Demo Configure Multiple Sites

In this lesson you’ll configure Nginx to host two different websites on the same server using host-based virtual hosting. Nginx inspects the HTTP Host header and routes requests to the matching server block (site). We’ll create two site configs (example1 and example2), enable them, and test using curl with a custom Host header.

A presentation slide that reads "Configure Multiple Sites" on the left and shows a teal gradient shape on the right with the word "Demo." The bottom-left corner includes "© Copyright KodeKloud."

Overview

Client (browser or curl) sends an HTTP request to the server.
Nginx reads the Host header and selects the server block with a matching server_name.
If no match is found, Nginx serves the default server for that address/port (the first matching server block).

Initial state — remove the default site

Remove the default site so it doesn’t interfere with our example sites, then reload Nginx:

# remove the default symlink (or file) from sites-enabled and reload
root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-enabled# rm default
root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-enabled# nginx -s reload
root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-enabled# curl localhost
curl: (7) Failed to connect to localhost port 80: Connection refused

Explanation: after removing the default server block that listened on port 80, Nginx no longer has a listener for that address/port. Connections to localhost:80 are refused until you enable a site that listens on port 80.

Removing the default site will stop responses on port 80 until at least one valid site is enabled. Ensure you add and enable your site configurations before relying on the server in production.

Create site configurations

Copy the default configuration to use as a template for example1, then edit it:

root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-available# cp default example1
root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-available# vim example1

A minimal, cleaned server block for example1:

server {
    listen 80;
    root /var/www/example1;
    index index.html index.htm;
    server_name www.example1.com;

    location / {
        # try_files will check each option in order and return 404 if none match
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

Notes:

try_files attempts to serve a file or directory; if nothing matches, it returns a 404.
Use a dedicated root directory per site to avoid accidentally serving /var/www/html content.

Create example2 by copying example1 and updating root and server_name:

root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-available# cp example1 example2
# Edit example2 and change:
# root /var/www/example2;
# server_name www.example2.com;

Prepare site content

Create site directories and simple index.html pages:

root@ubuntu-host:~# mkdir -p /var/www/example1 /var/www/example2

root@ubuntu-host:~# cat > /var/www/example1/index.html <<'HTML'
<h1>Example 1!!!</h1>
HTML

root@ubuntu-host:~# cat > /var/www/example2/index.html <<'HTML'
<h1>Example 2!!!</h1>
HTML

Enable the sites, validate, and reload

Create symlinks in sites-enabled, validate the configuration, and reload Nginx:

root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-available# ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example1 /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/example1
root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-available# ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example2 /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/example2

# Validate and reload
root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-available# nginx -t
nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful

root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-available# nginx -s reload

Test using curl with a Host header

Simulate requests for different domains by setting the Host header with curl:

root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-available# curl --header "Host: www.example1.com" localhost
<h1>Example 1!!!</h1>

root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-available# curl --header "Host: www.example2.com" localhost
<h1>Example 2!!!</h1>

# If the Host header doesn't match any server_name, Nginx serves the first matching server block
root@ubuntu-host:/etc/nginx/sites-available# curl --header "Host: anything.com" localhost
<h1>Example 1!!!</h1>

Quick mapping reference:

Request Host header	Served content
`www.example1.com`	`Example 1` page
`www.example2.com`	`Example 2` page
any other host	First enabled server block (`example1` in this setup)

Behavior detail:

When no server_name matches the Host header, Nginx falls back to the default server for that address/port. With multiple enabled files, the fallback is typically the first server block encountered (often determined by alphabetical order of files in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled).

Alternative: multiple server blocks in one file

You can place multiple server { ... } blocks in a single configuration file. Example:

server {
    listen 80;
    root /var/www/example1;
    index index.html index.htm;
    server_name www.example1.com;
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

server {
    listen 80;
    root /var/www/example2;
    index index.html index.htm;
    server_name www.example2.com;
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

Operational considerations:

If both sites are in the same file and that file is deleted or misconfigured, both sites will be affected.
Best practice: keep one site per file in /etc/nginx/sites-available and enable sites with symlinks in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled to limit the blast radius and simplify rollbacks.

Final reminders

Always run nginx -t after editing configuration files to validate syntax.
After a successful test, reload Nginx with nginx -s reload to apply changes.
Creating/editing files under /etc/nginx/sites-available alone does not activate a site — remember to create corresponding symlinks in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled.

Keep each site’s configuration separate (one file per site) and use symlinks in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled for better isolation and safer rollbacks.

That’s it for this lesson.

Introduction

Install & Config

Intermediate Config

Security

Performance

Conclusion

Demo Configure Multiple Sites

Overview

Initial state — remove the default site

Create site configurations

Prepare site content

Enable the sites, validate, and reload

Test using curl with a Host header

Alternative: multiple server blocks in one file

Final reminders

Links and references

Watch Video

Practice Lab

​Overview

​Initial state — remove the default site

​Create site configurations

​Prepare site content

​Enable the sites, validate, and reload

​Test using curl with a Host header

​Alternative: multiple server blocks in one file

​Final reminders

​Links and references

Watch Video

Practice Lab

Overview

Initial state — remove the default site

Create site configurations

Prepare site content

Enable the sites, validate, and reload

Test using curl with a Host header

Alternative: multiple server blocks in one file

Final reminders

Links and references