online storefront that’s 100% free, you’ll find Zen Cart to be useful. This post covers installing the latest version of Zen Cart, which at the time of writing is version 5.5.

How to install Zen Cart on Ubuntu Linux with Apache support.

As described above, Zen Cart is a free, user-friendly, open-source shopping cart software based on PHP. It has comprehensive product features for small, medium, and large businesses to create and manage their online stores for free. Below is how to install and use it on Ubuntu Linux.

Install Apache

Zen Cart requires a webserver to function and the most popular web server in use today is Apache2. So, go and install Apache on Ubuntu by running the commands below: Next, run the commands below to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots.

Install MariaDB

Zen Cart also requires a database server to function, and the MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking for an open-source database to use. To install it run the commands below. After installing, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots. After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server. 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

Zen Cart is a PHP-based application and requires PHP to function. To install PHP and related modules run the commands below After installing PHP, run the commands below to open the Apache2 PHP default configuration file. Then make the change to the following lines below in the file and save.

Create Zen Cart Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create Zen Cart database. Run the commands below to log on to the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above. Then create a database called zencart Create a database user called zencartuser with a new password Then grant the user full access to the database. Finally, save your changes and exit.

Download Zen Cart Latest Release

Next, visit the Zen Cart site and register for a free account. You must register before you’re allowed to download a copy. The community edition is what you’ll want to download. After downloading, run the commands below to extract the download file into the Apache2 root directory. Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Zen Cart to function.

Configure Apache

Finally, configure the Apahce2 virtual host configuration file for Zen Cart. This file will control how users access Zen Cart content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called zencart.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. Save the file and exit.

Enable the Zen Cart and Rewrite Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below To load all the settings above, restart Apache2 by running the commands below. Next, open your browser and browse the server domain name. You should see Zen Cart setup wizard to complete. Please follow the wizard carefully. Click the link to begin the installation Then continue with the installation. Next, confirm the site URL and continue Next, type the databases name, user, and password and continue Next, create the zen cart site administrator account and continue Finally, complete the installation After that run the commands below to delete the installation directory sudo rm -rf /var/www/html/zencart/zc_install/ Enjoy! Congratulation! You’ve successfully installed the Zen Cart eCommerce application on Ubuntu