Drupal is a powerful content management system (CMS) widely used for building websites. In this guide, we will show you how to install Drupal with Apache web server and secure it using a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate on Ubuntu 24.04. Whether you’re setting this up on a Windows VPS UK, Windows VPS, or any other UK Windows VPS environment, the steps are easy to follow.
Step 1: Update Your Server
First, ensure your system packages are up to date. SSH into your server (whether it’s a local server or a Windows VPSVirtual Private Server Hosting solution) and run the following commands:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Step 2: Install Apache Web Server
Next, install Apache, the web server that will serve your Drupal site. On your VPS Windows VPS Servers or any Windows VPSVirtual Private Server, use this command:
sudo apt install apache2 -y
Once installed, start and enable Apache to run at boot:
sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl enable apache2
Step 3: Install PHP and MySQL
Drupal requires both PHP and a database. To install PHP 8.1 and MySQL on your Windows VPS Hosting UK or Ubuntu system, run:
sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-xml php-gd php-curl php-zip php-mbstring -y
sudo apt install mysql-server -y
After installing MySQL, secure your database server:
sudo mysql_secure_installation
Step 4: Create a MySQL Database for Drupal
Log in to MySQL to create a database and user for Drupal:
sudo mysql -u root -p
Then run the following commands to create the database, user, and grant necessary privileges:
CREATE DATABASE drupal;
CREATE USER 'drupaluser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON drupal.* TO 'drupaluser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;
Step 5: Download and Install Drupal
Go to the /var/www/html directory and download the latest version of Drupal:
cd /var/www/html
sudo wget https://www.drupal.org/download-latest/tar.gz -O drupal.tar.gz
sudo tar -xzvf drupal.tar.gz
sudo mv drupal-* drupal
Set the proper ownership and permissions for the Drupal directory:
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/drupal
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/drupal
Step 6: Configure Apache for Drupal
Create a new Apache configuration file for Drupal:
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/drupal.conf
Add the following configuration:
ServerAdmin [email protected]
DocumentRoot /var/www/html/drupal
ServerName your_domain_or_ip
AllowOverride All
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/drupal_error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/drupal_access.log combined
Enable the new site and the Apache rewrite module:
sudo a2ensite drupal.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2
Step 7: Install Let’s Encrypt SSL
Now, secure your Drupal site with a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt. If you’re on a VPS Windows VPS Servers or Windows VPSVirtual Private Servers, the process is the same. First, install Certbot:
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y
Then, run Certbot to install and configure SSL:
sudo certbot --apache
Follow the prompts to complete the SSL setup. Certbot will automatically configure your Apache server to use SSL.
Step 8: Complete Drupal Installation
Finally, complete the Drupal installation through the web interface. Open your browser and navigate to https://your_domain_or_ip. Follow the on-screen instructions to configure the database and set up your Drupal site.
Conclusion
You’ve successfully installed Drupal CMS with Apache and a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate on Ubuntu 24.04. Whether you’re managing a local server or a Windows VPS UK, Windows VPS, or UK Windows VPS, these steps will ensure a secure and functional Drupal site. For reliable Windows VPS solutions, visit .
