Hosting Multiple Dockerized Websites on a Single Ubuntu VPS (With SSL & Redirects)

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Setting up multiple independent websites on a single VPS can feel like juggling fire — but with Docker and Traefik, it’s not only possible, it’s elegant. In this guide, I’ll walk you through how I hosted:

All running alongside an n8n automation workflow — with Traefik managing SSL certificates for each site, and everything containerized using Docker Compose.

🔧Step 1: Point Your Domains to Your VPS

Using your domain registrar, create an A-record for each domain:

  • exampledomain.com → your VPS IP
  • exampledomain2.com → your VPS IP
  • exampledomain3.com → your VPS IP

No need to handle DNS for www. unless you want it — we’ll address that with redirects later.

📁 Step 2: Prepare Your VPS

Install Docker and Docker Compose if you haven’t:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose

Create directories for each site:

sudo mkdir -p /srv/wordpress/exampledomain
sudo mkdir -p /srv/wordpress/exampledomain2
sudo mkdir -p /srv/angular/exampledomain3/dist
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /srv

And set up a .env file for your global config:

cat > .env <<EOF
SSL_EMAIL=you@example.com
DOMAIN_NAME=exampledomain.com
GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/New_York
EOF

📁 Step 2: Prepare Your VPS

Install Docker and Docker Compose if you haven’t:

bashCopyEditsudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose

Create directories for each site:

sudo mkdir -p /srv/wordpress/exampledomain
sudo mkdir -p /srv/wordpress/exampledomain2
sudo mkdir -p /srv/angular/exampledomain3/dist
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /srv

And set up a .env file for your global config:

cat > .env <<EOF
SSL_EMAIL=you@example.com
DOMAIN_NAME=exampledomain.com
GENERIC_TIMEZONE=America/New_York
EOF

🚀 Step 3: Build and Deploy Your Angular App

If you’re deploying an Angular site:

git clone https://github.com/your-angular-repo.git
cd your-angular-repo
npm install
npm run build --prod
cp -r dist/your-app-name/* /srv/angular/exampledomain3/dist/

🐳 Step 4: Add Sites to Docker Compose

Extend your docker-compose.yml to include:

  • MySQL + WordPress for both domains
  • An Nginx container to serve Angular
  • Traefik labels for automatic SSL and routing

You’ll end up with services like wp_example, wp_example2, and exampledomain3, each with its own volume and DB.

🔐 Step 5: Add Redirects for WWW Domains

Here’s the gem 💎: I wanted https://www.exampledomain2.com to redirect to https://exampledomain2.com.

With Traefik, it’s as simple as adding this to the labels block:

- traefik.http.routers.wp_example2_www.rule=Host(`www.exampledomain2.com`)
- traefik.http.routers.wp_example2_www.middlewares=redirect-to-root
- traefik.http.middlewares.redirect-to-root.redirectregex.regex=^https://www\.exampledomain2\.com/(.*)
- traefik.http.middlewares.redirect-to-root.redirectregex.replacement=https://exampledomain2.com/$$1
- traefik.http.middlewares.redirect-to-root.redirectregex.permanent=true

💥 Result: www.exampledomain2.com now redirects perfectly without breaking HSTS or SSL.

✅ Step 6: Launch and Go Live

docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d

Your sites are now:

  • SSL-protected
  • Auto-renewing via Let’s Encrypt
  • Neatly containerized
  • Redirecting with finesse

🎉 Hardware used

This is some of the hardware I used to test this locally before going to my VPS:

Raspberry Pi 4 8GB with Retroflag NesPi 4 case connected to the network using a NETGEAR 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet hub

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🎉 Final Thoughts

This setup keeps everything organized, secure, and highly maintainable. Whether you’re hosting client projects or personal sites, running multiple websites from one VPS has never been easier — or more fun.

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