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Installing OpenCart on CentOS 7

A step-by-step guide to installing OpenCart 2.3 on CentOS 7, including LAMP setup, SEO configuration, and HTTPS support.

Installing OpenCart on CentOS 7

A step-by-step guide to installing OpenCart 2.3 on CentOS 7, including LAMP setup, SEO configuration, and HTTPS support.

Victory

Environment

  • CentOS 7.3 (64-bit)
  • OpenCart 2.3.0.2

Installing LAMP and OpenCart

Follow the official guide below to install the LAMP stack and OpenCart:

Once the basic installation is complete, additional configuration is required for SEO-friendly URLs and HTTPS support.

Enabling SEO-Friendly URLs

To enable SEO URLs in OpenCart, you need to:

  1. Enable SEO settings in the OpenCart admin panel
  2. Create a .htaccess file in the OpenCart root directory

Rename htaccess.txt to .htaccess, or create a new .htaccess file with the following content:

# Enable URL alias support (requires mod_rewrite)
Options +FollowSymlinks

# Prevent directory listing
Options -Indexes

# Prevent direct access to sensitive files
<FilesMatch "(?i)((\.tpl|\.ini|\.log|(?<!robots)\.txt))">
  Require all denied
</FilesMatch>

# SEO URL settings
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /

# Force HTTPS
RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} !^443$
RewriteRule ^.*$ https://%{SERVER_NAME}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R]

RewriteRule ^sitemap.xml$ index.php?route=extension/feed/google_sitemap [L]
RewriteRule ^googlebase.xml$ index.php?route=extension/feed/google_base [L]
RewriteRule ^system/download/(.*) index.php?route=error/not_found [L]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !.*\.(ico|gif|jpg|jpeg|png|js|css)
RewriteRule ^([^?]*) index.php?_route_=$1 [L,QSA]

Enabling HTTPS Support

Step 1: Install SSL Modules

yum install mod_ssl openssl

Step 2: Obtain an SSL Certificate

You can use a free certificate (for example, from Alibaba Cloud or Let’s Encrypt).
Upload the certificate files to your server.

Step 3: Configure Apache SSL

Edit /etc/httpd/conf.d/ssl.conf and configure the certificate paths:

# Enable secure SSL protocols
SSLProtocol all -SSLv2 -SSLv3

# Configure cipher suites
SSLCipherSuite HIGH:!RC4:!MD5:!aNULL:!eNULL:!NULL:!DH:!EDH:!EXP:+MEDIUM
SSLHonorCipherOrder on

# Certificate files
SSLCertificateFile cert/public.pem
SSLCertificateKeyFile cert/yourdomain.key
SSLCertificateChainFile cert/chain.pem

Step 4: Update OpenCart Configuration

Modify the following files:

config.php

// HTTPS
define('HTTPS_SERVER', 'https://yourdomain/');

admin/config.php

// HTTPS
define('HTTPS_SERVER', 'https://yourdomain/admin/');
define('HTTPS_CATALOG', 'https://yourdomain/');

Step 5: Restart Apache

systemctl restart httpd

Summary

With OpenCart installed on CentOS 7, and SEO and HTTPS properly configured, you now have a solid foundation for running an e-commerce website.

Key takeaways:

  • Always enable SEO-friendly URLs for better search engine visibility
  • Use HTTPS to protect user data and improve trust
  • Verify Apache rewrite and SSL modules are correctly configured

This setup is suitable for small to medium-sized OpenCart deployments.

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