Installing a Web Server

Debian/Ubuntu

The commands below are for Debian/Ubuntu based distros (using apt). If you're running a different distro, see our guide on picking a distro, or substitute your distro's package manager equivalent.

Pick whichever fits your needs, you generally only need one.

Apache

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2 -y

Once installed, Apache starts automatically. Site configs live in /etc/apache2/sites-available/.

Nginx

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx -y

Once installed, Nginx starts automatically. Site configs live in /etc/nginx/sites-available/.

Caddy

Caddy isn't in the default repos, so you'll need to add its official repository first.

Add prerequisites and the repository

sudo apt install -y debian-keyring debian-archive-keyring apt-transport-https curl
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/caddy-stable-archive-keyring.gpg
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy-stable.list

Install Caddy

sudo apt update
sudo apt install caddy -y

Caddy starts automatically as a systemd service, with its config at /etc/caddy/Caddyfile. Caddy's main draw is automatic HTTPS, it'll issue and renew certificates for any domain you point at it, with no extra setup.

Opening the firewall

Whichever you choose, make sure ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) are open in your VPS's firewall.