Configuring Nginx on Ubuntu to Host a Simple Website

Nginx is a popular and efficient web server that can serve static and dynamic content. In this tutorial, we’ll focus on configuring Nginx to host a simple website. Let’s get started with the assumption that Nginx is already installed on your Ubuntu server.

If you did not install nginx already, you can follow this guide to install it:

1: Create Your Website Directory

First, you need a directory to store your website’s files. This is where Nginx will look for the files to serve.

Now, give the ownership of this directory to the current user:

Set appropriate permissions:

2: Create a Sample HTML Page

To verify that your server is serving content correctly, create a simple HTML file.

Paste the following content into the file:

Save and exit the file.

3: Create a New Nginx Server Block

Nginx uses server blocks (similar to Apache’s virtual hosts) to route traffic to the correct directory. You can either modify the default server block or create a new one. Let’s create a new one for your domain.

Add the following configuration:

This configuration specifies that Nginx will listen on port 80 for traffic directed to yourdomain.com or www.yourdomain.com, and serve files from the /var/www/yourdomain.com/html directory.

4: Enable the New Server Block

To enable the new configuration, you need to create a symbolic link from the configuration file in sites-available to the sites-enabled directory.

5: Test the Configuration

Before restarting Nginx, test the configuration to ensure there are no syntax errors:

If the test is successful, you should see a message saying the configuration is OK.

6: Restart Nginx

To apply the changes, restart Nginx:

7: Update DNS Records

Make sure that your domain is pointing to the server’s IP address by updating the DNS records with your domain registrar.

8: Access Your Website

Once everything is set up, you can open a browser and navigate to your domain (or the server’s public IP address) to see your website.

You should see the message "Success! Your website is up and running!" from your HTML file.

This guide walks you through configuring Nginx on an Ubuntu server to host a simple website. Assuming Nginx is already installed, the tutorial covers creating a website directory, setting up a server block, and ensuring your site is accessible via domain or IP address. Perfect for beginners in server management.

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