How to host your own website - Rocketeers app [ Rocketeers ](/) [Login](https://rocketeersapp.com/login) On this page Knowledge --------- How to host your own website ============================ ### [\#Hosting](https://rocketeersapp.com/knowledge/hosting) Hosting a website yourself means turning a bare server into a secure, fast, production-ready machine. Here is the full picture — every step, in order, with a guide for each one. Published by [Mark van Eijk](https://rocketeersapp.com/author/mark-van-eijk) on June 30, 2026 · 3 minute read 1. [1. Get and secure a server](#content-1-get-and-secure-a-server) 2. [2. Install the web server](#content-2-install-the-web-server) 3. [3. Install PHP](#content-3-install-php) 4. [4. Install a database](#content-4-install-a-database) 5. [5. Install Node.js](#content-5-install-nodejs) 6. [6. Point your domain and add SSL](#content-6-point-your-domain-and-add-ssl) 7. [7. Deploy your code](#content-7-deploy-your-code) 8. [8. Make it production-ready](#content-8-make-it-production-ready) 9. [9. Verify before you launch](#content-9-verify-before-you-launch) 10. [So… should you do all this yourself?](#content-so-should-you-do-all-this-yourself) 11. [Let Rocketeers handle it](#content-let-rocketeers-handle-it) "Just get a server and put your site on it" hides a surprising amount of work. A fresh Ubuntu box is a blank machine: no web server, no PHP, no database, no certificate, no firewall, no backups. Turning it into something you'd trust with real traffic is a sequence of steps, each with its own pitfalls. This is the whole map, in order, so you can see what hosting your own site actually involves — and follow a dedicated guide for each part. [\#](#content-1-get-and-secure-a-server "Permalink")1. Get and secure a server ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Start with a virtual server from a cloud provider — DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Vultr, AWS, or similar — running a current Ubuntu LTS. Before anything else, lock it down: - [Connect over SSH](/connect-to-server-ssh-command) using a key, and disable password login. - Disable root login and consider [changing the SSH port](/change-ssh-port-ubuntu). - Enable a firewall (`ufw`) that allows only SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS. - [Add swap space](/add-swap-space-on-ubuntu) so a memory spike doesn't take the box down. Skipping this step is how servers get compromised within hours of going online. [\#](#content-2-install-the-web-server "Permalink")2. Install the web server ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Nginx](/how-to-install-nginx) is the front door — it answers every request, serves static files, and hands dynamic requests to your application. You'll set up a server block per site and learn the [try\_files directive](/nginx-try-files) that routes requests correctly. [\#](#content-3-install-php "Permalink")3. Install PHP ------------------------------------------------------ [Install PHP and PHP-FPM](/how-to-install-php) from the ondrej/php repository, with the extensions your application needs. If you host more than one site, you'll likely want [multiple PHP versions side by side](/how-to-install-multiple-php-versions-on-same-server). Then [tune php.ini](/important-php-config-options) for production — the defaults are not. [\#](#content-4-install-a-database "Permalink")4. Install a database -------------------------------------------------------------------- [Install MySQL](/how-to-install-mysql) (or PostgreSQL), secure it, and create a dedicated database and user for your app — never let it connect as root. You'll want to know how to [import](/import-database-mysql-command-line) and [export](/export-database-mysql-command-line) data, too. [\#](#content-5-install-nodejs "Permalink")5. Install Node.js ------------------------------------------------------------- Most modern sites compile their frontend assets, so [install Node.js](/how-to-install-nodejs) to run the build step during deployment. [\#](#content-6-point-your-domain-and-add-ssl "Permalink")6. Point your domain and add SSL ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Set your DNS records to point at the server — [Cloudflare](/what-is-cloudflare) is a fast, free option that adds a CDN and DDoS protection on top. - Issue a trusted certificate with [Certbot](/how-to-install-certbot). - Set up [automatic renewal](/renew-ssl-certificates-automatically) so it never expires. - Tighten the configuration toward an [A+ SSL grade](/a-plus-grade-ssl-using-cloudflare). Without a valid certificate, every visitor sees [your connection is not private](/your-connection-is-not-private). [\#](#content-7-deploy-your-code "Permalink")7. Deploy your code ---------------------------------------------------------------- Now actually get your application onto the server. Doing it properly means [zero-downtime deployments](/zero-downtime-php-deployments): separate release folders, an atomic symlink swap, and the ability to roll back instantly — not overwriting live files in place. [\#](#content-8-make-it-production-ready "Permalink")8. Make it production-ready -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The work that separates a hobby setup from a real one: - **Performance** — [enable gzip/Brotli](/enable-gzip-compression-nginx) and [OPcache](/enable-opcache-php), and watch your [time to first byte](/ttfb). - **Security** — set security headers, keep debug mode off, and review [application security](/optimize-web-application-security). - **Backups** — schedule [database backups](/backup-mysql-databases-single-file) and test a restore. A backup you've never restored isn't a backup. - **Monitoring** — uptime and error alerts so you hear about problems first. [\#](#content-9-verify-before-you-launch "Permalink")9. Verify before you launch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Run the [website validation tools](/tools-to-validate-website) and work through the [launch checklist](/website-checklist) so nothing slips through. [\#](#content-so-should-you-do-all-this-yourself "Permalink")So… should you do all this yourself? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You absolutely can — and doing it once is the best way to understand how a server actually works. But notice what you've signed up for: not just the install, but the upkeep. Security patches, certificate renewals, PHP upgrades, backups you have to verify, and monitoring you have to watch — forever, for every site and every server. [\#](#content-let-rocketeers-handle-it "Permalink")Let Rocketeers handle it --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everything on this page — securing the server, installing and tuning Nginx, PHP, MySQL, and Node, issuing and renewing certificates, wiring up Cloudflare, deploying with zero downtime, backups, and monitoring — is exactly what Rocketeers does for you. You connect a server and a repository; it provisions the stack the production way and keeps it running. The point of understanding all these steps is knowing what you're getting back when you stop doing them by hand. ### Subscribe to our newsletter Do you want to receive regular updates with fresh and exclusive content to learn more about web development, hosting, security and performance? Subscribe now! 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