Host a Website on a Linux VPS using Nginx

To host a website on a Linux VPS, install Nginx, put your site files in a folder under /var/www, add a server block for your domain, point the domain’s DNS A record at the server, and enable HTTPS with Certbot. The steps below use Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 on a FlashRDP Linux VPS.

Step 1: Install Nginx

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nginx

Nginx starts automatically. Open http://YOUR_SERVER_IP in a browser and you should see the “Welcome to nginx!” page.

If you have enabled ufw on the server, allow web traffic first: sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'. Ubuntu leaves ufw off by default.

Step 2: Create a folder for your site

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/yourwebsite.com

Upload your index.html, CSS and JavaScript files to /var/www/yourwebsite.com with an SFTP client such as FileZilla or Cyberduck. Use the same IP address and login you use for SSH; an SSH key is safer than a password.

Step 3: Add a server block for your domain

Create a configuration file:

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

Paste this, replacing yourwebsite.com with your domain:

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name yourwebsite.com www.yourwebsite.com;
    root /var/www/yourwebsite.com;
    index index.html;

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

Save and exit nano with Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter.

Enable the site, test the configuration and reload Nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/yourwebsite.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 4: Point your domain at the server

At your domain’s DNS provider, create an A record for yourwebsite.com and www pointing to your server’s IPv4 address. DNS changes can take from a few minutes to several hours to spread.

Step 5: Enable HTTPS

Once the domain resolves to your server, get a free Let’s Encrypt certificate with Certbot. It edits your server block and sets up automatic renewal:

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourwebsite.com -d www.yourwebsite.com

Your site is now live over HTTPS.

Expecting attacks on a public site? FlashRDP filters network-level (Layer 4) DDoS floods, not HTTP floods. Put a proxy service such as Cloudflare in front of the site for Layer 7 protection. See DDoS protection.

Fundamentals

Linux distributions

Use Cases

Host a Website on a Linux VPS using Nginx

Step 1: Install Nginx

Step 2: Create a folder for your site

Step 3: Add a server block for your domain

Step 4: Point your domain at the server

Step 5: Enable HTTPS

Connect via SSH

Host WooCommerce with CyberPanel

Persistent Docker Deployments

DDoS Protection

​Step 1: Install Nginx

​Step 2: Create a folder for your site

​Step 3: Add a server block for your domain

​Step 4: Point your domain at the server

​Step 5: Enable HTTPS

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Connect via SSH

Host WooCommerce with CyberPanel

Persistent Docker Deployments

DDoS Protection

Step 1: Install Nginx

Step 2: Create a folder for your site

Step 3: Add a server block for your domain

Step 4: Point your domain at the server

Step 5: Enable HTTPS

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