Tag: WordPress

How to move WordPress from Cpanel to VestaCP successfully?
Background
Cpanel from cpanel.net is the most popular, proven and robust web hosting platform out there. For both not technical and slightly technical, it simplifies the job a lot. It even has a free script installer as well as many paid for auto script installers such as softaculous. Other notable features are email, database and file management on top of robust web statistics aggregation. If you are hosting one or two websites in a shared host environment this is what you need absolutely. Most hosting providers, for example, Godaddy, Bluehost to mention but a few won’t charge you extra for it.
But if you’re a small and startup hosting provider it might require a huge investment as well as unnecessary expense. Say you host your websites in the cloud, dedicated and normal VPS servers, you have to spend $20 to $40 per month on Cpanel. If you’re smart and a good researcher you may look out for discount coupons and if you’re lucky enough, you will land on buycpanel.com from which you can get VPS licenses from as low as $13.95. Did I mention setting it up, requires a professional or an experienced person like me for example? Setting up Cpanel requires you to choose the correct operating system usually CentOS and as of writing this article you CentOS7 and above versions are a must, since Cpanel announcement that it will be stopping support for CentOS 6 on all systems by November 30, 2020. If you install FTP, SSH, and exim services you won’t get away with your junior skill. Of course, there’re many individuals and agencies including CPanel support who offer the installation and hardening service at a certain fee.
If you are in a scenario like mine, you would realize going through all the above jargon is time-consuming and expenditure is overkill.
My scenario
I technically manage one of the most read news blog websites in Uganda. These are two websites which run on a single cloud KVM VPS at linode.com. Both websites get around a monthly traffic of 250k. Both websites are four to five years old.
Technically I’m the single person in a number of publishers. For simplistic, the websites are proudly powered by WordPress which is slightly customized with custom fields, themes, and plugins.
My primary role is to manage the server and carry out routine security audits, performance, theme optimization, update WordPress and plugins. We also slightly handle emails on the server. But we don’t want to spoil our sender score or reduce the reputation of the IP of our server.
We’ve had Cpanel on our node for the last two years, despite being in a tight third world economy.
For some months the license was automatically deactivated due to our failure to submit a payment, throughout that duration we couldn’t access Cpanel support, then it became hard to make any code modifications, manage databases and email accounts.
During that time the only way of getting in the server was via ssh but we didn’t know every command, for example, to carry out a slight firewall fix.
Proposal
For regular management of the server, we had to find a solution. Thus we researched about website/web host control panels. We would filter by fees in relation to Cpanel, features, support, and age of first version and latest version.
One of the most interesting ones we came across was CentOs CP which looks so much like Cpanel but we settled for another.
Choosing VestaCP
- It’s Opensource and free.
- It supports more than one Linux distributions namely; Centos, Debian, Redhat, and Ubuntu. We actually installed it on CentOS7 but I later found out Ubuntu is recommended.
- It’s minimum requirements i.e 1GM RAM, 20GB storage are friendly and can translate to slightly better performance than Cpanel.
- Installation of VestaCP is the easiest yet takes as much as 15 minutes to be ready to set up and manage your websites.
- To manage backups, databases, and emails is almost as simple as if not easier than Cpanel.
- It has a growing support community through forums and paid for support.
- File management. VestaCP doesn’t offer a free file management feature but that wasn’t big of an issue. The developers at VestaCP offer a file management plugin which is at $3 per month or $50 for a lifetime. We can also choose to use services such as codeanywhere.com to connect to the server via FTP hence manage our files without pain. Though codeanywhere.com has both free and paid plans, free code editors such as Notepad++, Atom, and Microsoft VS Code can connect to the server via FTP by the help of secure plugins and allow you to manage files of your websites. For us, this is great. It will help us save more than $179.5 which is a minimum of 661,986/= in Uganda Shillings currency today without including transaction fees.
Procedure of switch
Order a second node from linode.com
One of the sites is about 51GB in files(images contributing the biggest part) and 1GB for MySQL database. As much as I wanted to use a WordPress backup plugin especially duplicator. The PHP execution time and memory limit couldn’t enable the plugin to execute and complete successfully. I also didn’t use the Cpanel backup feature because it was downloading the files locally on my computer which wasn’t what I desired.
What did I do?
I accessed both the older and newer nodes via ssh.
Older node.
Create a backup archive.
```
$zip backup.zip -r /public_html
```
The command took some time to finish about 2hours. I would be glad to discover a faster solution because moving systems around is just getting started.
The next command I used was for backing up the database.
```
$mysqldump -u root -p database_name > /home/user/path/database-file.sql
```
The dump was blazing fast, motivating me to continue.
Newer node.
- Setup the node with CentOS7. Coming from Cpanel, I’m used to CentOS for web hosting.
- Install VestaCP.
- Create a site, FTP account, database.
- Download backup from the older node and restore.
Download commands
Navigate to the path where I want to download backup files.
```
$cd /home/user/web/domain.tld/public_html
$wget http://domain-on-older-node.ltd/backup-path/backup.zip
$wget http://domain-on-older-node.ltd/backup-path/database-file.sql
```
1. Restoring files
  While at the path where I downloaded the backup.zip file, issued the command below.
```
$unzip backup.zip
```
If the files to extract at the root of public_html directory like in my case, I used the move (mv) command to move the files to the right location.

2. Restoring database
```
$mysql -u database-username -p
$use database-name;
$source database-file.sql;
```
Provide the password as the system will prompt you, the restoration of the database took less than two minutes.

Troubleshooting tips
1. I see a blank white screen when I visit the website
- Check and verify that the .htaccess file was restored. If not copy it from the old node to the new node.
- Increase the maximum execution time and memory limit. Which VestaCP can help you do without hunting down the PHP.INI file. Increased mine to 300 and 384 respectively. By the way, I made the setting server-wide because am sure, I will be the only person to create websites on this server.
2. Unable to upload photos through the media library.
This is caused by a file permission issue. You have to make sure that the website account owns the WordPress installation since by default website installations are owned by root. Use the command below.
```
$chown -R username:username /home/username/web/website.com/public_html
```
Note: replace username with the actual username of the account under which website.com belongs. The website path structure in VestaCP is like /home/username/web/website.com/public_html
3. The uploaded file could not be moved to /wp-content/uploads/year/month
This is also a file permission problem on the uploads directory, you should make sure user and group can all write to this directory. Which you have to fix using the command below.
```
$chmod -R 777 /home/username/web/website.com/public_html/wp-content/uploads
```
Conclusion
I would have moved the websites in less than 6 hours but because it was my first time doing this, I didn’t have experience of what I experienced during the process. I was playing trial, error and referring to Google.
I believe this is going to help you and I get a lot of local businesses online by offering them a cheaper performant alternative.
Will also get web developers, online without having to cough more than $5USD per month for a robust node.
Curiosity
Does VestaCP work with docker? How can it be set up? How is the performance?
August 23, 2018
Learn to develop web applications the modern way – Part 3
In the programming industry like others, you will find many terms(vocabulary) which are not usual in common speech. In this article of the series about “learning how to develop web applications in the modern way”, allow me introduce to some of those terms. In case you missed reading some parts, click here to read part one or click an item in the table of contents below.
1. Prerequisite
2. Web design vs Web applications development
3. Extending is smart!
4. Components of a Web application.
5. Powering web applications with WordPress
6. The do list application
What is extending in programming?
In simple terms it’s the opposite of developing applications from scratch. In detail it means a coder will write his/her own application from the start to finish without using and relying on other programmers code. Therefore to extend is when a coder starts with someone’s code to develop an application or feature.
In Object Oriented Programming paradigm, to extend means to derive/instantiate objects which inherit features in terms of method and properties from existing class(es).
What are the advantages of extending?
1. It makes programming a lot easier because you don’t have to write every line of code by yourself.
2. It is cheaper than starting from scratch which will require a bigger team and tools for the team besides investing in the team to learn how to work together.
3. Availability of help from all corners though this depends on the choice of framework. Most programmers choose a framework which has a large number of contributors, the profile of the founder, the number of tools in place and how old it is.
4. Easier learning curve due to availability and supply of learning material on top of a comprehensive documentation.
5. Ask me how people become better than others at coding and I will tell you that the secrete is hidden in reading code written by others whether good or bad coders.
My personal recommendation is to spend more time creating solutions than learning how to create solutions. In the upcoming part, share about the basic and major components of a Web application.
Merry Christmas and a marvelous New year.
December 23, 2017
The difference! Website designing and Web application development.

Are these just industry terms to confuse the novice and the customer? Is the difference really worth knowing and understanding or is it a wastage of time? As we continue on the journey to learn how to do develop web applications, I thought it would be good someone clear the question before us.
What is web design?
In my opinion is the process of using a set of tools to create and put together a navigable elements and content accessible through a web browser. The set of tools are majorly the graphics design applications such Adobe illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Sketch and content management systems such as WordPress etc. Though web designing could involve use of coding with HTML, CSS and JavaScript, code is not mandatory. That said someone who has never touched code can put things together and produce a highly performance website.
What is Web application development?
In my opinion is the art and science of using coding to develop software that is accessible through a web browser. Though they are tools like script-case that help I.T professionals to come up with web applications, web application development requires someone to have some good coding skill to come with a fully functional web application. Examples of web developers are people capable of developing systems like facebook, linkedin and WordPress to mention but a few.
Why even care?
You may wonder, why of all things must I know about the differences between website designing and web application development. Many people’s reasons could differ from mine. I think if you want to become something, there is something that competes with what you have in mind, therefore you must ultimately pay attention because it’s very vital in helping one choose the right path sooner than later in life. Since developing a career involves investment of valuable resources… it’s always good to look at the right direction and avoid destruction.
Let’s meet next week for the next item on the agenda of How to develop web applications utilizing modern ways which is Extending is smart!

December 18, 2017
Learn the modern way of developing Web applications this festive season for free.
If there is anything I’m passionate about nothing beats the passion to use technology to benefit fellow humans.
Since I got the opportunity to live in the generation where the world is a global community because of internet, it gifts me the privilege to learn and share. This festival season, I would like teach you about developing functional web applications using modern tools and approaches.
Take a look at the table of contents.
1. Prerequisite
2. Web design vs Web applications development
3. Extending is smart!
4. Components of a Web application.
5. Powering web applications with WordPress
6. The do list application
At the end of the tutorial I expect the reader to:-
- To differentiate web design from web development.
- To learn the different components together with their functionality in web applications.
- To develop web applications using WordPress as an underlying framework.
Stay tuned for the next post, in which I will reveal my experiences and the requirements you need to benefit from this short but practical tutorial.
November 26, 2017
A millionaire despite offering a world changing product for free for over 20 years.

Today I would like to publish about the creater of the web who happens to inspire me a lot because I resonate with his works.

If you don’t know him, his real name is Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee from United Kingdom, born on June 8th, 1955 and a professor, computer scientist, engineer and public speaker widely known as Tim Berners-Lee.

I think during his early days of employment there was a challenge to share and update information not only by the researchers where he used to work at CERN. In 1980 he proposed a solution which would for decades be change the entire planet.

So he proposed a project based on the concepts of hypertext, to solve this problem among researchers.

Though HyperText Markup Language was achieved in 1990, a decade after his proposal, he provided it to the world free of cost without any patents and licenses whatsover. In my personal opinion, I doubt if google, facebook and numerous popular web platforms would be in existence the HTML invention and being free of charge. Would I be able to send emails and blog?

Some sources say his networth is $50M, rich enough to retire. The challenge we face today as young men and women is our ability to put in a lot of efforts to solove a problem we all face and open it to world for free.

Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee has never put it to rest, at 62 years, a World changer he is still an advocate for the web, he has never made HTML private, he still teaches and talk to people.

A take way from all this. People matter.

Photo credit to http://olayemiogunojo.com

August 30, 2017
How to create Web Applications using WordPress! Part 2

Before we left off, in the first article of the series about creating web applications using WordPress, I recommended to search and install some plugins. The plugins are to save us a lot of time of coding. Those plugins are Advanced Custom Fields and Custom Post Type UI, both free but with premium features to pay for if needed.
However is our class, we will not need any premium feature. It’s our zeal to develop something that will allow us the opportunity.
Looking at the web application we shall build.
It’s always good to plugin before developing anything that will used by people. Because what we are building must be a solution to a problem.
For this tutorial we shall develop a web application where we can store and retrieve book keeping records easily, without using a pen and book. So the basic features of our application will to record our budget, Cash out and Cash In. Since other people like friends and family could also be suffering with book keeping, we shall also allow anyone to register for an account on our system, allow them to login and able to record and retrieve their records.
Which means we need a user management system but WordPress has one already. All we need is to show a registration and login forms to the user.
For that case we need a plugin. But which is that among the many that exist! Before I mention and recommend I would like to hear your opinion.
Thanks for reading and contributing!

October 30, 2016
More good news about the web design class.
Some of you have heard that starting this June 6th, 2016 I will commence a personal web design training class. If you don’t know yet, you can go here and here to learn more.
Today I have come to share more good news about the same. Many of you have been asking me where will it take place and how much will it cost.
Basically my plan is to offer 3 web design training packages targeting individuals at different levels that is to say; Starter, Intermediate and Advanced. Where` each Package will take 12- 18 days, 2 hours each day.
The starter will be a cocktail of everything, you need to know about ; Intermediate and Advanced will be focused and so specialised, to help you develop from one level to another e.g. from starter to intermediate to advanced respectively.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Which class is this June?

The Starter class.

Where will it take place?

We were able to come into partnership with KWS Oriental Technologies to allow us have these classes in their office.
They are located at ROZA Market/plaza. Room C-59
To get there move along Kafumbe Mukasa Road, towards Salabed logistics and cargo. At the opposite you will see the building. You may also trace directions by looking for Ovino mall since Roza market is slightly newer than it’s neighbour.

How much does it cost?

UGX 300,000/= (Three hundred thousand Uganda shillings)

Why that cost, if I may ask?
1. My course is hands on, but to meet the expectations we should have some tools.
2. But it sounds good to be true. Well am not an institute so am not offering a certificate. Though am trusting that with the training materials, you will gain versatile practical web design skills to help you execute tremendously in your future projects.
3. In the future fees may be adjusted but at least not possible now.
Any discounts?

Yes, if you bring your friend both of you get a 10% discount. That is UGX 30,000/= off.

What’s the payment deadline?

20th-May-2016, because we need to meet some prior costs, we have set up a deadline for submission of fees before commencement for proper preparation.

How do I pay?

You may send Mobile money or meet me in person and I pick it in Cash. To get my numbers find on facebook and twitter at @dwampamba.
Uganda needs informed, creative and self sustaining people, become one of those. Hope to meet you in class.
April 20, 2016
The Web Design course requirements and outline
Recently I made up my mind and announced that I will taking you through each fundamental step of web design. So that you can become a person known for web design by creating tools which will help improve life in the world. Missed the news go here.
Let me highlight the requirements you need, the outline and finalize by helping you find out if this course is for you.

What are the requirements?

1.Wireless enabled laptop.

We will do a lot of practice everyday we meet and sometimes we will need to be connected to the internet, to be able to achieve accomplish tasks. The internet will use, will be wi-fi. Recommended but not a must, to have a laptop which has a functional battery for a minimum of 30 mins. And your laptop should be installed with Windows Operating System.

2. Attendance.

You should be able to attend on Thursday, Friday & Saturday for 4 weeks at 5:00pm to 7:00pm each attendance. Failure to attend will be depriving yourself of the value you would get by attending everyday.

3. Language.

The classes will be strictly conducted in English language, the learner is expected to be able to speak and write English.

4. Note book and pen (writing material)

It’s important to write, though it’s not mandatory, I would advise you carry with yourself a notebook and pen.

The course outline
1. Introductions
2. Study plan and time table
3. Web design process
4. Web design with WordPress
5. Web design with HTML5
6. Adding beauty with CSS3
7. Adding interactivity with Javascript
8. Introduction to Web servers with Xamp and Wamp
9. Web design with Joomla
10. Conclusion.
Who is this course for?

For anyone whether have prior web design knowledge or not.
If you are able to speak and write, English this course is for you.
Can you use a computer and have passion to develop solutions to life challenging obstacles?
It’s for those who are in Uganda, and will be in Kampala for the period of beginning June to July.
Want to find out more please go here.
April 18, 2016
A Web design crash course you must attend this summer.
I have made up my mind, I won’t be teaching web design to anyone! I will practically take you through step by step.

I would like to invite everyone who would like to attend. You’re warmly welcome to learn and practice HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, PHP, WordPress and Joomla on Xampp server in just 12 days!

Personally I have been learning web-design for a couple of years, since 2005. Learning everyday has empowered me with the skill which I will base on to teach you the anatomy of web design. You can see the outline of this course here.
The experience I have acquired in the web design industry over the years, is partly why am a co-founder and lead web designer at Gagawala Graphics Uganda Limited. Thus I earn my income doing web design, as well as work with non-profit communities/organisations doing web design which is helping me build effective networks, travel places, improve my entrepreneur knowledge and develop a lot skills like blogging, consultation, communication and training.

On the right with Nicholas Katushabe, a partner in business and new real life friend at the CMS SUMMIT 16, in Kampala at Gems Cambridge International School.

Over the years have built standout sales leading; tourism websites, entertainment websites, accommodation & meals websites, sports news websites, business websites, church websites and personal brand websites from scratch using HTML to CMS using either Joomla or WordPress.
Take a look at some of those websites below.
At the extreme bottom (footer) of each website is a designed by or powered by or developed by tag credit. Which is either attributed to my brands i.e Gagawala Graphics and You Inspire You.

Highlighted with the yellow ribbon on the Meet our team section, screen shot taken from Gagawala Graphics official website.

4 Reasons why you should attend this course.
1. Develop a highly rewarding, paying and creative skill that changes the way we connect, collaborate and sale allover the world!
2. Become an solutions provider.
3. It’s affordable, short and comprehensive.
4. Get inspired by someone who learns, develops and sales.
Is this course for you? Please see requirements and outline here.
April 18, 2016
How did I make it to the CMS SUMMIT 16 in Kampala.

First things first, so let’s get somethings out of the way, CMS is an acronym to mean Content Management System. Examples of CMSes are WordPress(most pupolar), Joomla (Youngest of the giants released in 2005) and Drupal(Oldest not only CMS but a great CMF too).

How it started in brief.

In 2006, I started playing around with HTML and Javascript drawing inspiration from movies and video games. Times were tough and I didn’t get to do anything useful for over a year before I was attracted by PHP and started developing simple web based applications.
Sooner than later, I met someone who wanted a website designed for his start up tourism business. On landing this job, I was so excited. But it was such a challenge after-wards, a challenge worth taking though. In fact through determination but not prowess, I was able to deliver the project in a few months.
Developed a couple more web apps in plain HTML, CSS and PHP before I was introduced to Joomla 1.5. I admit, it was a life saver by then, because everything came already engineered. No need to write any piece of code but you could have a website up in a day.
In 2014, someone else recommended I try out WordPress too. But I was like why? The answer simple, it eases life. From then on, I have never looked anywhere else.

The first word about CMS Africa summit.

In most cases, we first hear about things from friends, the people who care. And for me it was none other than Job Thomas from South Africa. A friend I met on twitter after searching for WordPress enthusiasts.
Even without knowing me in real life, he was welcoming, free and open-minded, ready to contribute knowledge in anyway, he can. I remember disturbing him with a couple of coding related questions, but he pointed me to WordPress forums since he wasn’t a coder, he thought things would be easily solved, if I submitted to forums.
We conversed for several days then weeks before he introduced me to CMS Africa Summit. CMS Africa summit 16, is a gathering of coders, web enthusiasts, mobile app developers, students of all professions, educators, bloggers, & entrepreneurs etc. Interestingly, it’s coming to my city – Kampala. That means no need to pay air ticket bills. It will bring together 30 keynote speakers and several sponsors. Additionally there would be a 48 hours hackthon.
Sounds interesting so I registered on the website for a 2 day ticket.

Day 1. Highly motivated.

It’s in the wee hours of the morning of 1st-April, 2016, I have my back pack ready excited to attend a web summit for the first time in my life.
Together with my friend @MutebiIvanJunior – a social media student and successful practitioner, we get on the road, grab a public 14 passenger van on the way to the heart of Kampala; commonly known as Town. All is good, though we are nervous whether we get there in time. You know the tickets have the dates but not the time.
As we get to town, the clouds are changing from sky blue to smoke gray, things look okay as we are optimistic nothing will stumble. After all, it’s been months of total hotness without any single drop of it.
It’s now about 7:30am, and we are already in Town for the second taxi to Luzira, we even have to be faster because we don’t know the kickoff hour. Thus the aim is to get there as early as possible, unless we could miss out something.
Soon after 25 minutes, we are in Gems Cambridge International school jurisdiction – Luzira town. Before we go head to head with the gifts of mother nature to the farmers.
Before 9:00am, we are at check point, security confirming we are not carrying anything dangerous. And we are ready to join the audience!

April 3, 2016