| |

How to Set Up Apache Virtual Hosts on Ubuntu

ByAchievoz
how to set up apache virtual hosts ubuntu

In this guide, I’ll show you how to set up Apache Virtual Hosts on Ubuntu. Virtual Hosts allow you to run multiple websites on a single Apache server, making it a powerful feature for anyone managing multiple domains or projects.

Whether you’re hosting several sites on a single machine or setting up development environments, this step-by-step guide will help you configure and manage virtual hosts efficiently. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have the skills to host multiple websites on your Ubuntu server with ease. Let’s get started!

What Are Apache Virtual Hosts?

Apache Virtual Hosts is a feature that allows you to host multiple websites on a single server. Instead of needing a separate physical or virtual server for each website, Apache Virtual Hosts lets you configure multiple domain names and websites to run independently, all from the same Apache installation. This is especially useful for developers, businesses, and hosting providers who manage multiple domains or projects.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following:

  1. Ubuntu Server: Ensure you have a running version of Ubuntu with a user who has sudo privileges
  2. A terminal or SSH client to connect to your server
  3. Apache Installed: Apache must be installed on your Ubuntu server. If it’s not already installed, you can follow our guide on How to Set Up Apache Web Server on Ubuntu
  4. Domain Names: You should have one or more domains or subdomains you want to use for your virtual hosts. For testing purposes, you can also use dummy domains or local domains.

Step 1: Create the Directory Structure for Your Site

By default, Apache comes with a basic site enabled found in /var/www/html.

With virtual hosts we will create our own folder, which will encapsulate configuration details for our domain.

Remember to replace example.com with your actual domain name. If you plan on hosting more websites, you’ll need to create separate directories for each site you plan to host.

ShellScript
sudo mkdir /var/www/example.com/


The example.com folder will be where you store the website files for your domain.

Go to that file location.

ShellScript
cd /var/www/example.com/


Assign the ownership to your current user.

ShellScript
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/example.com
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/example.com


We will create a simple website that we can use to play around with. You can always update the code later.

Step 2: Create a Demo Page for Your Site

Create a new file index.html in the /var/www/example.com/ folder.

ShellScript
sudo nano index.html


Paste in the following code.

HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>My Simple Website</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to My Simple Website</h1>
    <p>This is a very basic webpage with Virtual Hosts Enabled.</p>
    <p>© 2024 My Simple Website</p>
</body>
</html>


This will create a basic HTML file to confirm that the virtual host is functioning properly.

Step 3: Create Virtual Host Configuration Files

In order for Apache to serve the code in the index.html file, we need to create a virtual hosts configuration file.

By default, these files are stored in the /etc/apache2/sites-available/ directory.

As we are setting up our own virtual hosts configuration, go to this directory and create a new file for yout domain.

ShellScript
cd /etc/apache2/sites-available/
sudo touch example.com.conf


Add the following configuration (replace example.com with your domain name):

Apache
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin admin@example.com
    ServerName example.com
    ServerAlias www.example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com/public_html
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Step 4: Enable the Virtual Hosts

Now, you need to enable the newly created virtual host file using the a2ensite command:

ShellScript
sudo a2ensite example.com.conf
sudo systemctl reload apache2


To ensure no conflicts, you should disable the default Apache site:

ShellScript
sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf


Finally, reload Apache to apply the changes.

ShellScript
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Step 5: Test Your Configuration

Apache will now be serving your example.com configuration files instead of the default site. To test if the virtual hosts are set up correctly, open a web browser and enter the domain name http://example.com.

It should look similar to this:

virtual hosts apache

Step 6: Secure Your Server with SSL (Optional)

If you plan to use HTTPS, you’ll need to enable SSL for each virtual host. Apache provides a simple way to do this using Let's Encrypt:

Since almost all modern websites use HTTPS for secure and encrypted communication over the internet, this step is highly recommended if you plan to use your website for other than testing purposes.

First, install Certbot:

ShellScript
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache


Once Certbot is installed, get an SSL certificate for your domain:

ShellScript
sudo certbot --apache -d example.com -d www.example.com

Certbot will ask you for an email address (for renewal notifications and urgent security notices). You will need to agree to the Let’s Encrypt terms of service.

Automatic Certificate Renewal:

Let’s Encrypt certificates are valid for 90 days, but Certbot automatically configures your system to renew them. You can test the renewal process by running:

ShellScript
sudo certbot renew --dry-run


Restart apache

ShellScript
sudo systemctl restart apache2


Check the example.com-le-ssl.conf file

Certbot should have created the file example.com-le-ssl.conf in the folder /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com-le-ssl.conf. Lets check it has been configured correctly. Again, remember to change example.com with your actual domain.

Open the file:

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


The file might contain something already. If its empty, just paste in the following, if it isn’t empty, remove the content and paste in the following:

Apache
<VirtualHost *:443>
	ServerAdmin admin@example.com
	ServerName example.com
	ServerAlias www.example.com
	DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com
	ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
	CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

Include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-apache.conf
SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem
SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem
</VirtualHost>


The final thing we need to do, is to go back to the file /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf, and add a redirect command.

This will redirect all attempts to access http://example.com to https://example.com.

Open the file:

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


Add the following highlighted line:

Apache
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin admin@example.com
    ServerName example.com
    ServerAlias www.example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com/public_html
    Redirect permanent / https://example.com/
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Conclusion

You’ve now successfully set up Apache Virtual Hosts on Ubuntu! This configuration allows you to host multiple websites or domains efficiently from a single server. Whether you’re managing different projects, testing environments, or live domains, Apache Virtual Hosts provides a flexible and scalable solution. Remember to periodically update and maintain your server to keep everything running smoothly.

Similar Posts