How to Install OpenCart on a VPS

OpenCart is a lightweight, straightforward open-source e-commerce platform — a good fit for smaller stores or those wanting simpler setup and lower resource requirements than Magento or even PrestaShop.

Prerequisites

Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 VPS: 2 vCPU, 2-4 GB RAM
Nginx or Apache, PHP 8.1+, MySQL/MariaDB

Step 1 — Install Required PHP Extensions

sudo apt install php8.2-gd php8.2-curl php8.2-mbstring php8.2-xml php8.2-zip php8.2-mysql -y

Step 2 — Create the Database

sudo mysql

CREATE DATABASE opencart;
CREATE USER 'opencart'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'CHANGE_ME_STRONG_PASSWORD';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON opencart.* TO 'opencart'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Step 3 — Download OpenCart

cd /var/www
sudo wget https://github.com/opencart/opencart/releases/download/VERSION/opencart-VERSION.zip
sudo unzip opencart-VERSION.zip -d opencart-temp

Step 4 — Move the Upload Directory Contents

sudo mv opencart-temp/upload/* /var/www/opencart/
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/opencart

Step 5 — Rename Configuration Sample Files

cd /var/www/opencart
sudo cp config-dist.php config.php
sudo cp admin/config-dist.php admin/config.php
sudo chmod 644 config.php admin/config.php

Step 6 — Configure Nginx

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;
    root /var/www/opencart;
    index index.php;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
    }
}

Step 7 — Run the Web Installer

http://yourdomain.com

Follow the setup wizard, entering database credentials matching Step 2.

Step 8 — Remove the Install Directory

sudo rm -rf /var/www/opencart/install

Required both for OpenCart to function correctly and as an important security measure.

Step 9 — Secure the Admin Directory

Consider renaming the default admin directory and restricting access by IP where feasible, for an additional security layer beyond the login itself.

Step 10 — Add HTTPS

sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com

Step 11 — Configure Your Store

Add products, configure shipping/payment methods, and customize your store's theme from the admin panel.

Extending OpenCart

OpenCart has a marketplace of extensions for additional payment gateways, shipping integrations, and features — review extension quality and maintenance status before installing, as with any third-party plugin ecosystem.

Common Errors

"Warning: Could not modify configuration file" — verify file permissions on config.php and admin/config.php allow the web server to write during setup.

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