Two of the most popular web servers used on Linux are Apache and NGINX. Both are powerful, reliable, and widely used in production environments.

In this article, you will learn how to host a website on a Linux VPS using both Apache and NGINX, including server setup, domain configuration, SSL, firewall setup, and deployment best practices.

What is a VPS?

A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is a virtual machine that runs its own operating system and behaves like a dedicated server.

Common VPS providers include:

DigitalOcean
Linode
Vultr
AWS EC2
Google Cloud
Oracle Cloud
Hetzner

Requirements

Before starting, you need:

A Linux VPS
Root or sudo access
A domain name
Basic Linux command knowledge

This tutorial works on:

Ubuntu
Debian
CentOS
Rocky Linux
AlmaLinux

Step 1: Connect to Your VPS

Use SSH to connect to your server.

ssh root@your_server_ip

Example:

ssh root@192.168.1.10

Step 2: Update Your Server

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

CentOS/RHEL:

sudo yum update -y

Step 3: Point Domain to VPS

Go to your domain registrar and create an A Record.

Type	Name	Value
A	@	Your VPS IP Address
A	www	Your VPS IP Address

DNS propagation may take a few minutes to several hours.

Hosting Website Using Apache

Step 1: Install Apache

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install apache2 -y

CentOS/RHEL:

sudo yum install httpd -y

Start Apache

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl enable apache2

CentOS/RHEL:

sudo systemctl start httpd
sudo systemctl enable httpd

Check Apache Status

sudo systemctl status apache2

Or on CentOS:

sudo systemctl status httpd

Step 2: Create Website Directory

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.com/public_html

Set Permissions

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/example.com/public_html
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www

Step 3: Create Website Files

nano /var/www/example.com/public_html/index.html

Add basic HTML:

<html>
<head>
  <title>My Website</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Website Hosted on Apache</h1>
</body>
</html>

Step 4: Create Apache Virtual Host

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf

Add configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin admin@example.com
    ServerName example.com
    ServerAlias www.example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com/public_html

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable Site

sudo a2ensite example.com.conf

Enable Rewrite Module

sudo a2enmod rewrite

Restart Apache

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Hosting Website Using NGINX

Step 1: Install NGINX

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install nginx -y

CentOS/RHEL:

sudo yum install nginx -y

Start NGINX

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Step 2: Create Website Directory

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.com/html

Set Permissions

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/example.com/html
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www

Step 3: Create Website Page

nano /var/www/example.com/html/index.html

<html>
<head>
  <title>NGINX Website</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Website Hosted Using NGINX</h1>
</body>
</html>

Step 4: Create NGINX Server Block

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com

Add configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    root /var/www/example.com/html;
    index index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

Enable Site

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Test NGINX Configuration

sudo nginx -t

Restart NGINX

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Configure Firewall

Allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic.

Using UFW

sudo ufw allow 80
sudo ufw allow 443
sudo ufw enable

Check Firewall Status

sudo ufw status

Enable HTTPS SSL Using Let's Encrypt

HTTPS encrypts traffic between users and your server.

Install Certbot

Apache:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y

NGINX:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Generate SSL Certificate

Apache:

sudo certbot --apache

NGINX:

sudo certbot --nginx

Test Auto Renewal

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Uploading Website Files

Using SCP

scp -r mywebsite/* root@your_server_ip:/var/www/example.com/html

Using Git

git clone https://github.com/user/repository.git

Hosting PHP Websites

Install PHP

sudo apt install php php-fpm php-mysql -y

Test PHP

nano /var/www/example.com/html/info.php

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

Hosting Node.js Applications

Install Node.js

sudo apt install nodejs npm -y

Run Application

node app.js

Use PM2 Process Manager

sudo npm install -g pm2

pm2 start app.js

Reverse Proxy with NGINX

NGINX is commonly used as a reverse proxy for Node.js applications.

location / {
    proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
}

Useful Apache Commands

Command	Purpose
systemctl restart apache2	Restart Apache
apachectl configtest	Test configuration
a2ensite	Enable website

Useful NGINX Commands

Command	Purpose
systemctl restart nginx	Restart NGINX
nginx -t	Test configuration
systemctl status nginx	Check status

Apache vs NGINX

Feature	Apache	NGINX
Ease of Use	Beginner Friendly	Moderate
Performance	Good	Excellent
Static Files	Good	Very Fast
Reverse Proxy	Supported	Excellent
.htaccess	Supported	Not Supported

Security Best Practices

Use SSH keys instead of passwords
Enable HTTPS
Keep server updated
Disable unused ports
Use a firewall
Regularly backup your website
Monitor server logs

Hosting a website on a Linux VPS using Apache or NGINX provides flexibility, scalability, and full control over your hosting environment.

Apache is easier for beginners and supports .htaccess configurations, while NGINX offers better performance and is commonly used as a reverse proxy and high-performance web server.

By learning how to configure web servers, manage domains, enable HTTPS, and deploy applications, you gain essential Linux and DevOps skills useful for modern web hosting and production environments.

How to Host a Website on a Linux VPS Using Apache or NGINX

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