How to host my webpage using https or a domain

Heya

Great job getting your webpage up and running on nginx.

For HTTPS, you’ll need an SSL certificate. Here’s the thing though - you can’t get a proper SSL certificate for just an IP address. SSL certificates are issued for domain names, not IPs. So you’ll actually need to get a domain name first before you can set up HTTPS properly.

Once you have a domain, the easiest way to get HTTPS working is using Let’s Encrypt (it’s free!) with a tool called Certbot. Here’s how:

Install Certbot:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Get your certificate and auto-configure nginx:

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

Certbot will automatically modify your nginx config to enable HTTPS and even set up auto-renewal!

2. Using a Domain Name

You’ll need to:

a) Buy a domain from a registrar like Namecheap, Google Domains, or any other provider you prefer.

b) Point your domain to your server by adding an A record in your domain’s DNS settings:

• Type: A
• Name: @ (for root domain) or www (for www subdomain)
• Value: Your DigitalOcean server’s IP address
• TTL: 3600 (or whatever default they suggest)

c) Update your nginx config to use your domain name:

server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;

d) Reload nginx:

sudo nginx -t  # Test the config first
sudo systemctl reload nginx

DNS changes can take a few minutes to a few hours to propagate, so be patient!

Once your domain is working, then run the Certbot command I mentioned above, and you’ll have HTTPS working too.

Heya, @kristosh

If you want proper HTTPS with a domain (recommended): point a domain to your Droplet and use Let’s Encrypt (free, trusted).

In your DNS, create an A record for your domain to your Droplet’s IPv4 (and AAAA to IPv6 if you have it). Example:

example.com -> A -> YOUR_IPV4

www.example.com -> CNAME -> example.com (or another A if you prefer

• Update Nginx to answer for your domain:

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    root /var/www/html;
    index index.html;

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

sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx

• Open firewall for HTTPS:

sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
sudo ufw delete allow 'Nginx HTTP' 2>/dev/null || true

• Install Certbot and get certs (Ubuntu):

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com -d www.example.com

Certbot will install the certificate, enable HTTPS, and set up auto-renewal. You’ll have a clean lock icon and no warnings.

Quick tips: keep your site in /var/www/html as you have, run sudo nginx -t before reloads, and use sudo journalctl -u nginx -e if something doesn’t start. If you later add a domain, just repeat the Certbot command with the new -d names.

Hope that this helps!