How to setup Apache2 with an PHP7 installation?

Hi Mike,

All DigitalOcean servers managed by ServerPilot have PHP 7 available by default. There’s nothing you need to customize, it’s part of the standard server configuration which uses Apache behind Nginx.

A quick search found this guide which should assist you in getting PHP 7 working with Apache on Ubuntu.

To set up Apache2 with PHP 7.x or PHP 8.x on a Linux-based system, you’ll need to follow a series of steps. Below are instructions for both PHP 7.x and PHP 8.x installations.

Installing Apache2 and PHP 7.x:

1. Update Package Lists: Open a terminal and run the following command to update your package lists:

sudo apt update

2. Install Apache2: Install the Apache2 web server with the following command:

sudo apt install apache2

3. Install PHP 7.x: Install PHP 7.x and its commonly used extensions:

   For PHP 7.4:

sudo apt install php7.4 libapache2-mod-php7.4 php7.4-mysql php7.4-curl php7.4-json php7.4-cgi php7.4-xsl

Replace `7.4` with the desired PHP 7.x version (e.g., 7.3, 7.2) if needed.

4. Enable PHP Module for Apache: Enable the PHP module for Apache with the following command:

sudo a2enmod php7.4

5. Restart Apache: Restart Apache to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

6. Test PHP: Create a PHP test file to ensure PHP is working correctly. Use a text editor to create a file named info.php in your web server’s document root directory (usually /var/www/html/) with the following content:

<?php phpinfo(); ?>

Save the file and open it in your web browser by navigating to `http://your-server-ip/info.php` (replace `your-server-ip` with your server's IP address). You should see a page displaying PHP information.

Installing Apache2 and PHP 8.x:

1. Update Package Lists: Open a terminal and run the following command to update your package lists:

sudo apt update

2. Install Apache2: Install the Apache2 web server with the following command:

sudo apt install apache2

3. Install PHP 8.x: Install PHP 8.x and its commonly used extensions:

   For PHP 8.0:

sudo apt install php8.0 libapache2-mod-php8.0 php8.0-mysql php8.0-curl php8.0-json php8.0-cgi php8.0-xsl

Replace `8.0` with the desired PHP 8.x version (e.g., 8.1, 8.2) if needed.

4. Enable PHP Module for Apache: Enable the PHP module for Apache with the following command:

sudo a2enmod php8.0

5. Restart Apache: Restart Apache to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

6. Test PHP: Create a PHP test file to ensure PHP is working correctly. Use a text editor to create a file named info.php in your web server’s document root directory (usually /var/www/html/) with the following content:

<?php phpinfo(); ?>

Save the file and open it in your web browser by navigating to `http://your-server-ip/info.php` (replace `your-server-ip` with your server's IP address). You should see a page displaying PHP information.

That’s it! You’ve successfully set up Apache2 with PHP 7.x or PHP 8.x on your Linux system. You can now start hosting PHP-based web applications on your server.