How to Host Website on Ubuntu Server

Hi Dev, welcome to this comprehensive guide on how to host a website on the Ubuntu server. In this article, we will go through the steps required to set up a fully functional web server on an Ubuntu machine.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the installation and configuration process, let’s make sure you have all the necessary tools and requirements. Here’s what you’ll need:

Requirement	Version
Ubuntu Server	18.04 LTS or higher
SSH client	Any
Root Access	Yes
Domain Name	Optional

If you have all the prerequisites ready, let’s move on to the next step.

Step 1: Update and Upgrade Ubuntu Packages

Before we start installing any packages or software, it’s recommended to update and upgrade the system packages. You can do that by running the following commands:

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get upgrade

This will ensure that you have the latest packages and security updates installed on your Ubuntu machine.

Step 1.1: Check System Updates

You can check if there are any updates available for the Linux packages by running the update command:

sudo apt-get update

Once the update is finished, you can check if there are any available upgrades by running:

sudo apt list --upgradable

If there are any updates available, you can install them by running:

sudo apt-get upgrade

Step 1.2: Clean Up System Junk Files

After you have upgraded the system packages, it’s also important to clean up any unused packages and dependencies. You can do that by running:

sudo apt-get autoremove

This will remove any packages that were installed as dependencies but are no longer needed.

Step 2: Install Apache Web Server

Apache is one of the most popular web servers used worldwide. It’s open-source and can be easily installed on an Ubuntu server. To install Apache, run the following command:

sudo apt-get install apache2

This will install the Apache web server on your Ubuntu machine. Once the installation is complete, you can check the Apache version by running:

apache2 -v

You should see the version of Apache web server installed on your machine.

Step 2.1: Configure Firewall for Apache

After you have installed the Apache web server, it’s important to configure the firewall rules to allow incoming traffic on port 80, which is the default port used for HTTP traffic. You can do that by running:

sudo ufw allow http

This will allow incoming HTTP traffic on port 80.

Step 3: Install PHP and PHP Modules

PHP is a popular server-side scripting language used to create dynamic websites. Apache can work with PHP using a module called mod_php. To install PHP and PHP modules, run the following command:

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

This will install PHP and the required modules for Apache to work with PHP.

Step 3.1: Test PHP Installation

After you have installed PHP and the required modules, you can test if PHP is working properly by creating a test script. Run the following command:

sudo nano /var/www/html/info.php

This will create a new file called “info.php” in the “html” directory of Apache. Add the following content to the file:

<?phpphpinfo();?>

Save and close the file. Now, open your web browser and navigate to http://SERVER_IP_ADDRESS/info.php. You should see the PHP information page.

Step 4: Configure Virtual Hosts

Virtual hosts allow you to host multiple websites on a single server. To configure virtual hosts, create a new configuration file for each website you want to host. The configuration files are stored in the “/etc/apache2/sites-available” directory. Here’s an example of how to create a new virtual host:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf

Replace “example.com” with your domain name. Add the following content to the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>ServerAdmin webmaster@example.comServerName example.comServerAlias www.example.comDocumentRoot /var/www/example.com/public_htmlErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.logCustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined</VirtualHost>

Save and close the file. This configuration sets up a virtual host for “example.com” and “www.example.com” domains with the document root at “/var/www/example.com/public_html”.

Step 4.1: Enable Virtual Hosts

After you have created the virtual host configuration file, you need to enable it by creating a symbolic link in the “/etc/apache2/sites-enabled” directory. Run the following command:

sudo ln -s /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/

This will create a symbolic link to the configuration file in the “sites-enabled” directory.

Step 4.2: Restart Apache Server

After you have enabled the virtual host, you need to restart the Apache server to apply the changes. Run the following command:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

This will restart the Apache server with the new virtual host configuration.

Step 5: Install and Configure MySQL Database

MySQL is a widely used open-source relational database management system. To install MySQL, run the following command:

sudo apt-get install mysql-server

This will install the MySQL server on your Ubuntu machine.

Step 5.1: Secure MySQL Installation

After you have installed MySQL, it’s important to secure the installation by running the “mysql_secure_installation” script. Run the following command:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Follow the instructions to set a root password, remove anonymous users, disable remote root login, and remove test databases.

Step 5.2: Create MySQL User and Database

After securing the MySQL installation, you need to create a new user and database for your website. Run the following commands:

sudo mysql -u root -pCREATE DATABASE dbname;CREATE USER 'username'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON dbname.* TO 'username'@'localhost';FLUSH PRIVILEGES;exit

This will create a new database called “dbname”, a new user called “username” with a password “password” and grant all privileges to the “username” user on the “dbname” database.

Step 6: Install and Configure PHPMyAdmin

PHPMyAdmin is a web-based interface used to manage MySQL databases. To install PHPMyAdmin, run the following command:

sudo apt-get install phpmyadmin

This will install PHPMyAdmin on your Ubuntu machine.

Step 6.1: Configure PHPMyAdmin

After you have installed PHPMyAdmin, you need to configure it to work with Apache. Run the following command:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

Add the following line to the end of the file:

Include /etc/phpmyadmin/apache.conf

Save and close the file. This will include the PHPMyAdmin configuration file in the Apache server configuration.

Step 6.2: Restart Apache Server

After you have configured PHPMyAdmin, you need to restart the Apache server to apply the changes. Run the following command:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

This will restart the Apache server with the new PHPMyAdmin configuration.

Step 7: Add SSL Certificate

SSL certificates provide secure communication between the web server and the client. To add an SSL certificate, you need to obtain a certificate from a trusted certificate authority (CA). You can also create a self-signed SSL certificate for testing purposes. Here’s how to create a self-signed SSL certificate:

sudo openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout /etc/ssl/private/apache-selfsigned.key -out /etc/ssl/certs/apache-selfsigned.crt

This will create a new self-signed SSL certificate and store the private key in “/etc/ssl/private/apache-selfsigned.key” and the certificate in “/etc/ssl/certs/apache-selfsigned.crt”.

Step 7.1: Configure Apache for SSL

After you have created the SSL certificate, you need to configure Apache to use it. Run the following command:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/default-ssl.conf

Edit the file to look like this:

<IfModule mod_ssl.c><VirtualHost _default_:443>ServerAdmin webmaster@localhostDocumentRoot /var/www/htmlErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.logCustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combinedSSLEngine onSSLCertificateFile /etc/ssl/certs/apache-selfsigned.crtSSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/private/apache-selfsigned.key</VirtualHost></IfModule>

Save and close the file. This configuration sets up a virtual host for HTTPS traffic using the self-signed SSL certificate.

Step 7.2: Enable SSL Virtual Host

After you have created the SSL virtual host configuration file, you need to enable it by creating a symbolic link in the “/etc/apache2/sites-enabled” directory. Run the following command:

sudo a2ensite default-ssl.conf

This will create a symbolic link to the configuration file in the “sites-enabled” directory.

Step 7.3: Restart Apache Server

After you have enabled the SSL virtual host, you need to restart the Apache server to apply the changes. Run the following command:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

This will restart the Apache server with the new SSL virtual host configuration.

FAQs

1. How do I access my website?

You can access your website by entering your domain name or server IP address in the web browser. If you’re using a domain name, make sure it’s pointed to your server’s IP address.

2. How do I upload files to my website?

You can upload files to your website using FTP or SFTP. You can also use the “scp” command to transfer files between your local machine and the server.

3. How do I backup my website?

You can backup your website by creating a copy of the “html” directory and the database. You can use tools like “rsync” or “scp” to transfer the backup files to a remote location.

4. How do I monitor server resources?

You can monitor server resources using tools like “htop” or “top”. You can also install monitoring tools like “Nagios” or “Zabbix” to get real-time data on server resource usage.

5. How do I troubleshoot server errors?

You can troubleshoot server errors by checking the Apache error log at “/var/log/apache2/error.log”. You can also check the PHP error log at “/var/log/apache2/error.log”.