OpenCart

Last change on 2023-10-18 • Created on 2023-10-18 • ID: KO-C988B

This tutorial explains how to install the free online store management system OpenCart. You can use OpenCart to create a website for your own store.

This is a 3rd party application. We do not provide OpenCart technical support, and we cannot guarantee that it will work properly. For OpenCart support, please see https://forum.opencart.com

Example terminology

  • Username: opencap
  • Hostname: <wwwXXX>
  • Domain: <example.com>
  • Subdomain: <opencart.example.com>

Install OpenCart

Step 1 - Download OpenCart

You can download OpenCart via an SSH connection or via an FTP connection. You can find your access details on konsoleH when you go to Access Details→Login data ».

01 konsoleH ftp login data

  • Option 1 - Via SSH connection
    For this option, you need Web Hosting Level 9 or higher.

    • Download the ZIP file
      After you establish an SSH connection to your server, you can download the ZIP file directly into the public_html directory.

      opencap@<wwwXXX>:~$ cd public_html
opencap@<wwwXXX>:~/public_html$ wget https://github.com/opencart/opencart/releases/download/4.0.2.3/opencart-4.0.2.3.zip

    • Unzip the ZIP file
      Once the opencart-<version>.zip file is downloaded, you can unzip it.

      opencap@<wwwXXX>:~/public_html$ unzip opencart-4.0.2.3.zip

      You should now see the opencart-4.0.2.3 directory within the public_html directory.

    • Move the files
      Within the opencart-4.0.2.3 directory, there is a directory called upload. You can now move all the iles within the upload directory to the public_html directory.

      opencap@<wwwXXX>:~/public_html$ cd opencart-4.0.2.3/upload
opencap@<wwwXXX>:~/public_html/opencart-4.0.2.3/upload$ mv * ../..

      The upload directory should now be empty. All the files should now be in the public_html directory instead.

    • Rename files
      Within the public_html directory, you now need to rename the config-dist.php file to config.php. You need to do the same with the config-dist.php file within the admin subdirectory.

      opencap@<wwwXXX>:~/public_html$ mv config-dist.php config.php
opencap@<wwwXXX>:~/public_html$ mv admin/config-dist.php admin/config.php

  • Option 2 - Via FTP connection

    • Download the ZIP file on your local device
      Go to https://www.opencart.com/index.php?route=cms/download and click on Download now for the option "Download & host your own".

    • Unzip the ZIP file

      • On your local device, open the "Downloads" directory. There, you should see the OpenCart ZIP file.
      • Right-click on the OpenCart file.
      • In the menu that opens, select "Extract Here" (Linux) or "Extract All..." (Windows).

    • Upload the unzipped files via FTP
      You now need to copy the files on the server via FTP. The opencart-4.0.2.3 directory should be in the "Downloads" directory. 02 FTP filezilla Within the opencart-4.0.2.3 directory, there is a subdirectory called upload. Select all the files within the upload directory on your local device and copy them to the public_html directory on the server. If you don't want to use the main page for your shop, you can save the files in a subdirectory called opencart within your public_htmldirectory, for example. 03 FTP add subdirectory

    • Rename files
      You need to rename the config-dist.php file to config.php in two directories:

      • public_html/config-dist.php
      • phblic_html/admin/config-dist.php

      Right-click on the two files and click on "Rename". Rename the files to config.php and save your changes. 04 FTP rename

Step 2 - Install OpenCart

Enter your domain name in a web browser (e.g. opencart.example.com). If you saved your files in a subdirectory, you need to add the directory name at the end of the domain (for example opencart.example.com/opencart). You should now be on the OpenCart installation page.

  • Accept the license agreement
    Read the license agreement and select Continue. 05 OpenCart install license

  • Automatic check
    The next step checks the configuration. The checkmarks should all be green and the files should be "Writable".

    If there are any issues with the files at the bottom, you can change the permissions of those files to 777 until the installation is complete.

    06 OpenCart install automatic check

  • Set up the database and a user

Add the database and create a new user with administrative permissions to manage the shop. Next, click on Continue.

To view the information about your database, go to konsoleH and then Datenbanken→MariaDB/MySQL ». If you don't have a database yet, you can add one now. 07 konsoleH database

The installation should now be complete.

Step 3 - Delete the installation directory

For security reasons, you should now delete the install directory on the server. Just as before, you have two options:

  • Option 1 - Via SSH an connection
    For this option, you need Web Hosting Level 9 or higher.

    After you establish an SSH connection to your server, you can delete the directory from the public_html directory.

    opencap@<wwwXXX>:~$ cd public_html
opencap@<wwwXXX>:~/public_html$ rm -rf install

  • Option 2 - Via an FTP connection

    After you establish an FTP connection to your server, you can delete the directory from the public_html directory. If you saved the files within a subdirectory, you need to open the public_html/opencart directory.
    Right-click on the install directory and click on "Delete". 08 FTP delete

Further steps

If everything works as expected, you can now create your own website! You can set up your website at https://opencart.example.com/admin, and you can access your website at https://opencart.example.com.

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