New VPS Setup Checklist for Website Operators

New VPS Setup Checklist for Website Operators

This checklist is for anyone setting up a new Ubuntu VPS to run a website, WordPress site, Nginx stack, Docker service or AI automation workflow. The goal is simple: make the server usable, secure, observable and recoverable before you put real traffic on it.

What this checklist covers

• Basic VPS access
• System update
• Firewall setup
• Resource check
• Nginx readiness
• DNS and SSL preparation
• Backup planning

Core idea

A new VPS should not be treated as production-ready by default. Before you install WordPress, n8n, Docker apps or API services, you need to confirm access, security, updates, ports, disk space and recovery options.

Checklist

1. Record the VPS provider, IP address, RAM, CPU, disk size and operating system version.
2. Log in through SSH and confirm you have root or sudo access.
3. Update system packages before installing anything else.
4. Set the correct timezone so logs are easier to read later.
5. Check RAM, CPU and disk usage before deploying a website.
6. Enable a basic firewall and allow only SSH, HTTP and HTTPS.
7. Install Nginx or prepare the reverse proxy layer.
8. Point the domain DNS A record to the VPS IP address.
9. Prepare SSL using Certbot or your preferred SSL method.
10. Create a backup plan before adding production data.

Final check

The VPS is ready only when SSH works, firewall rules are clear, Nginx can respond, DNS points correctly, SSL can be issued and you know how to back up and restore important files.

ssh root@your_server_ip
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
timedatectl
free -h
df -h
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 80
sudo ufw allow 443
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status