Apache Virtual Hosts Setup on Ubuntu & AlmaLinux

Apache virtual hosts let one server host many websites, each with its own domain, document root and logs. Apache picks the right site by reading the domain the visitor requested. This guide installs Apache and sets up virtual hosts on both Debian-style and RHEL-style systems.

Before you start

A Linux VPS with root or sudo access.
Domains with A records pointing to the server.
Ports 80 and 443 open in the firewall.

On cPanel servers, virtual hosts are generated automatically – do not edit them by hand. This guide is for self-managed servers.

Install Apache

Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install -y apache2 (service apache2, configs in /etc/apache2/).
AlmaLinux/Rocky: sudo dnf install -y httpd && sudo systemctl enable --now httpd (configs in /etc/httpd/).

Create the site folder

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.com/public_html
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/example.com/public_html
echo 'It works' > /var/www/example.com/public_html/index.html

Add a virtual host

Create the config: on Ubuntu /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf, on AlmaLinux /etc/httpd/conf.d/example.com.conf.

Add:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName example.com
    ServerAlias www.example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com/public_html

    <Directory /var/www/example.com/public_html>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/example.com-error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/example.com-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

On AlmaLinux replace ${APACHE_LOG_DIR} with /var/log/httpd.

On Ubuntu enable the site and mod_rewrite:

sudo a2ensite example.com.conf && sudo a2enmod rewrite

Test and reload:

sudo apachectl configtest && sudo systemctl reload apache2

Use httpd instead of apache2 on AlmaLinux.

AllowOverride All enables .htaccess files, which most PHP apps expect.

Use the event MPM with PHP-FPM

The event MPM handles many connections with less memory than prefork. Pair it with PHP-FPM:

Ubuntu:

sudo apt install -y php-fpm
sudo a2dismod php* mpm_prefork; sudo a2enmod mpm_event proxy_fcgi setenvif
sudo a2enconf php*-fpm
sudo systemctl restart apache2

AlmaLinux: install php-fpm, enable it with systemctl enable --now php-fpm; the bundled php.conf already routes PHP to FPM, and event is the default MPM.

Add HTTPS

Install Certbot's Apache plugin: sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-apache (AlmaLinux: enable EPEL, then sudo dnf install -y certbot python3-certbot-apache mod_ssl).
Run sudo certbot --apache -d example.com -d www.example.com and choose the HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect.

What to check afterwards

sudo apachectl -S lists every virtual host and which is the default.
Each domain loads its own site over HTTPS.
Logs for each site appear in their own files.

Troubleshooting

Every domain shows the same site: the ServerName does not match, so Apache uses the first (default) virtual host. Check apachectl -S.
403 Forbidden: missing Require all granted, wrong file permissions, or SELinux contexts. On AlmaLinux run sudo restorecon -Rv /var/www.
.htaccess ignored: AllowOverride is None or mod_rewrite is disabled.
PHP downloads instead of running: PHP-FPM is not running or the proxy_fcgi config is not enabled.

FAQ about Apache virtual hosts

How many virtual hosts can Apache run?

Hundreds or more; the limit is server resources, not Apache.

What is the difference between name-based and IP-based virtual hosts?

Name-based hosts share one IP and are selected by domain name (with SNI for HTTPS). IP-based hosts need a separate IP per site and are rarely needed today.

Should I use Apache or Nginx?

Apache is ideal when you rely on .htaccess. See the comparison guide for details.

Next steps

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