The Pagelayer team, have also launched a premium version with 60+ Widgets, 500+ ready made sections which has headers, footers, sections, full pages, etc. It also includes features like Motion Effects, Popup Builder, Form Builder, Template Builder, Contact Forms, etc. The premium version starts for $39/year.
They have added 70+ documentation articles over the past 2 weeks and are now working on video tutorials.
About Pagelayer PageLayer is a WordPress page builder plugin. Its very easy to use and very light on the browser. Pagelayer works with any WordPress theme. Pagelayer is a real time editor and you can create beautiful web pages in a few minutes !
The AMPPS Team has released AMPPS 3.9 for Windows only. This is a 64 Bit version.
New Features:
Softaculous has been updated to 5.3.2 : http://www.ampps.com/blog/scripts-update/softaculous-5-3-2-for-ampps-1798.html
We have updated PHP, MySQL, Apache to the latest versions.
Ioncube Loader have been updated.
Fixed minor bugs in AMPPS.
Going forward we will maintain only the 64 bit versions of AMPPS and their Apps. We will soon be launching a premium version of AMPPS as well. The free version will always be there with the latest apps.
The Mac and Linux versions are in the making and should be launched soon. We are sorry for the delays in launching but going forward, once the 1 click app install system is in place, AMPPS will be able to update Apps like PHP, MySQL, etc by the click of a button. We already have a system in Webuzo and we are now bringing that technology to AMPPS as well.
The AMPPS team has finally launched Softaculous 5.3.2 for AMPPS and AMPPS 3.9. The following is a list of changes from Softaculous 4.9.3 to 5.3.2 :
1) [Feature] : Added Staging option. This feature can be used to create a staging environment of your production website and test any changes you need. You can then Push these changes (files, database structure, database data) to your production website using the Push To Live option. Following are the guides : – Staging – Push To Live
2) [Feature] : WordPress Mange Plugin / Theme Sets (Admin/Enduser can now create sets of plugins/themes). With this feature you can use the defined sets to be applied to new WordPress installations or even existing WordPress installations. You can follow the below guide on how to create sets and manage them : http://www.softaculous.com/docs/enduser/wordpress-manage-sets
3) [Feature] : Added support for backups on Dropbox, Google Drive , FTPS and SFTP servers. View Guide.
4) [Feature] : Added Quick Install option for scripts which will ask minimal install options and use the default values for the remaining options. This is added for a quick installation experience. Admin can set Quick Install option as the default install option from Softaculous Admin Panel -> Settings page.
5) [Feature] : Users can now select what to backup while upgrading an installation from Softaculous Panel i.e. Full Backup, Backup Files, Backup Database, etc.
6) [Feature] : Added support to upgrade WordPress installations to minor/major branch. Users can select if they want the scripts to be auto update only for minor version updates.
8) [Feature] : Users can now traverse in the scripts list in the search menu using arrow keys.
9) [Task] : Backup and Restore will now be processed in background to avoid timeouts in case of huge installations
1o) [Task] : If the WordPress plugins and themes auto upgrade is enabled by the user. They will now be upgraded via Softaculous cron i.e. once every 24 hours, previously they were upgraded only when the WordPress core was upgraded.
11) [Task] : The password encryption for storing passwords like “Database Password”, “API Pass”, “FTP Password” and “SMTP Password” in Softaculous records will now use OpenSSL instead of mcrypt for hashing the password. All the existing passwords will be re-encrypted with the new hashing format when Softaculous will be upgraded.
12) [Task] : Updated the Remove installation process to delete the “additional files” selected by the user as associated with the installation (only in the domain root folder e.g. public_html/). If the user has selected the additional files as associated with the installation only then such files will be deleted.
13) [Task] : Added the following filters pre_staging, post_staging, pre_pushtolive, post_pushtolive, pre_addcron_auto_backup, post_addcron_auto_backup. These filters are documented here.
14) [Task] : Improved Remote Import for installations with huge database by importing database in parts to avoid PHP running out of memory.
15) [Task] : Added a notice on the script install form for the scripts that are not updated for more than 2 years. This is to make sure that the user is aware before installing the script that the script has not been updated for long time. Admins can disable the outdated scripts from Softaculous Admin Panel -> Software page.
16) [Task] : Single Sign on to the installaton’s (WordPress) admin panel has now been added in the Top Scripts widget in the control panel “Top Scripts” section. This will allow users to access the admin panel of their WordPress installation(s) directly from cPanel/Directadmin.
17) [Task] : Updated PHPMailer library.
18) [Task] : Added setting in Softaculous admin panel -> Settings page, “Disable SSL certificate check on script install form” when selected will disable the SSL certificate check when a user chooses to install a script with the protocol selected as “https://” or “https://www.” and not generate any message if SSL certificate is not installed on the domain.
19) [Task] : Allowed to use . (dot) in the data directory name for scripts that need a non web accessible data directory. This will let users make the data directory a hidden directory.
20) [Task] : Structure changes to Softaculous files/folders for better compatibility while upgrading PHP versions.
21) [Task] : Added “post_createdb” filter which can be used to execute custom code after a database is created while installing a script. Click here for Guide.
22) [Task] : Added “domains_list” filter which can be used to add/remove domains from the domains list generated by Softaculous. Click here for Guide.
23) [Task] : PHP Classes have been disabled.
24) [Task] : Added “Hide In Directory Field” setting in Softaculous admin panel. When this setting is enabled the user will not see the “In Directory” field on the script install form in enduser panel and all the installations will be performed in the domain root folder.
25) [Bug Fix] : In some cases during Remote Import if there was a rule in .htaccess on the source installation which did not allow any new files to be accessed the Remote Import was failing. This is fixed now.
26) [Bug Fix] : In some cases the backup tar.gz file did not have the correct filesize of the last file in the tar causing the restore to fail. This is fixed now.
27) [Bug Fix] : While checking if a domain has SSL installed on the Softaculous install form, made fixes to not allow access to any domains that are not in the domains list in their account and to not allow any protocols except http and https.
28) [Bug Fix] : Backup on Remote server i.e. FTP was not working with the CLI backup utility. This is fixed now.
29) [Bug Fix] : CLI backup info file was not deleted when the backup failed. This is fixed now.
30) [Bug Fix] : Remote Import was not working for scripts that had data directory e.g. Moodle. This is fixed now.
31) [Bug Fix] : MySQL version requirement check was unable to determine the correct version when using Remote MySQL host. This is fixed now.
32) [Bug Fix] : When an installation was already updated manually, upgrading that installation from Softaculous Admin panel reported an error that the installation is already updated. This is fixed and Softaculous will now save the updated version in Softaculous records and display a success message that the installation is already updated instead of an error.
33) [Bug Fix] : The Table prefix was not saved in Softaculous records when the installation was Cloned or Imported in Softaculous. This is fixed now.
34) [Bug Fix] : The Related Scripts section on the script overview page did not load properly in Chrome and Opera. This is fixed now.
35) [Bug Fix] : Improved memory management in the restore process for a script installation backup to avoid causing PHP to run out of memory with large backups.
36) [Bug Fix] : In auto upgrade installation even if the installation doesn’t exist , Softaculous unzips the latest files. This is fixed now.
The next version will have new features and improvements. We have updated AMPPS Windows and AMPPS MAC will soon get an update. We are now going to have a system where you will be able to install Apps with the click of a button and also AMPPS updates will be easier. We are de-coupling the AMPPS binary and the apps like PHP, Apache, MySQL for 1 click update of apps. Stay tuned for more news coming soon.
Pagelayer has been growing steadily and new features are being introduced really fast. The new version Pagelayer 0.9.9 was launched a week back with new features. The Pagelayer team is working hard to improve it daily and make it the best Page / Site Builder for WordPress. A premium version of Pagelayer is also soon going to be launched. The Pagelayer team has recently added more documentation on their website and are making video tutorials for users.
About Pagelayer PageLayer is a WordPress page builder plugin. Its very easy to use and very light on the browser. Pagelayer works with any WordPress theme. Pagelayer is a real time editor and you can create beautiful web pages in a few minutes !
Users can manage their multiple WordPress Websites from one dashboard. They can even update their websites whenever a new WordPress version is launched.
Users can also install a new WordPress on their website using wpCentral with just one-click. The guide for the same can be followed here
Plugins Management
Plugins can be installed and managed (activated, de-activated, updated and deleted) on single or multiple WordPress websites without the need to login to each website separately. Users can also see the list of installed plugins and check the status of each.
Themes Management
Themes can be installed and managed (activated, updated and deleted) on single or multiple WordPress websites without the need to login to each website separately. Users can also see the list of installed themes and check the status of each.
Backups & Restore
You can take backups of your websites with just one click. Backups can be restored anytime if you loose your data.
1-click Admin Access
We have revamped the API Documentation for Admin and Enduser panel.
Save the need to remember each website’s admin login credentials. You can access your website’s admin panel on just one-click from wpCentral. Click here to follow the guide
wpCentral has also launched the Premium version which includes the following additional features:
Users can create sets of their commonly used WordPress plugins and themes in wpCentral which they can then directly install on the websites instead of going and installing each plugin and theme separately on each website. Here is the guide to the same.
Remote Backups & Restore
User’s can even create their website’s backup on a Remote server(i.e you can take backups of your website on other server via FTP, FTPS and SFTP or on Dropbox and GoogleDrive.) using wpCentral’s Remote Backup feature following the guide here.
Scheduled Backups
Users can also schedule their backups so that they don’t have to manually go and create them for each website. Click here for more details.
About wpCentral WPCentral is a centralized dashboard to manage multiple WordPress websites. You can manage your WordPress plugins, themes, backups, updates, etc. by the click of a button. wpCentral is a centralized single panel to manage all of your WordPress websites from. It saves you the hassle to login all your website’s dashboard separately and manage infinite number of WordPress websites for free.
In the age of cloud computing, it’s supposed to be easier and faster than ever to get a website up and running. But that’s not always the case. When you are starting from scratch with a Linux virtual machine, there is a lot of work required to prepare the operating system for hosting web traffic.
Fortunately, software development stacks exist to help make the whole process a little less painful. Since the early days of the internet, one of the most common packages has been referred to as AMP. That’s because the collection of web tools includes Apache as a web server, MySQL as a database, and PHP or Python as an application language.
This popular web stack has evolved over the years. WAMP was a special version designed to run on a Windows server, while LAMP was an equivalent built for Linux instances. A current popular iteration is known as AMPPS and is great for new developers looking to get a website running on the Ubuntu platform. The current version of AMPPS is 3.8, offered and used by nearly all popular web hosting providers today. Read on to learn how to get started with AMPPS and configure it for your web hosting needs.
Elements of AMPPS
The first tool in the AMPPS software suite is Apache, the most popular open-source web server framework in use by many organizations and companies worldwide. Popular platforms like WordPress run on Apache behind the scenes. For the most part it requires little maintenance. A web server is responsible for receiving all incoming HTTP requests from browsers and then responding with the appropriate HTML content.
Next, the AMPPS stack includes a MySQL instance as a back-end database. To build any sort of dynamic website, you need a database layer to house core information related to users, products, or services. MySQL is an open-source relational database manager that can support various scaling scenarios. Some people choose to install AMPPS with MongoDB instead. It is considered to be a NoSQL database that operates on key-value pair associations.
The two P’s in AMPPS stand for the application languages supported by the stack: PHP and Python. With these, you can write scripts that operate on the back-end while interfacing with the database and web server layers.
PHP is typically considered to be the easier language to get started with, while Python is a solid general-purpose language for longer projects. The great part about AMPPS is that is does not matter which you choose.
Lastly, Softaculous is the part of AMPPS that brings all of the other elements together. It is a script library that automates the installation of web frameworks, making it easier to launch a new website with minimal time or effort.
Common Use Cases
So what types of projects would benefit from using AMPPS as a development stack? In reality, any website, no matter the size, can be well maintained using the elements of AMPPS on one cohesive platform. Best of all, AMPPS is fully compatible with Ubuntu so that you can avoid paying to run a Windows-based server.
AMPPS is designed for individuals or teams who want to host their web content in the cloud but still maintain ownership over the processes running on the back-end. This makes it a good solution for online stores, communication applications, or blogs. In fact, you can install the WordPress platform directly on top of an existing AMPPS instance.
Requirements for Installation
Before jumping into a full installation of AMPPS, it’s important for you and your team to know what lies ahead. First of all, make sure you are comfortable with the Ubuntu operating system and running Linux operations through a command prompt utility. Also make sure that you have expertise in each of the three key areas of AMPPS: web server, database, and application language.
In terms of your actual Linux server, it’s critical to have administrative rights on the Ubuntu operating system. Otherwise, the installation will quickly hit a roadblock. Your server can be hosted locally or through a cloud provider, but make sure it is connected to an adequate network as it will be responsible for handling all bandwidth for your website.
Run “sudo apt-get update” to automatically update all existing software packages installed on Ubuntu.
Run “sudo apt-get install libfontconfig1 libxrender1” to add the necessary dependencies that are required for the AMPPS to proceed.
Run “wget http://s4.softaculous.com/a/ampps/files/Ampps-3.8-x86_64.run” to download and launch the AMPPS installer package directly from the Softaculous host. This may take a few minutes depending on your network speed.
Run “sudo chmod 0755 Ampps-3.8-x86_64.run” to allow your Ubuntu account to execute the installation steps.
Run “sudo ./Ampps-3.8-x86_64.run” to proceed through the setup wizard.
Run “/usr/local/ampps” to navigate to the root of the new AMPPS directory.
Run “sudo ./Ampps” to enable all AMPPS elements.
Once installation is complete, the individual AMPPS elements will be located in separate directories. Apache will be under “www”, MySQL will be under “var”, and PHP will be under “php-5”.
Linking to a Domain
The actual AMPPS application will run on your Ubuntu server in a graphical user interface (GUI) window. After installation, this window will tell you at a glance whether each element is running or is reporting errors. You can quickly toggle the On/Off buttons for individual elements at any time.
The full AMPPS control panel is available through the Softaculous web interface. To access this, open a web browser, type in your local server’s IP address, and add “/ampps” to the end of the URL. The tool that appears will let you configure and customize every facet of your web server package.
Of course, code and databases are not very useful unless you can connect them to the world wide web. To do that, you’ll need to obtain ownership over a domain name (like a .com or .net). Then you can use AMPPS to link your server to your domain and launch a full website to the public.
To do this in the AMPPS control panel, click the “Add Domain” button in the “Configure” area. Then enter your new URL and match it to the local path of your AMPPS installation. Make sure you check the box next to “Add an entry to Host File” before clicking the “Add Domain” button.
Security Considerations
If you plan to store any sort of user data in your database or handle credit card transactions through your website, then cloud cybersecurity needs to be at the top of your priority list when configuring AMPPS. If not, your project or company will be vulnerable to attack or costly data breaches.
As with most software applications today, AMPPS will occasionally issue updates for one or more elements. As the Linux administrator, you should run these updates as soon as possible through the AMPPS control panel.
During the domain linking action we described above, administrators have the option to enable secure socket layer (SSL) encryption for their website. This is highly recommended, as it will ensure that all user sessions are encrypted between browsers and your Ubuntu server. Otherwise there is a risk that hackers could eavesdrop on networks and steal data while in transmission.
Given the current hackathon nature of the internet, it’s important to consider your own security situation when working on a cloud-based Ubuntu server or configuring the AMPPS elements. You should always connect through a virtual private network (VPN), especially when working remotely, and even MORE especially if you use a public wi-fi network.
Installing and using a VPN service which uses the OpenVPN protocol adds anonymity and a layer of data encryption that more than one-quarter of those who go online have already embraced. If you aren’t using this technology yet, you might not truly understand the threat.
A VPN works in conjunction with your ISP and will set you back about $5 per month or less if you sign up for annual billing. The main thing to keep in mind is that this is not superfluous software you install just to say you have a cool new service. This should be mandatory for anyone who cares about privacy and keeping their personal data locked down from spying eyes.
Final Thoughts
Launching a new website can be a daunting task. Not only do you need an overall vision for the site, but you have to have all of the technical elements lined up to work together as one. With the AMPPS stack, a lot of the hard work is done for you so that you can begin building the content that actually matters.
AMPPS integrates your web server, database, and programming language into one environment that can be easily installed on the Ubuntu operating system. It’s used by many companies and organizations worldwide but can be the right fit for small web projects too.
Added Apps section, user can now add, remove and update Apps like Apache, MySQL, PHP directly from Softaculous Enduser Panel.
Added option to close AMPPS directly i.e. without any prompt for confirmation. This option can be enabled from AMPPS Panel –> Options –> Settings–> Do not prompt for message while closing Ampps.
User can now open Configuration files in default editor instead of notepad. This option can be enabled from AMPPS Panel –> Options –> Settings –> Open Configuration file in default editor.
Apache will restart automatically after adding Domain.
All new versions of Apache, MySQL, PHP, MongoDB are added.
Ioncube Loader added for PHP 7.1.
Fixed minor bugs in AMPPS.
A complete list Apps update:
The current version of AMPPS for Windows include:
Softaculous 4.9.3, Apache 2.4.27, OpenSSL 1.1.0f, PHP 7.1.8, PHP 7.0.22, PHP 5.6.31, PHP 5.5.38, PHP 5.4.45 and 5.3.29, ionCube PHP Loader v 10.0.0, Xdebug 2.5.5,
PERL 5.16.3, Python 3.6.2 with mod_wsgi 4.5.17 module, MySQL 5.6.37,
phpMyAdmin 4.4.15.7,
SQLite Manager 1.2.4, MongoDB 3.4.7,
RockMongo 1.1.7,
FileZilla FTP Server 0.9.44,
The current version of AMPPS for Mac include:
Softaculous 4.9.3, Apache 2.4.27, OpenSSL 1.1.0f, PHP 7.1.8, PHP 7.0.22, PHP 5.6.31, PHP 5.5.38, PHP 5.4.42 and 5.3.29, ionCube PHP Loader v 10.0.0, Xdebug 2.5.5, PERL 5.26.0, Python 3.6.2 with mod_wsgi 4.5.17 module, MySQL 5.6.37,
phpMyAdmin 4.4.15.7,
SQLite Manager 1.2.4,
MongoDB 2.6.7,
RockMongo 1.1.7,
Pure-FTPd Server 1.0.36,
The Softaculous Team has released Softaculous 4.9.3 for AMPPS.
1) Revamped Admin panel UI. The new UI is based on Bootstrap and is responsive.
2) Added Show/Hide option for password fields.
3) Added option in Softaculous enduser panel to import installations from Remote servers. Refer to the guide here.
4) Added option in admin panel to show only the parent version for scripts having multiple branches.
5) Added a notice on backups page in Softaculous Enduser panel to notify the enduser about the maximum backups limit set by admin.
6) Added option in Softaculous Admin panel to disable Remote Import option for endusers.
7) Added option to install WordPress themes from the Edit Installation page in Softaculous Enduser panel.
8) Script Logos in Softaculous Enduser panel will now be loaded from the server itself instead of Softaculous Mirror servers thus making the logos load faster.
10) [Task] : Improved the Cloning process by pushing it in background to avoid timeout.
11) [Bug Fix] : Script Install API did not work in rare cases when the password had some special characters. This has been fixed now.
12)[Bug Fix] : In some cases the database password was encrypted twice causing the backups, auto upgrade to fail. This has been fixed now and the installations that were already affected will be handled with the fix. This issue occurred only if the Server admin had enabled “Store Database Password in encrypted format” option from Softaculous Admin panel.
13) [Bug Fix] : Backup Notes having special characters like ‘ and ” did not return correct values in List Backups API call. This is fixed now.
14) [Bug Fix] : Auto Backups Rotation option was available on Edit Installation page in Softaculous even if Auto Backups was disabled by admin. This is fixed now.
15) [Bug Fix] : On Softaculous Admin panel -> Software page the Select All (Category) checkbox did not work for categories having only one script. This has been fixed now.
16) [Bug Fix] : Import Software page had JavaScript error when selecting domain from Choose Domain dropdown. This has been fixed.
17) [Bug Fix] : Users were not able to update the installation details for their WordPress installation if the path to their installation was to be changed. This is fixed now.
18) [Bug Fix] : Some links in the language strings were broken in Slovak, Hungarian, Polish, Czech translations. This is also fixed now.
19) [Bug Fix] : Auto backups were not performed for PERL scripts. This is now fixed.
20) [Bug Fix] : On the Edit Installation page, Users were shown an option to install the WordPress plugins which are disabled from Softaculous Admin Panel -> Software -> Advanced settings page. This is fixed now.
21) [Bug Fix] : Fixed a JavaScript bug in Themes Search option on WordPress install form.
We hope you like the new changes and we will be adding more features in the upcoming releases.
This version of AMPPS updated the versions of PHP, MySQL,
phpMyAdmin, MongoDB. We have also added new features and fixed some bugs in AMPPS.
AMPPS is a LAMP (Linux), WAMP (Windows) and MAMP (Macintosh) stack of
Apache, MySQL, MongoDB, PHP, Perl & Python. AMPPS enables you to
focus more on using applications rather than maintaining them on your
desktops.
A complete list of changes:
The current version of AMPPS for Windows include:
Softaculous 4.7.6 Apache 2.4.25 OpenSSL 1.0.2j PHP 7.1.2, PHP 7.0.16, PHP 5.6.35, PHP 5.5.38, PHP 5.4.45 and 5.3.29 ionCube PHP Loader v6.0.9
PERL 5.16.3 Python 3.6.1 with mod_wsgi 4.21 module MySQL 5.6.35
phpMyAdmin 4.4.15.7
SQLite Manager 1.2.4 MongoDB 3.4.3
RockMongo 1.1.7
FileZilla FTP Server 0.9.44
The current version of AMPPS for Mac include:
Softaculous 4.7.6 Apache 2.4.25 OpenSSL 1.0.1t PHP 7.1.2, PHP 7.0.16, PHP 5.6.35, PHP 5.5.38, PHP 5.4.42 and 5.3.29 ionCube PHP Loader v6.0.9 PERL 5.24.0 Python 3.6.1 with mod_wsgi 4.5.11 module MySQL 5.6.36
phpMyAdmin 4.4.15.7
SQLite Manager 1.2.4
MongoDB 2.6.7
RockMongo 1.1.7
Pure-FTPd Server 1.0.36
The Softaculous AMPPS Team has released AMPPS 3.6 with Revamped UI.
This version of AMPPS adds the latest versions of PHP. We have also added new features and fixed some bugs in AMPPS.
AMPPS is a LAMP (Linux), WAMP (Windows) and MAMP (Macintosh) stack of
Apache, MySQL, MongoDB, PHP, Perl & Python. AMPPS enables you to
focus more on using applications rather than maintaining them on your
desktops.
A complete list of changes:
The current version of AMPPS for Windows include:
Softaculous 4.7.6 Apache 2.4.23 PHP 7.0.8, PHP 5.6.23, PHP 5.5.36, PHP 5.4.45 and 5.3.29 Ioncube Loader added for all PHP versions.
PERL 5.16.3 Python 3.5.2 with mod_wsgi 4.21 module MySQL 5.6.31 phpMyAdmin 4.4.15.5
SQLite Manager 1.2.4 MongoDB 3.2.7
RockMongo 1.1.7
FileZilla FTP Server 0.9.44
The current version of AMPPS for Mac include:
Softaculous 4.7.6 Apache 2.4.23 PHP 7.0.10, PHP 5.6.25, PHP 5.5.38, PHP 5.4.45 and 5.3.29 Ioncube Loader added for all PHP versions. PERL 5.24.0 Python 3.5.2 with mod_wsgi 4.21 module MySQL 5.6.31 phpMyAdmin 4.4.15.7
SQLite Manager 1.2.4
MongoDB 2.6.7
RockMongo 1.1.7
Pure-FTPd Server 1.0.36
The current version of AMPPS for Linux include:
Softaculous 4.7.6 Apache 2.4.23 PHP 7.0.10, PHP 5.6.25, PHP 5.5.38, PHP 5.4.45 and 5.3.29 Ioncube Loader added for all PHP versions. PERL 5.24.0 Python 3.5.2 with mod_wsgi 4.21 module MySQL 5.6.31 phpMyAdmin 4.4.15.7
SQLite Manager 1.2.4 MongoDB 3.2.7
RockMongo 1.1.7
Pure-FTPd Server 1.0.36
