Step 1: Update Your System

Before installing Drupal, ensure your system is up to date. Run the following commands:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Keeping your system updated is crucial for security and performance, whether you're setting it up locally or on a VPS Windows Servers platform.

Step 2: Install Apache2, MySQL, and PHP

Drupal requires a web server, a database, and PHP. Install Apache2, MySQL, and the required PHP extensions by running:

sudo apt install apache2 mysql-server php php-mysqli php-curl php-xml php-gd php-mbstring php-zip php-soap php-intl -y
            

After installation, enable and start the Apache and MySQL services:

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

Step 3: Configure MySQL Database

Log in to MySQL to create a database and user for Drupal:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Create a database and user with the following commands:

CREATE DATABASE drupal_db;
CREATE USER 'drupal_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON drupal_db.* TO 'drupal_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;
            

Replace your_password with a secure password of your choice.

Step 4: Download Drupal

Navigate to the web root directory and download the latest version of Drupal:

cd /var/www/html
sudo wget https://www.drupal.org/download-latest/tar.gz
sudo tar -xvzf tar.gz
sudo mv drupal-* drupal
            

Remove the downloaded tar file:

sudo rm tar.gz

Step 5: Set Permissions

Set the proper permissions for the Drupal files:

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, replacing your-domain.com with your actual domain:

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

    
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/drupal_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/drupal_access.log combined

            

Save and exit the file, then enable the new site and the required Apache modules:

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

Step 7: Access Drupal Installation Wizard

Open your web browser and navigate to:

http://your-domain.com

You should see the Drupal installation wizard. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process, including setting up your database connection using the credentials created earlier.

Step 8: Secure Drupal with Let's Encrypt SSL

To secure your Drupal installation with SSL, use Let's Encrypt. Install Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y

Run Certbot to obtain and install the SSL certificate:

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

Certbot will automatically configure SSL for your Drupal instance, ensuring secure access to the platform, whether it is hosted locally or on a Windows VPS hosting UK.