How to Set Up a Website on a VPS? Step-by-Step from Start to Publication

Having a website is of great importance for individuals and businesses today. Websites are one of the most effective ways to establish your online presence, promote your products and services, and interact with your target audience. There are many options for hosting your website, but VPS (Virtual Private Server) is one of the most popular and powerful options. In this article, we will examine the steps of setting up a website on a VPS in detail.

What is VPS and Why VPS?

VPS (Virtual Private Server) is a virtualized portion of a physical server. The physical server is divided into multiple VPSs, with each VPS being allocated its own processor, RAM, and storage space. This gives you more resources and control compared to shared hosting. VPS is ideal for medium and large-sized websites, e-commerce sites, and high-traffic blogs. So, why should we prefer VPS?

More Control: VPS allows you to have more control over the server. You can choose your own operating system, install custom software, and customize server settings.
Better Performance: VPS offers better performance than shared hosting. Because resources are allocated specifically to you and you are not affected by the activities of other users.
More Security: VPS is more secure than shared hosting. Because you operate in your own isolated environment and are not affected by the security breaches of other users.
Scalability: VPS can be easily scaled according to your needs. As your traffic increases, you can increase your server resources and maintain the performance of your website.

VPS Selection and Installation

VPS selection depends on your website's needs and budget. There are many different VPS providers, and each has different plans and features. When choosing a VPS, it is important to consider the following factors:

Resources: Make sure that resources such as CPU, RAM, and storage space are sufficient to meet your website's needs.
Operating System: Choose the most suitable operating system for your website. Linux distributions (Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian) are generally preferred for web servers.
Control Panel: Check if there is a control panel (cPanel, Plesk, Virtualmin) to easily manage the server.
Support: Make sure that the provider offers 24/7 technical support.
Price: Compare the prices of different providers and choose a plan that fits your budget.

After selecting your VPS, you can proceed with the installation process. Most VPS providers automatically install the operating system and basic software. However, manual installation may be required in some cases. In this case, you can complete the installation by following the instructions provided by your provider.

Example: VPS Installation on Ubuntu

Let's assume you have chosen the Ubuntu operating system. Your VPS provider will give you an IP address, username (usually root), and password. You can connect to your server via SSH (Secure Shell) with this information. Open your terminal and connect to your server using the following command:

ssh root@server_ip_address

After entering your password, you will be connected to your server. First, update your system:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

These commands will update all packages on your system. Then, you can install the necessary software such as web server, database, and PHP. You can use one of the popular stacks such as LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) or LEMP (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP).

Web Server, Database, and PHP Installation

To publish your website, you will need a web server (Apache or Nginx), a database (MySQL or MariaDB), and PHP. In this section, we will explain how to install and configure these software.

Apache Installation

Apache is one of the most popular web servers. To install Apache on Ubuntu, use the following command:

sudo apt install apache2

After the installation is complete, visit your server's IP address in your browser to check if Apache is running. You should see a message saying "It works!". Apache's configuration files are located in the `/etc/apache2` directory. To publish your website, you need to create a virtual host file in the `/etc/apache2/sites-available` directory and create a symbolic link to the `/etc/apache2/sites-enabled` directory. For example, create a file named `example.com.conf` and add the following content:

    ServerAdmin [email protected]
    ServerName example.com
    ServerAlias www.example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

Save this file and activate it with the following commands:

sudo a2ensite example.com.conf
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Finally, create the `/var/www/example.com` directory and upload your website's files to this directory.

MySQL Installation

MySQL is one of the most popular open-source database systems. To install MySQL on Ubuntu, use the following command:

sudo apt install mysql-server

During the installation, you will be prompted to set a root password. Keep your password in a safe place. After the installation is complete, run the following command to secure MySQL:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

This command will remove weak passwords, disable anonymous users, and prevent remote root access. To connect to MySQL, use the following command:

mysql -u root -p

After entering your password, you can access the MySQL command line. Here, you can create databases, create tables, and add data.

PHP Installation

PHP is a popular programming language used to create dynamic websites. To install PHP and the necessary modules on Ubuntu, use the following command:

sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql

This command will install PHP, the PHP module for Apache, and the PHP module for MySQL support. After the installation is complete, restart Apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

To test that PHP is installed correctly, create a file named `info.php` in the `/var/www/example.com` directory and add the following content:

When you visit `example.com/info.php` in your browser, you should see your PHP configuration information.

Domain Name Redirection and SSL Certificate Installation

Having a domain name for your website allows users to easily access your site. To redirect your domain name to your VPS's IP address, you need to configure your domain name provider's DNS settings. Log in to your domain name provider's panel and edit the DNS records. Create an A record and redirect your domain name (example.com) and www subdomain (www.example.com) to your VPS's IP address. It may take some time for DNS changes to propagate (usually 24-48 hours).

An SSL certificate secures your website and encrypts users' data. Let's Encrypt is a free SSL certificate provider. You can use the Certbot tool to install a Let's Encrypt certificate. To install Certbot on Ubuntu, use the following command:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache

After the installation is complete, create an SSL certificate and automatically configure Apache using the following command:

sudo certbot --apache -d example.com -d www.example.com

Certbot will ask you some questions and automatically create the SSL certificate and add it to the Apache configuration. After the process is complete, you can securely access your website over HTTPS.

Uploading Website Files

After installing all the necessary software and redirecting your domain name, you can upload your website's files to your VPS. There are many methods for uploading files:

FTP/SFTP: You can upload files to your server using an FTP client such as FileZilla.
SCP: You can securely copy files to your server with the SCP (Secure Copy) command.
Git: If you keep your website's files in a Git repository, you can clone the files to your server using Git.

Whichever method you choose, make sure you upload the files to the `/var/www/example.com` directory.

Conclusion and Summary

In this article, we have examined the steps of setting up a website on a VPS in detail. We have explained important steps such as VPS selection, operating system installation, web server, database and PHP installation, domain name redirection, SSL certificate installation, and uploading website files step by step. VPS is a powerful and flexible option for hosting your website. By following the instructions in this article, you can set up your own VPS and publish your website. Remember, it is important to have knowledge of server management and security issues. Regularly update your server and take security measures to ensure the security and optimize the performance of your website.