Requirements

Host multiple websites on the same server using Apache. Each website should have its own isolated space and be accessed using a different domain name.

Solution

Set up Virtual Hosts in Apache. Here's how:

1. Create Configuration Files

I'm using httpd (commonly found on Red Hat-based systems such as CentOS, Fedora, etc). The configuration files are generally located at:

• Main configuration file: /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

This file is used for global server settings.

• Virtual Host configuration: /etc/httpd/conf.d/

This directory usually contains additional configuration files for virtual hosts, such as yourdomain1.com.conf and yourdomain2.com.conf. You can either configure all virtual hosts in one file or create a separate file for each — the choice depends on your personal preference.

Assuming your domain is yourdomain1.com, create a new configuration file:
/etc/httpd/conf.d/yourdomain1.com.conf.

2. Add Configuration

<VirtualHost *:443>
    ServerAdmin webmaster@yourdomain1.com
    ServerName yourdomain1.com
    ServerAlias www.yourdomain1.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/yourdomain1.com/html

    SSLEngine on
    SSLCertificateFile /etc/pki/tls/certs/yourdomain1.com.crt
    SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/pki/tls/private/yourdomain1.com.key

    <Directory /var/www/yourdomain1.com/html>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog /var/log/httpd/error.log
    CustomLog /var/log/httpd/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

# Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName yourdomain1.com
    ServerAlias www.yourdomain1.com
    Redirect permanent / https://yourdomain1.com/
</VirtualHost>

3. Enable Site Configuration and Restart Apache

Enable the site configuration:

sudo a2ensite yourdomain1.com.conf

Restart Apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

4. Point the Domain to Your Server

Update DNS records at your domain registrar by adding an A record to point the domain to your server’s public IP. Apache will automatically use the corresponding virtual host configuration based on the accessed domain.