How to Deploy a Website on a VPS in 2026: Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Deploying a website on a VPS (Virtual Private Server) gives you complete control over your hosting environment, better performance than shared hosting, and the flexibility to run any application stack you need. Whether you're launching a portfolio site, a web application, or an API backend, this guide walks you through every step.

Unlike managed hosting platforms that limit your options, a VPS lets you configure everything exactly as you need it. And with modern tools like VPS Commander, you don't even need deep terminal expertise to manage your server after deployment.

Prerequisites

Before you begin deploying your website, make sure you have the following ready:

• A VPS server - Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 LTS recommended. Check our best VPS providers comparison to choose the right one.
• A domain name - Purchased from a registrar like Namecheap, Cloudflare, or GoDaddy
• SSH access - Your VPS IP address, username, and password or SSH key
• Your website files - Static HTML/CSS/JS, or application code ready for deployment
• Basic command line knowledge - Or use VPS Commander to manage your server visually

Step 1: Choose and Set Up Your VPS

If you haven't already, create a VPS instance with your preferred provider. We recommend starting with Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or 24.04 LTS as they have the longest support period and the most tutorials available.

Recommended VPS Providers for Website Hosting

Once your VPS is created, note down your server's IP address, root password (or SSH key), and make sure the server is running.

Step 2: Connect via SSH and Initial Server Setup

Connect to your VPS using SSH from your local terminal:

ssh root@your_server_ip

If you're using an SSH key:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/your_key root@your_server_ip

Update the System

First, update all packages to their latest versions:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Create a Non-Root User

Running everything as root is a security risk. Create a dedicated user:

# Create a new user
adduser deploy

# Add user to sudo group
usermod -aG sudo deploy

# Switch to the new user
su - deploy

Configure Basic Firewall

Set up UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) to allow only necessary traffic:

# Allow SSH connections
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH

# Allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'

# Enable the firewall
sudo ufw enable

# Check status
sudo ufw status

Step 3: Install Nginx Web Server

Nginx is the most popular web server for VPS deployments. It's fast, lightweight, and handles high traffic efficiently.

# Install Nginx
sudo apt install nginx -y

# Start Nginx and enable it on boot
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

# Verify it's running
sudo systemctl status nginx

Open your browser and navigate to your server's IP address (http://your_server_ip). You should see the default Nginx welcome page - this confirms your web server is working.

Understanding Nginx Directory Structure

• /etc/nginx/nginx.conf - Main configuration file
• /etc/nginx/sites-available/ - Server block configurations
• /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ - Active server blocks (symlinks)
• /var/www/ - Default web root directory
• /var/log/nginx/ - Access and error logs

Step 4: Configure Your Domain and DNS

To make your website accessible via a domain name instead of an IP address, you need to configure DNS records.

DNS Records You Need

Log in to your domain registrar (Namecheap, Cloudflare, GoDaddy, etc.) and add these DNS records. DNS propagation can take up to 48 hours, but usually completes within 30 minutes to a few hours.

Configure Nginx Server Block

Create a new Nginx server block for your domain:

# Create the web root directory
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/yourdomain.com/html
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/yourdomain.com/html

# Create the Nginx server block
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/yourdomain.com

Add this configuration:

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

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

    # Security headers
    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;

    # Gzip compression
    gzip on;
    gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript text/xml;
    gzip_min_length 256;

    # Cache static assets
    location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js|svg|woff2)$ {
        expires 30d;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
    }
}

Enable the server block:

# Create symbolic link to enable the site
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/yourdomain.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

# Test Nginx configuration
sudo nginx -t

# Reload Nginx
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 5: Deploy Your Website Files

Option A: Upload Static Files via SCP

From your local machine, upload your website files:

# Upload a single file
scp index.html deploy@your_server_ip:/var/www/yourdomain.com/html/

# Upload an entire directory
scp -r ./dist/* deploy@your_server_ip:/var/www/yourdomain.com/html/

Option B: Clone from Git

If your code is in a Git repository:

# Install Git
sudo apt install git -y

# Clone your repository
cd /var/www/yourdomain.com/html
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo.git .

Option C: Use VPS Commander File Explorer

With VPS Commander, you can drag and drop files directly to your server through the web-based file explorer - no command line needed.

After uploading, set the correct file permissions:

# Set ownership
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/yourdomain.com/html

# Set directory permissions
sudo find /var/www/yourdomain.com/html -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;

# Set file permissions
sudo find /var/www/yourdomain.com/html -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

Visit http://yourdomain.com in your browser. Your website should now be live!

Step 6: Secure Your Site with SSL (Let's Encrypt)

HTTPS is essential for security, SEO rankings, and user trust. Let's Encrypt provides free SSL certificates.

# Install Certbot
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

# Obtain and install SSL certificate
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com

# Follow the prompts:
# - Enter your email address
# - Agree to terms of service
# - Choose whether to redirect HTTP to HTTPS (recommended: yes)

Certbot automatically modifies your Nginx configuration to use SSL. It also sets up auto-renewal:

# Test auto-renewal
sudo certbot renew --dry-run

# Check the renewal timer
sudo systemctl status certbot.timer

Step 7: Configure Firewall and Security

Make sure your firewall only allows the traffic you need:

# Check current firewall rules
sudo ufw status verbose

# The output should show:
# 22/tcp (OpenSSH)    ALLOW IN    Anywhere
# 80,443/tcp (Nginx Full) ALLOW IN Anywhere

For additional security measures, check our comprehensive VPS security guide.

Deploying Different Application Types

The steps above cover static websites. Here's how to deploy dynamic applications:

Deploying a Node.js Application

# Install Node.js (using NodeSource)
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install nodejs -y

# Verify installation
node --version
npm --version

# Clone your application
cd /var/www/yourdomain.com
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/your-node-app.git app
cd app

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Install PM2 process manager
sudo npm install -g pm2

# Start your application with PM2
pm2 start app.js --name "my-website"
pm2 startup systemd
pm2 save

Configure Nginx as a reverse proxy for your Node.js app:

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

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

Deploying a Python/Django Application

# Install Python and pip
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip python3-venv -y

# Create project directory
cd /var/www/yourdomain.com
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/your-django-app.git app
cd app

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
pip install gunicorn

# Collect static files
python manage.py collectstatic

# Start with Gunicorn
gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 myproject.wsgi:application

For production, create a systemd service for Gunicorn and configure Nginx to proxy to it.

Deploying a PHP Application

# Install PHP and PHP-FPM
sudo apt install php-fpm php-mysql php-xml php-mbstring php-curl -y

# Check PHP version
php --version

# PHP files go in your web root
sudo cp -r /path/to/your/php/app/* /var/www/yourdomain.com/html/

Update your Nginx configuration to handle PHP:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;
    root /var/www/yourdomain.com/html;
    index index.php index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}

Troubleshooting Common Deployment Issues

502 Bad Gateway Error

Cause: Nginx can't connect to your application backend (Node.js, Gunicorn, PHP-FPM).

Fix:

# Check if your application is running
sudo systemctl status your-app

# Check Nginx error logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Verify the backend port matches Nginx config
# e.g., proxy_pass http://localhost:3000 must match your app's port

403 Forbidden Error

Cause: File permissions are incorrect.

Fix:

# Fix ownership
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/yourdomain.com/html

# Fix permissions
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/yourdomain.com/html

DNS Not Resolving

Cause: DNS records haven't propagated yet, or are configured incorrectly.

Fix:

# Check DNS propagation
dig yourdomain.com +short

# Or use nslookup
nslookup yourdomain.com

# Verify A record points to your server IP
# Wait up to 48 hours for full propagation

SSL Certificate Errors

Cause: Certificate not installed properly or domain mismatch.

Fix:

# Re-run Certbot
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com

# Check certificate status
sudo certbot certificates

# Force renewal
sudo certbot renew --force-renewal

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Deploying a website on a VPS is a straightforward process once you understand the steps. By following this guide, you now have a production-ready website with Nginx, SSL encryption, and proper security configuration.

The key steps to remember are:

1. Set up your VPS with a secure non-root user and firewall
2. Install Nginx as your web server
3. Configure DNS to point your domain to your server
4. Deploy your files via SCP, Git, or file manager
5. Install SSL with Let's Encrypt for free HTTPS
6. Secure your server with proper firewall and permissions

For ongoing server management without the terminal hassle, try VPS Commander - it provides 400+ automated workflows, visual file management, and real-time server monitoring through an intuitive web interface.