Create an Nginx Server Block (Virtual Host) for Your Site

A server block (also called a virtual host) tells Nginx which domain to listen for and where to find your website files. This guide shows you how to set one up.

Step 1: Create your website directory

Create a directory to store your site's files (replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain):

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/yourdomain.com/html
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/yourdomain.com/logs

Set ownership to the web user:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/yourdomain.com/html

Step 2: Create a test index page

Create a simple HTML file to verify the site works:

sudo bash -c 'echo "<h1>Welcome to yourdomain.com</h1>" > /var/www/yourdomain.com/html/index.html'

Step 3: Create the Nginx server block

Create a new config file for your domain:

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

Paste this configuration (replace yourdomain.com and your-server-ip with your values):

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

    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;

    root /var/www/yourdomain.com/html;
    index index.html index.htm;

    access_log /var/www/yourdomain.com/logs/access.log;
    error_log /var/www/yourdomain.com/logs/error.log;

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

Save the file (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X in nano).

Step 4: Enable the server block

Create a symbolic link in the sites-enabled directory:

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

Step 5: Test the configuration

Check for syntax errors:

sudo nginx -t

You should see: syntax is ok and test is successful.

Step 6: Reload Nginx

Apply the new configuration:

sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 7: Point your domain to your server

In your domain registrar (or DNS provider), add an A record:

• Type: A
• Name: @ (or yourdomain.com)
• Value: your-server-ip
• TTL: 3600 (or default)

Also add a CNAME for www:

• Type: CNAME
• Name: www
• Value: yourdomain.com
• TTL: 3600 (or default)

Wait 5–15 minutes for DNS to propagate, then visit http://yourdomain.com in your browser.

Tips

• To disable a site without deleting it: sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/yourdomain.com
• To re-enable it: sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/yourdomain.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/yourdomain.com
• Always run sudo nginx -t after editing config files to catch mistakes early
• Use HTTPS instead of HTTP for production sites (set up an SSL certificate with Let's Encrypt)