Build Your Own Static Site Using Nginx On Debian

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Prerequisites

  • A Debian-based server
  • Root Or Sudo privileges

Step 1: Update Your System

Start by updating your package list and upgrading the system to make sure everything is up-to-date.

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sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install NGINX

Install NGINX from the official Debian Repo

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sudo apt install nginx -y

Step 3: Start and Enable Nginx

Start the NGINX service and enable it to start automatically on boot.

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sudo systemctl start nginx 
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Step 4 (Optional): Allow NGINX Through the Firewall

If running a firewall you need to allow traffic on the HTTP and HTTPS ports

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sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'

Step 5: Create a Directory for Your Website

Create a directory to store your static website files. For example, we create a website directory.

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

Step 6: Add Your Website Files

Now, place your website’s file (HTML, CSS, JS, image, etc) into the directory you just created.
For Example, let’s create a simple index.html file

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echo "<html><head><title>My Website</title></head><body><h1>Welcome to My Website</h1></body></html>" | sudo tee /var/www/mywebsite/html/index.html > /dev/null

Step 7: Set Permissions

Set the appropriate ownership and permission for the web directory 

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sudo chown -R www-data: www-data /var/www/mywebsite/html
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/mywebsite

Step 8: Configure NGINX for Your Website

Now, you need to create a new configuration file for your website. NGINX configuration files are located
in /etc/nginx/sites-available/ and /etc/nginx/site-enabled/
Create a new file for your website under /etc/nginx/site-available/:

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sudo nano /etc/nginx/site-available/mywebsite

Add the following configuration to the file:

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server {
    listen 80;
    server_name mywebsite.com www.mywebsite.com;  # Replace with your domain name or IP address

    root /var/www/mywebsite/html;  # Path to your website directory
    index index.html;

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

Step 9: Enable the Site

Create a symbolic link in the site-enable directory to enable the site.

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

Step 10: Test the NGINX Configuration

Before restarting NGINX, its important to test the configuration for syntax errors.

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sudo nginx -t

If there are no errors, you’ll see a message saying that the syntax is ok. If there are errors, resolve them before proceeding.

Step 11: Restart NGINX

Restart NGINX to apply the new configuration

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sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 12: Access Your Website

Now, open a web browser and navigate to your server’s IP address or domain name (e.g.,
http://your_server_ip or http://mywebsite.com). You Should see your static website!

Step 13: Optional - Setting Up SSL with Let’s Encrypt (HTTPS)

For enhanced security, you might want to set up SSL using Let’s Encrypt. Here how you can do that:

  1. Install Certbot:
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sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

2.Obtain an SSL certificate:

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sudo certbot --nginx -d mywebsite.com -d www.mywebsite.com

3.Certbot will automatically configure SSL for your NGINX server and reload it.

Step 14: Renewing SSL Certificates

Let’s Encrypt certificates expires after 90 days, so it’s essential to renew them. You can set up a cron job
to automatically renew the certificate:

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sudo crontab -e

Add the following line to check for renewals twice a day:

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0 12 * * * certbot renew --quiet
TOC
  1. 1. Prerequisites
  2. 2. Step 1: Update Your System
  3. 3. Step 2: Install NGINX
  4. 4. Step 3: Start and Enable Nginx
  5. 5. Step 4 (Optional): Allow NGINX Through the Firewall
  6. 6. Step 5: Create a Directory for Your Website
  7. 7. Step 6: Add Your Website Files
  8. 8. Step 7: Set Permissions
  9. 9. Step 8: Configure NGINX for Your Website
  10. 10. Step 9: Enable the Site
  11. 11. Step 10: Test the NGINX Configuration
  12. 12. Step 11: Restart NGINX
  13. 13. Step 12: Access Your Website
  14. 14. Step 13: Optional - Setting Up SSL with Let’s Encrypt (HTTPS)
  15. 15. Step 14: Renewing SSL Certificates