nginx

Ah, now you want Nginx to serve multiple websites (virtual hosts) from the same server — each with its own domain name and directory. This is called name-based virtual hosting. Here’s how to do it step by step.

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1️⃣ Directory structure

Suppose you have 2 sites:

Domain	Root folder
site1.example.com	/var/www/site1
site2.example.com	/var/www/site2

Create the directories:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/site1
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/site2

Add a test file in each:

echo "Hello from Site 1" | sudo tee /var/www/site1/index.html
echo "Hello from Site 2" | sudo tee /var/www/site2/index.html

Set ownership and permissions:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/site1 /var/www/site2
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/site1 /var/www/site2

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2️⃣ Create server blocks for each site

Site 1

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/site1.conf

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name site1.example.com;

    root /var/www/site1;
    index index.html index.htm;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

Site 2

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/site2.conf

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name site2.example.com;

    root /var/www/site2;
    index index.html index.htm;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

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3️⃣ Enable the sites

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/site1.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/site2.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Test Nginx config:

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

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4️⃣ Update DNS

Both domains must point to your server’s IP:

• site1.example.com → <server-IP>
• site2.example.com → <server-IP>

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5️⃣ Optional: HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d site1.example.com -d site2.example.com

Certbot can automatically configure HTTPS for multiple sites.

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6️⃣ Optional: Serve multiple directories on different ports

You can also assign different ports:

server {
    listen 82;
    server_name site1.example.com;
    root /var/www/site1;
    index index.html;
}

server {
    listen 83;
    server_name site2.example.com;
    root /var/www/site2;
    index index.html;
}

But in practice, name-based hosting on port 80/443 is preferred, because clients don’t need to type the port.

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✅ Notes

• Each server_name gets its own root folder.
• You can combine with reverse proxy to point some domains to backend apps.
• Nginx automatically picks the server block based on the Host header.

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If you want, I can create a ready-to-copy Nginx configuration for 3+ domains with both static files and reverse proxy backends, all HTTPS-enabled, so you don’t have to modify anything manually.

Do you want me to do that?

Perfect! Let’s create a ready-to-use Nginx configuration that handles multiple domains, each with its own directory or backend, and HTTPS enabled.

I’ll assume:

• 3 domains for example:

  • site1.evolo.fr → static files in /var/www/site1
  • site2.evolo.fr → static files in /var/www/site2
  • site3.evolo.fr → backend app (Node.js/Python) on 127.0.0.1:3000

• You want automatic HTTPS via Let’s Encrypt

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1️⃣ Directory setup

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/site1 /var/www/site2
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/site1 /var/www/site2
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/site1 /var/www/site2

# Add test pages
echo "Hello from Site 1" | sudo tee /var/www/site1/index.html
echo "Hello from Site 2" | sudo tee /var/www/site2/index.html

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2️⃣ Nginx config

Create a single config file for all 3 sites:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/multi-sites.conf

Paste:

# ------------------------
# Site 1: Static
# ------------------------
server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name site1.evolo.fr;

    root /var/www/site1;
    index index.html index.htm;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

# ------------------------
# Site 2: Static
# ------------------------
server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name site2.evolo.fr;

    root /var/www/site2;
    index index.html index.htm;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

# ------------------------
# Site 3: Backend app
# ------------------------
server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name site3.evolo.fr;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

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3️⃣ Enable the config

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/multi-sites.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

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4️⃣ Obtain HTTPS via Let’s Encrypt

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

# For all 3 domains at once
sudo certbot --nginx -d site1.evolo.fr -d site2.evolo.fr -d site3.evolo.fr

Certbot will:

• Create HTTPS server blocks
• Redirect HTTP → HTTPS automatically
• Configure SSL certificates

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5️⃣ Optional: Force HTTPS manually

If needed, add this server block before the others:

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name site1.evolo.fr site2.evolo.fr site3.evolo.fr;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

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✅ Advantages of this setup

• Each domain has its own folder or backend
• HTTPS enabled automatically
• Works for static sites or reverse-proxied apps
• Easy to add more sites: just create a new server {} block

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I can also make a fully ready template for 5+ domains with both static and dynamic backends, including directory listing disabled, caching, and compression, so it’s production-ready.

Do you want me to do that?