The Easiest Guide to Install and Configure Nginx on Ubuntu 20.04

Nginx is a powerful and popular web server known for its speed, reliability, and versatility. It's a favorite for hosting high-traffic websites and applications. Are you ready to get your website up and running? This step-by-step guide will teach you exactly how to install Nginx on Ubuntu 20.04.

Why Choose Nginx? Top Benefits Explained

Nginx is great for several reasons:

• High Performance: Handles lots of traffic without bogging down.
• Reverse Proxy: Improves security and load balancing
• Lightweight: Doesn't use many server resources.

Prerequisites: What You Need Before You Start

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• An Ubuntu 20.04 server.
• A non-root user with sudo privileges (follow the Initial Server Setup Guide if needed).
• (Optional) A registered domain name.

Once you are ready, log in to your server as the non-root user.

Step 1: Installing Nginx the Easy Way

Nginx is available in Ubuntu's default repositories, making installation a breeze:

1. Update your package index:

sudo apt update

2. Install Nginx:

sudo apt install nginx

This will install Nginx and all necessary dependencies.

Step 2: Configure the Firewall to Allow Traffic

To make your web server accessible, you need to adjust the firewall.

1. List available ufw application profiles:

sudo ufw app list

2. Enable the Nginx HTTP profile that allows traffic on port 80:

sudo ufw allow 'Nginx HTTP'

3. Verify the firewall changes:

sudo ufw status

Step 3: Check Your Web Server: Is Nginx Running?

Confirm that Nginx is running as expected. Ubuntu 20.04 starts Nginx automatically after installation.

1. Check the service status using systemd:

systemctl status nginx

A status showing "active (running)" confirms that Nginx is up.

2. Access the default Nginx landing page by entering your server's IP address in a web browser. If you don't know your server's IP address:

curl -4 icanhazip.com

Enter the displayed IP address into your browser. You should see the default Nginx landing page assuring you that everything is working correctly.

Step 4: Essential Nginx Management Commands

Here's how to manage the Nginx process:

• Stop: sudo systemctl stop nginx
• Start: sudo systemctl start nginx
• Restart: sudo systemctl restart nginx
• Reload (for configuration changes): sudo systemctl reload nginx
• Disable auto-start on boot: sudo systemctl disable nginx
• Enable auto-start on boot: sudo systemctl enable nginx

Step 5: Setting Up Server Blocks (Virtual Hosts)

Server blocks allow you to host multiple websites on a single server. Here's how to configure them:

1. Create a directory for your domain (replace your_domain with your actual domain name):

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/your_domain/html

2. Assign ownership to the directory:

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/your_domain/html

3. Set the correct permissions on the directory:

sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/your_domain

4. Create an index.html file in the directory:

sudo nano /var/www/your_domain/html/index.html

5. Add sample HTML content to the index.html file:

 
 
 Welcome to your_domain! 
 
 
 Success! The your_domain server block is working! 
 
 

6. Create a new server block configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/your_domain

7. Paste in the following configuration, replacing your_domain with your actual domain:

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;

    root /var/www/your_domain/html;
    index index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html;

    server_name your_domain www.your_domain;

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

8. Enable the server block by creating a symbolic link:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/your_domain /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

9. Adjust server_names_hash_bucket_size in /etc/nginx/nginx.conf to avoid potential issues:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Uncomment the line server_names_hash_bucket_size 64; by removing the # symbol.

10. Test for syntax errors:

sudo nginx -t

11. Restart Nginx to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

12. Visit your domain in a web browser. You should see the index.html page you created.

Step 6: Important Nginx Files and Directories Explained

• /var/www/html: Default directory for web content.
• /etc/nginx: Main Nginx configuration directory.
• /etc/nginx/nginx.conf: Main configuration file.
• /etc/nginx/sites-available: Directory for storing server block files.
• /etc/nginx/sites-enabled: Directory for enabled server blocks (symbolic links to files in sites-available).
• /etc/nginx/snippets: Directory for reusable configuration snippets.
• /var/log/nginx/access.log: Logs every request to your web server.
• /var/log/nginx/error.log: Records any Nginx errors.

Next Steps: What To Do After Install Nginx on Ubuntu 20.04

You've successfully set up Nginx! Here are some great next steps:

• Set up a LEMP stack: For dynamic websites, install Linux, Nginx, MySQL, and PHP.
• Secure Nginx with Let's Encrypt: Enable HTTPS for secure connections.

Now you know how to install Nginx on Ubuntu 20.04! You're on your way to hosting your own high-performance websites and applications.