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Hosting a website on your own VPS isn’t hard once you see the whole flow. Here it is, end to end.

1. Get a VPS and point your domain at it

Buy a VPS (RackNerd’s $22/yr plan is fine for a static or low-traffic site) and create an A record at your DNS provider pointing your domain to the VPS’s IP address.

Get a cheap VPS for your site

2. Install nginx

On Ubuntu 24.04:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y nginx
sudo systemctl enable --now nginx

Visit your domain — you should see the nginx welcome page.

3. Put your site files in place

Static files go in /var/www/html. For a real workflow, build your site and copy it there:

sudo cp -r ./public/* /var/www/html/

4. Add HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com

Certbot edits your nginx config and renews automatically. Your site now serves over HTTPS.

5. Set up automatic deployment (optional)

Use a git pull + rebuild script, or GitHub Actions to deploy on push. Then updating the site is one command.

Which VPS for what

  • Static site / low-traffic blog → RackNerd 1 GB is plenty
  • WordPress / higher traffic → Hostinger’s 4 GB KVM 1 with its easier panel
Want an easier managed route? See Hostinger

Bottom line: DNS → nginx → HTTPS is the whole game. Any KVM VPS can do it; the “which one” just depends on your traffic and comfort level.