How to create a virtual host in Apache

Hosting more than one site on a single server becomes predictable when each site gets its own Apache virtual host, its own DocumentRoot, and its own logs. A clean virtual host setup makes staging vs production separation easy and keeps the “why is site A showing site B’s homepage?” mystery firmly in the genre of historical fiction.

Name-based virtual hosting works by matching the incoming request’s Host header against the ServerName and ServerAlias directives inside each `<VirtualHost>` block. Once a match is found, Apache applies the virtual host’s rules (directory permissions, directory options, logging) and serves content from the configured DocumentRoot.

The steps below use the Ubuntu and Debian layout where site files live in /etc/apache2/sites-available and are enabled via symlinks in /etc/apache2/sites-enabled using a2ensite. On RHEL-style systems, site snippets are typically placed in /etc/httpd/conf.d and the service name is httpd, so paths and service commands differ. A syntax check before reloading prevents a broken config from blocking the reload and leaving changes unapplied.

Steps to create a virtual host in Apache:

Select the hostname for the new site.

Example hostname: example.test
Example document root: /var/www/example.test/public

Create the document root directory.

$ sudo mkdir --parents /var/www/example.test/public

Create a simple test page in the document root.

$ sudo tee /var/www/example.test/public/index.html >/dev/null <<'EOF'
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <title>example.test</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>example.test virtual host works</h1>
  </body>
</html>
EOF

Create the virtual host configuration in /etc/apache2/sites-available.

$ sudo tee /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.test.conf >/dev/null <<'EOF'
<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName example.test
  ServerAlias www.example.test

  DocumentRoot /var/www/example.test/public

  <Directory /var/www/example.test/public>
    Options -Indexes +FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride None
    Require all granted
  </Directory>

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

AllowOverride None disables .htaccess processing for performance and clarity; switch to AllowOverride All only when an application requires it.

Enable the new site configuration.
```
$ sudo a2ensite example.test.conf
Enabling site example.test.
To activate the new configuration, you need to run:
  systemctl reload apache2
```
/etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf remains the fallback vhost for unknown hostnames; disable it with sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf when a catch-all default site is not desired.
Validate the Apache configuration syntax.
```
$ sudo apache2ctl configtest
Syntax OK
```
An AH00558 warning indicates a missing global ServerName and does not prevent the virtual host from working.

Related: How to test your Apache configuration
Reload apache2 to apply the enabled site.
```
$ sudo systemctl reload apache2
```
A reload that fails due to syntax errors leaves the previous configuration in place, so changes appear “ignored” until the error is fixed.

Related: How to manage the Apache web server service

Confirm the apache2 service is active.

$ sudo systemctl status apache2 --no-pager
● apache2.service - The Apache HTTP Server
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/apache2.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Sat 2025-12-13 21:05:01 UTC; 7s ago
       Docs: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/
   Main PID: 1234 (apache2)
      Tasks: 55 (limit: 18751)
     Memory: 6.9M
        CPU: 120ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/apache2.service
             ├─1234 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
##### snipped #####

List loaded virtual hosts to confirm the hostname routes to the new config.

$ sudo apache2ctl -S
VirtualHost configuration:
*:80                   is a NameVirtualHost
         default server 000-default (/etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf:1)
         port 80 namevhost example.test (/etc/apache2/sites-enabled/example.test.conf:1)
                 alias www.example.test
ServerRoot: "/etc/apache2"
##### snipped #####

Fetch the site locally by forcing the Host header.

$ curl --include --header 'Host: example.test' http://127.0.0.1/
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2025 21:05:22 GMT
Server: Apache/2.4.58 (Ubuntu)
Last-Modified: Sat, 13 Dec 2025 21:04:40 GMT
ETag: "9b-5cfe2c5c3b7b0"
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Content-Length: 155
Content-Type: text/html

<!doctype html>
##### snipped #####

Browser testing without DNS usually requires a hosts entry such as 127.0.0.1 example.test in /etc/hosts.

Check the site logs when routing or permissions do not behave as expected.

$ sudo tail --lines=3 /var/log/apache2/example.test-access.log
127.0.0.1 - - [13/Dec/2025:21:05:22 +0000] "GET / HTTP/1.1" 200 155 "-" "curl/8.4.0"
127.0.0.1 - - [13/Dec/2025:21:05:23 +0000] "GET /favicon.ico HTTP/1.1" 404 487 "-" "Mozilla/5.0"
##### snipped #####

Author: Mohd Shakir Zakaria
Mohd Shakir Zakaria is a cloud architect with deep roots in software development and open-source advocacy. Certified in AWS, Red Hat, VMware, ITIL, and Linux, he specializes in designing and managing robust cloud and on-premises infrastructures.

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