# How to Install Nginx server on Ubuntu and SSL setup

https://www.hostcarts.qa/knowledgebase/article/how-to-install-nginx-server-on-ubuntu-and-ssl-setup

1. **Update Your Server**

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

1. **Install Nginx**

Ubuntu’s default repo already includes Nginx.

sudo apt install nginx -y

Check status:

systemctl status nginx

You should see **active (running)**.

1. **Allow Firewall (UFW)**

If UFW is enabled:

sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'

sudo ufw enable

sudo ufw status

This opens **80 (HTTP)** and **443 (HTTPS)**.

1. **Verify Nginx is Serving Pages**

Open browser:

Code

http://your_server_ip

You should see the default Nginx welcome page.

1. **Create Your Website Directory**

Example for domain: **example.com**

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.com/html

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/example.com/html

sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/example.com

Add a test file:

nano /var/www/example.com/html/index.html

Paste:

Welcome to example.com

1. **Create Nginx Server Block**

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com

Add:

nginx

server {

listen 80;

server_name example.com www.example.com;

root /var/www/example.com/html;

index index.html;

location / {

try_files $uri $uri/ =404;

}

}

Enable it:

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

Disable default site (optional):

sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

1. **Test Configuration**

sudo nginx -t

If OK:

sudo systemctl reload nginx

1. **Enable HTTPS (Let’s Encrypt SSL)**

Install Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Run:

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

Auto-renew test:

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

1. **Optional: Reverse Proxy Setup**

If you want to proxy to Node.js, Python, PHP-FPM, etc.:

nginx

location / {

proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;

proxy_set_header Host $host;

proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;

}

Reload:

sudo systemctl reload nginx