If you have ever wondered about hosting multiple web sites, you must have had the thought cross your mind; do I need a different hosting plan per site, or can I service all these sites using a single server? That’s where a VPS comes in.
A Virtual Private server offers you more control than shared hosting at a reasonable price compared to a dedicated server. The good news is that yes you can definitely host more than one web site on one VPS. The issue is, how to Host Multiple Websites, install it correctly to avoid bottlenecks in the performance, downtime, or security issues.
A VPS or a Virtual Private Server is simply a portion of a physical server that has been divided into a number of virtual environments. Every VPS is a virtual dedicated machine with an independent operating system, storage, CPU share, and memory space. It means that although you share the hardware with other users, your resources are separated.
So can you do it? Yes. You may redirect many domains to the same VPS and set up the server in such a way that each of the domains has its own folder, settings, and resources. It is done by server setup software such as Apache Virtual Hosts or Nginx server blocks. Those instruct the web server on what files to deliver when a visitor enters a given domain.
There are plenty of people who do this daily. One VPS is usually used to host the main site of the company, a blog, and perhaps a landing page to host the campaigns. The agencies establish dozens of client sites on a single machine. The developers may have various projects, each having its domain yet with links to the same VPS. It conserves cash, it makes management easier, and it is thoroughly practical provided that you set it up in the right way.
When you have to run more than one site on the same VPS, it is quite possible to go quite a few ways, and it is often chosen by how well you are used to running your server and what kind of traffic you can expect to get.
The simplest way is to operate only One Web Server such as Apache and to set it to provide various domains. It is a simple process and it does not go wrong unless you overload the server.
Just in case you find working with config files too complicated, there are control panels, including cPanel, Plesk or Virtualmin, which can assist with it. The convenience of use is worth it to many.
In case you are just working on WordPress, you might activate WordPress Multisite and operate everything using a single installation. In this manner, you can handle updates and plugins centrally, and you can map various domains or sub domains when required. It is convenient, but it binds together all the sites in a single WordPress setup, which is not always the best when you require a high level of flexibility.
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Click HereWhen you are attempting to host multiple sites on a VPS, it is not a matter of dropping files into folders and hoping that they will work. There are a few moving parts, which need to get assembled in such a way that every domain knows where to point, the server knows what to serve and the entire system remains secure and fast.
Domains are the first part of the puzzle. In case you intend to have several sites, then you will require several domain names. This implies that you purchase them under a registrar and make them point to your VPS. You do it by modifying DNS records. The most you will be Dealing with is A records, which will relate your domain to the IP address of the server. The CNAME records and MX records may also be involved in case you deal with email and subdomains.
One of the most frequent errors that humans make is to get DNS wrong. To illustrate, setting up two domains to use the same IP address without remembering to set up server blocks will simply take both domains to the same site. That is why the second one is required: web server configuration.
Once a person accesses your site the web server determines the files that will be sent back. Apache requires you to configure Virtual Hosts. In Nginx, it is referred to as server blocks. Both allow you to have more than one domain running on the same IP with each domain mapping to a directory in the server.
Apache is generally easier to learn since it is old and has a lot of documentation. Nginx is more resource-light and has superiority in dealing with high traffic. When you have a VPS that has a small amount of memory and your growth will be required, Nginx tends to be the better choice. There are even hosting providers that provide you a ready-to-use stack that consists of both (Nginx as reverse proxy and Apache as a dynamic request server).
You may be in need of a control panel in case the very thought of editing config files causes your head to spin. Such tools as cPanel, Plesk, or Webmin/Virtualmin provide you with a graphic dashboard. You are able to add new domains, create email accounts, and manage the SSL without interacting with the command line. Their tradeoff is that they consume additional resources and are even expensive. In a small VPS, every single bit of RAM is important and therefore some users choose to do everything manually.
It can also be assisted with the help of automation tools such as Ansible or Docker. As an illustration, when you have more than a single WordPress site, then it becomes possible to isolate a site with Docker containers which simplifies its management and upgrade.
The Issue of Security is Even of Greater Concern when you are putting several sites on the same VPS. When one site is hacked and you have not separated things accordingly, the attacker might access all the contents of the server. To avoid that, isolate websites into separate directories with strict file permissions.
You’ll also want to install SSL certificates for each domain. Let’s Encrypt makes this free and easy. Firewalls, intrusion detection system and periodic patching are also important. A password policy, even so basic, can be the difference between a secure multi-site host and a hacked server.
The more sites you have on one VPS, the more cautious you should be of its performance. All sites require CPU cycles, memory and disk I/O. When you overload the server, then all sites will slow down.
You can use monitoring tools such as htop, Netdata, or server dashboards to monitor resource usage. Caching is also a lifesaver. Software such as Redis, Memcached, or Nginx FastCGI cache can also help to reduce the load by loading pages back into memory rather than re-generating them each time a request is made. Once you start experiencing spikes in usage, then it is time to scale your VPS plan.
It may seem overwhelming at first to set up several sites on one VPS, but it is not as difficult as it may seem when broken down into easy to follow steps.
Get a VPS with enough resources: The first step is to ensure your VPS Plan is capable of supporting what you are building in terms of horsepower. Consider CPU cores, memory, and storage. A little breathing room will help you out now to save you from slowdowns later.
Point your domains to the VPS IP: The second step is to log in to your domain registrar and change the DNS records to make your domains aware of what to do. The propagation of DNS changes may also take a certain amount of time, and there is no need to panic that things will not change immediately.
Install a web server: A web server is required in your VPS to provide the content when one enters a domain. Apache and Nginx are the two commonly used options.. Apache is said to be user-friendly and has extensive community documentation. Nginx is more efficient in high loads and consumes less resources. Both will be suitable to support several sites, and it usually goes down to a matter of preference and traffic requirements.
Configure virtual hosts or server blocks: After installation of your web server, you will be required to inform your web server on how to process multiple domains. This is achieved by Virtual Hosts in Apache. In Nginx it is processed using server blocks. Both of them map a domain name to a particular folder on your VPS such that when a visitor enters your domain, he/she sees the correct web site. Without this, the whole domains would simply default into loading the same site.
Create separate folders for each site: Keep everything organized and safe, create a separate directory in each site. So you can have /var/www/site1 and /var/www/site2. This isolation allows one to manage files easier and also decreases the chances of one broken site spilling its content and intruding on another.
Install SSL certificates: The security is non-negotiable and browsers now alert about websites that do not have HTTPS. The easiest way is to use Let’s Encrypt and Certbot. It is free, can support various domains, and can automatically renew certificates, so that you do not need to remember to renew every 90 days. Install the setup once on a domain and you are all set.
Restart and test webserver: Once you have made some configuration changes, restart your web server in order that the new settings will be utilized. Then browse each domain. Ensure that they have loaded the right content, the padlock on the site is open, and that all is not configured wrong. This is the stage in which minor errors tend to occur and, therefore, it is better to be sure before proceeding.
Set up backups: Do not put several websites on a VPS without having a backup plan. It is important to have Full-Server Backups and Site-by-site Backups regardless of whether you use VPS provider snapshots, rsync scripts, or a managed backup service. Then when something fails you are not starting all over again.
Expert tip: when you feel that you might be adding more websites in the future, take a staging environment on the same VPS. You can safely test updates, new plug ins or large changes without putting your live sites in danger. When you are sure that everything is fine, you can take the changes to production.
Having multiple domains running on a single VPS has its apparent benefits, yet it carries drawbacks that are not always immediately obvious to people during the beginning.
The advantages are self-explanatory: it is less expensive and less complex to maintain. You also do not need to run multiple hosting accounts or pay to have server X and server Y when one VPS is capable of running both. You have centralized control, flexibility and can scale up the traffic as it increases.
The downside is risk. Unless you are knowledgeable of how to set things correctly, failure can happen with all sites. A single breached location would leave the door open to everyone. And what happens if you do not properly estimate how many resources you will require? You may have all your websites running at the same rate.
Multi-site hosting does not require everybody to go the VPS route. Other arrangements are less complex, whereas some have more power and flexibility. The examination of the alternatives assists in putting issues in perspective.
Each has its place. Most individuals who seek control on costs and flexibility find it best to run many sites based on a single VPS.
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Click HereIt is absolutely entirely possible to host multiple websites on the same VPS and, in most instances, it is a wise decision. All you have to do is be conscious of the way you set up things, monitor your resources, and practice security. Begin with a VPS plan, which has some room to spare, and add sites at a slow pace, with a watch on performance. When properly done, you will save money, retain control, and have the ability to expand.
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There’s no fixed number. It will be dependent on your VPS resources and the intensity of each site. Ten small blogs would run well on a 4gb RAM VPS, but a single active e-commerce shop would likely consume all of that in its own right.
Not necessarily. With Apache or Nginx, everything can be configured manually. Control panel only simplifies the process when you do not want to deal with the command line.
Yes. You might have a WordPress blog, a Joomla site, and a portfolio of hand-crafted HTML all on the same VPS. You simply set them each individually.
Unless you overload your resources. Performance can remain high as long as you keep a check on CPU and memory consumption and maximize caching.
Managed VPS is a good option in case you do not want to worry about updates, patches and monitoring. It is more expensive, but it will relieve you of the burden of being the sysadmin.
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