Step 1: Update Your System

Before starting the installation, ensure that your Ubuntu 22.04 system is updated. Run the following commands to update and upgrade your system:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

This ensures that you have the latest software packages and security updates installed. Keeping your system updated is essential whether you're deploying Matomo locally or on a UK Windows VPS.

Step 2: Install LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)

Matomo requires a LAMP stack to function. You’ll need to install Apache, MySQL, and PHP. Run the following commands to install the LAMP stack:

sudo apt install apache2 mysql-server php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-cli php-xml php-mbstring php-curl php-zip php-gd
            

After the installation, enable the Apache and MySQL services:

sudo systemctl enable apache2
sudo systemctl enable mysql
sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl start mysql
            

This step sets up the necessary environment for running Matomo, whether you're hosting locally or on a VPS Windows Servers platform.

Step 3: Secure MySQL Installation

After installing MySQL, it’s important to secure the database. Run the following command to start the MySQL security script:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Follow the prompts to secure your MySQL installation. This includes setting a root password, removing anonymous users, and disabling remote root logins. This step is important for securing your database, whether you're running Matomo on a local server or hosting it on a Windows VPS hosting UK.

Step 4: Create a Database for Matomo

Next, create a MySQL database and user for Matomo. Log in to the MySQL shell:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Create a new database and user for Matomo:

CREATE DATABASE matomo_db;
CREATE USER 'matomo_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'yourpassword';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON matomo_db.* TO 'matomo_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;
            

This creates a database for Matomo and grants the necessary privileges to the user. This configuration works whether you are setting up Matomo locally or on a Windows VPS Italy.

Step 5: Download and Install Matomo

Now, you need to download the latest version of Matomo from the official website. Navigate to your web directory:

cd /var/www/html

Download Matomo using wget:

wget https://builds.matomo.org/matomo-latest.zip

Once downloaded, unzip the Matomo package:

sudo unzip matomo-latest.zip

Change the ownership of the Matomo directory to the Apache user:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/matomo

This will ensure that Apache can access the Matomo files, regardless of whether you're hosting locally or on a UK VPS Windows hosting solution.

Step 6: Configure Apache for Matomo

You now need to configure Apache to serve Matomo. Create a new virtual host file for Matomo:

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

Add the following configuration, replacing your-domain.com with your domain:

    ServerAdmin admin@your-domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/matomo
    ServerName your-domain.com
    ServerAlias www.your-domain.com

    
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    

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

            

Save and close the file. Enable the Matomo site and the Apache rewrite module:

sudo a2ensite matomo.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2
            

This configuration enables Matomo to run on your domain or IP address, whether you're deploying locally or on a Windows VPS hosting UK solution.

Step 7: Complete the Matomo Web Installer

With Apache configured, you can now complete the installation through the Matomo web interface. Open your browser and navigate to:

http://your-domain.com

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup. You will need to enter your MySQL database information and set up an admin account for Matomo.

Once the setup is complete, Matomo will be ready to track and analyze your website traffic. This step is the same whether you're hosting locally or using a Windows Virtual Private Server hosting platform.

Step 8: Secure Your Matomo Installation with SSL

To ensure secure communication between your users and the server, it's important to enable SSL. You can use Let’s Encrypt to obtain a free SSL certificate. First, install Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache

Then, run Certbot to obtain and configure the SSL certificate for your domain:

sudo certbot --apache -d your-domain.com

Follow the prompts to complete the setup. Certbot will automatically configure Apache to use the SSL certificate, ensuring secure access to your Matomo instance.