To host a static HTML website on a VPS, install Nginx on an Ubuntu or Debian server, place your HTML/CSS/JavaScript and image files in a dedicated document root, create a domain-specific server block, point DNS to the VPS, and use Certbot to enable HTTPS. This workflow answers the practical questions “How do I host a static HTML website on a VPS?”, “How do I point my domain to an Nginx server?”, and “How do I enable HTTPS for a static site?” without needing a database or application runtime.
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What static hosting on a VPS actually requires
A static site is delivered as files. The browser requests an HTML document, stylesheet, JavaScript bundle, image, font, or other asset, and the web server reads that file from disk and returns it. There is no PHP, Node.js, Python process, database, or application server in the basic setup.
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The Tool Desk
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A VPS gives you administrative control over the operating system, firewall, web-server configuration, logs, and deployment process. That control also means you are responsible for updates, SSH security, DNS correctness, certificate renewal, backups, and recovering from configuration mistakes.
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What you need before starting
- A VPS running a currently supported Ubuntu or Debian release with a public IPv4 address. A provider-managed LEMP image is optional; a manual installation gives you more control over package versions and file layout.
- SSH access and a non-root account with
sudoprivileges. Keep one working administrative session open while changing SSH or firewall settings. - A registered domain whose DNS you can edit. You will create records for the apex name, such as
example.com, and normally forwww.example.com. - Your built static files, including an entry file named
index.htmlunless you plan to change the Nginx index directive. - A plan for backups and updates. The VPS provider’s storage, snapshots, or a separate backup destination can be used; the exact retention and price depend on the provider.
Do not publish an AAAA record until the VPS has working IPv6 connectivity and Nginx is listening on IPv6. A broken AAAA record can make some visitors fail even when the IPv4 address is correct.
Provision and secure the VPS
Create a sudo user and retain SSH access
Log in through the provider’s console or initial SSH account, create a normal user, grant administrative privileges, and test a second SSH session before closing the first. The exact user-creation command differs slightly by distribution, but the goal is an account that can run administrative commands with sudo rather than operating the website as root.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
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Allow only the public services you need
The public firewall should expose SSH for administration, HTTP on port 80 for initial access and ACME HTTP validation, and HTTPS on port 443 for visitors. DigitalOcean’s LEMP image documentation lists those SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS allowances as the expected UFW baseline. Restrict SSH to your administration network when practical, and do not expose database, cache, control-panel, or development ports to the internet.
With UFW, the final rules should conceptually allow:
- SSH (the port you actually use),
- TCP 80,
- TCP 443.
Check both the VPS firewall and any provider-level network firewall. A rule in only one of those layers is not enough if the other layer blocks traffic.
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Install Nginx and identify its default layout
On Ubuntu or Debian, install Nginx from the distribution package repository:
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sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginxConfirm that the service is running and enabled for boot:
sudo systemctl status nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginxOpening the VPS address in a browser should show the distribution’s default Nginx page. Its presence confirms basic connectivity, but it is not your website. The default document root is commonly under /var/www/html; verify the path in the active configuration rather than assuming it.
Create a separate document root for the domain
Use a dedicated directory for each domain. This prevents one site’s files and permissions from becoming entangled with another site’s configuration.
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.com/html
sudo cp -R /path/to/your-built-site/. /var/www/example.com/html/Replace example.com and the source path with your own values. Keep the directory readable by Nginx without making it world-writable. One straightforward ownership model is to keep deployment ownership with your administrative user and grant the web-server process read and directory-traverse access through group permissions. For a simple single-user deployment, you can set the files to a non-root owner and use permissions that allow read access to the web server:
sudo chown -R $USER:www-data /var/www/example.com
sudo find /var/www/example.com -type d -exec chmod 755 {} ;
sudo find /var/www/example.com -type f -exec chmod 644 {} ;On distributions or images that use a different Nginx group, substitute that group. Avoid chmod -R 777; it makes accidental modification and compromise easier.
Configure an Nginx server block
Create a configuration file in the distribution’s sites-available directory:
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.comUse a port-80 server block like this, replacing both domain names and the document-root path:
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server {
listen 80;
listen [::]:80;
root /var/www/example.com/html;
index index.html;
server_name example.com www.example.com;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
}
}The root directive identifies the files to serve. index index.html makes a directory request look for that file. server_name tells Nginx which hostnames belong to this site, and try_files returns a 404 instead of silently routing a missing path somewhere else. This pattern follows the root/index/server-name arrangement documented by Nginx and Ubuntu Server.
Enable the site and disable a conflicting default
Ubuntu and Debian commonly enable sites by symbolic links:
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/example.com
sudo rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/defaultRemove the default link only if it would otherwise catch your hostname or display the welcome page. On an image with a different layout, use its documented equivalent instead of creating a second, conflicting mechanism.
Always validate before applying a configuration change:
sudo nginx -tProceed only when the test reports that the syntax is okay and the test is successful. Apply a valid change with a reload:
sudo systemctl reload nginxA reload makes Nginx reread configuration without dropping active connections. Restart only when a reload cannot apply the required change.
Point your domain to the Nginx server
Create the required DNS records
At your DNS provider, create an A record for the apex domain and another for the www hostname. Both should point to the VPS public IPv4 address:
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| Name | Type | Value | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
@ (or the provider’s apex notation) |
A | VPS public IPv4 address | example.com |
www |
A | VPS public IPv4 address | www.example.com |
Some providers use a CNAME for www that points to the apex name; that is also valid when the provider supports it. The important result is that both names resolve to the server hosting the matching Nginx block.
If IPv6 is configured end to end, add matching AAAA records and keep the listen [::]:80 directive. If IPv6 is not configured, leave AAAA absent rather than publishing an unreachable address.
Check DNS before requesting a certificate
DNS changes can take time to appear according to the records’ TTL and resolver caches. Check from a machine outside the VPS network:
dig +short example.com A
dig +short www.example.com AEach lookup should return the VPS address. Also confirm that port 80 is reachable and that the request selects your server block. DNS must point to the VPS before HTTPS validation can succeed.
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Let’s Encrypt certificates are free. Certbot’s Nginx plugin can locate the matching server block, obtain a certificate, add the TLS configuration, and reload Nginx. Install Certbot and its Nginx integration using your distribution’s supported packages, then run:
sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com -d www.example.comFollow the prompts for an email address, terms of service, and the preferred HTTP-to-HTTPS behavior. The resulting setup normally has an HTTPS server listening on port 443 and an HTTP block that returns a 301 redirect to https://$host$request_uri, matching Ubuntu’s documented pattern.
DigitalOcean documentation states that Let’s Encrypt certificates are valid for three months and support automatic renewal. Check the renewal timer and perform a dry run after installation:
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sudo systemctl list-timers | grep -i certbot
sudo certbot renew --dry-runA dry run tests the renewal path without replacing the live certificate. Keep port 80 reachable if you use HTTP-01 validation; the certificate authority must be able to fetch a temporary token over that port.
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HTTP-01 versus DNS-01 validation
| Method | What it needs | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| HTTP-01 | Public DNS pointing to the server and inbound port 80 reachable | Typical single-site VPS deployments using Certbot’s Nginx plugin |
| DNS-01 | A temporary DNS TXT record created at the authoritative DNS provider | Wildcard certificates or servers that cannot accept inbound HTTP |
DNS-01 is useful when a wildcard such as *.example.com is required or when port 80 cannot be exposed. It requires reliable DNS automation or manual TXT-record changes, so HTTP-01 is usually simpler for the configuration in this guide.
Verify the finished site
Test every hostname and the behavior that matters to visitors, not just the home page.
- Open
https://example.comandhttps://www.example.com. Confirm the certificate covers both names and that the browser reports a secure connection. - Request the HTTP versions and verify they return a permanent redirect to the corresponding HTTPS URL rather than serving content over plain HTTP.
- Load CSS, JavaScript, images, fonts, and any other assets. Browser developer tools should show successful requests and no mixed-content warnings.
- Request a known deep path, such as
/about.html, and confirm it returns the intended file. A missing file should produce a 404 because oftry_files. - Inspect Nginx’s access and error logs if a request fails. A 404 usually indicates a path or filename mismatch; a 403 commonly indicates directory or file permissions; a 502 suggests that a proxy configuration is present even though a pure static site does not need one.
- Check the server from an external network if possible. Local success can hide a provider firewall, incorrect DNS, or an IPv6 routing problem.
Do not describe the deployment as successful until both hostnames, redirects, assets, and representative deep links have been tested.
Updating the site safely
Static deployments do not require a web-server reload when only files change. Upload the new build into a staging directory, verify its contents, and switch it into place atomically where practical. A common pattern is to keep versioned release directories and update a symlink used by the Nginx root, or to copy files into a temporary directory and rename it after verification.
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- Preserve the owner, group, and read permissions that Nginx needs.
- Do not delete the current release until the new files have been checked.
- Use cache-busting filenames or an appropriate cache policy when replacing JavaScript, CSS, or images.
- Run
sudo nginx -tafter configuration edits. - Reload Nginx only when its configuration changes; a file-only deployment does not need a reload.
Keep a copy of the last known-good release and the Nginx configuration. If an update introduces broken links or assets, switch the document root back to that release and investigate the failed build separately.
Nginx, Apache, and provider-managed images
| Choice | Advantages | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|
| Nginx manual install | Clear separation of server blocks, document roots, firewall rules, and package versions; matches the workflow in this guide. | You must configure updates, permissions, firewall rules, and certificate renewal yourself. |
| Apache | Also serves static files and may be familiar if you already use its virtual-host and module conventions. | The configuration paths and directives differ, so Nginx instructions and troubleshooting commands do not transfer unchanged. |
| Provider-managed LEMP image | May preconfigure Nginx, firewall defaults, and Certbot, reducing initial setup work. | Image-specific layouts and package choices can obscure where settings live and may require adapting commands. |
For one or several simple static sites, the deciding factor is usually operational familiarity rather than raw performance. Keep each domain in its own document root and server block whichever web server you choose.
Quick Recap
Common failures and fixes
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Nginx welcome page appears | The default site is still enabled or the request does not match server_name. |
Check links in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled, the hostname in the request, and sudo nginx -T output. |
| Domain does not connect | A or AAAA records are wrong, DNS has not propagated, or a firewall blocks 80/443. | Use dig from outside the VPS and inspect both provider and UFW rules. |
| Certbot cannot validate | DNS points elsewhere, port 80 is blocked, or the wrong server block answers. | Fetch the HTTP URL externally, confirm the A records, and test sudo nginx -t. |
| 403 Forbidden | Nginx cannot traverse a directory or read a file. | Check ownership and execute permission on every parent directory; keep files readable without making them writable by everyone. |
| 404 for an existing page | The file is outside the configured root, its case differs, or the URL is being treated as a directory. | Compare the exact path and capitalization with root; inspect the access log. |
| HTTPS works on one hostname only | The certificate or server block omitted the other name. | Confirm both -d arguments were used and test each hostname independently. |
| Some visitors fail while IPv4 works | An AAAA record advertises nonfunctional IPv6. | Remove the AAAA record until IPv6 routing and Nginx’s IPv6 listener are working. |
Final deployment checklist
- Supported Ubuntu or Debian VPS is updated, and a tested non-root sudo account can connect over SSH.
- Firewall permits only the required SSH port, 80, and 443.
- Static files are in a dedicated document root with secure, readable permissions.
- Nginx has a matching server block with
root,index index.html,server_name, andtry_files $uri $uri/ =404. - The default site cannot intercept the domain.
sudo nginx -tsucceeds before every configuration reload.- A records for the apex and
wwwresolve to the VPS; AAAA exists only when IPv6 is actually working. - Certbot installed a certificate for every hostname, HTTP redirects to HTTPS, and
certbot renew --dry-runsucceeds. - Home pages, assets, deep links, logs, and rollback files have been checked.
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