Tag: website hosting VPS

How to Host Multiple Websites on a VPS

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A VPS (Virtual Private Server) gives you full control of your hosting environment, making it possible to run more than one website on the same server. This is a cost-effective and efficient solution for developers, freelancers, and businesses managing multiple projects.

In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through the steps to host multiple websites on a single VPS.

✅ Prerequisites

  • A VPS with root access (you can get one from Hosteons VPS Plans)
  • A domain name for each website you want to host
  • Basic knowledge of Linux commands

🔹 Step 1: Update Your Server

Keep your VPS up to date with the latest security patches.

apt update && apt upgrade -y   # For Ubuntu/Debian  
yum update -y                  # For CentOS/AlmaLinux

🔹 Step 2: Install a Web Server

Choose between Apache or Nginx.

For Apache:

apt install apache2 -y   # Ubuntu/Debian  
yum install httpd -y     # CentOS/AlmaLinux

For Nginx:

apt install nginx -y  
yum install nginx -y

🔹 Step 3: Set Up Directories for Each Website

Create separate folders for your websites. Example:

mkdir -p /var/www/site1.com/public_html  
mkdir -p /var/www/site2.com/public_html

Assign permissions:

chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/*  
chmod -R 755 /var/www/*

🔹 Step 4: Configure Virtual Hosts

For Apache, create a new config file for each domain:

nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/site1.com.conf

Add:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName site1.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/site1.com/public_html
</VirtualHost>

Enable the site:

a2ensite site1.com.conf
systemctl reload apache2

For Nginx, edit the server block:

nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/site1.com

Add:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name site1.com;
    root /var/www/site1.com/public_html;
}

Enable it:

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/site1.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
systemctl reload nginx

Repeat for each domain.

🔹 Step 5: Update DNS Records

Point each domain’s A record to your VPS IP address in your domain registrar’s DNS settings.

🔹 Step 6: Enable SSL with Let’s Encrypt

Install Certbot:

apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y   # Apache  
apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y    # Nginx

Issue an SSL certificate:

certbot --apache -d site1.com -d www.site1.com  
certbot --nginx -d site2.com -d www.site2.com

🔹 Step 7: Test Your Setup

Visit your domains in a browser to confirm they are loading correctly and secured with HTTPS.

✅ Conclusion

With a VPS from Hosteons, you can host multiple websites easily by setting up virtual hosts or server blocks, configuring DNS, and enabling SSL. This lets you manage multiple projects on a single server while saving costs and maintaining flexibility.

👉 Get started with a VPS today: https://hosteons.com