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Atharva
Atharva

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Why Every Developer Should Deploy on a VPS at Least Once

#devops #webdev

Context

A few months ago, I built a Full Stack Web Application (Wealthwise) and wanted to deploy it so others could use it. I was familiar with platforms like Vercel and GitHub Pages, which make deploying static websites extremely easy.

But deploying a full stack application (frontend + backend + database) is a different story.

Since I had some exposure to VPS deployments at work, I decided to rent a VPS and try deploying everything on my own. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I made.

It helped me understand parts of software development that you never learn just by coding locally, like:

  • Infrastructure
  • Networking
  • Security basics
  • Reverse proxies
  • SSL certificates
  • System administration

This experience made me realize: Every developer should deploy on a VPS at least once.

What You'll Learn by Deploying on a VPS

1. Researching & Choosing a VPS Provider

You'll learn how to compare:

  • Pricing and cost-efficiency
  • CPU, RAM, and storage configurations
  • Bandwidth limitations and traffic policies
  • Data center location and impact on latency
  • Vendor reputation and support

This experience translates directly into making professional decisions later (for startups or employers).

2. Selecting the Right Specs

You'll learn to:

  • Estimate traffic and load expectations
  • Choose CPU/RAM/storage based on use cases
  • Start with minimal specs and scale vertically
  • Understand trade-offs like shared CPU vs dedicated CPU

This builds cost-awareness and production thinking.

3. Purchasing & Managing a Domain

Skills you pick up:

  • Finding a reliable registrar
  • Deciding between TLDs (.dev, .tech, .com, .in, .xyz, etc.)
  • Balancing branding vs pricing (e.g., .gg looks cool but is expensive)

4. DNS Configuration

By configuring your domain, you'll learn:

  • DNS Records (A, CNAME, etc.)
  • Pointing a domain to a VPS IP
  • Setting up subdomains like:
    • api.mydomain.com
    • app.mydomain.com
    • portfolio.mydomain.com
  • Understanding TTL values & propagation time

This is foundational networking knowledge.

5. SSH & File Transfers

Essential DevOps skills:

  • Connecting to servers with SSH
  • Using SSH keys instead of passwords
  • Copying files using scp, rsync, or sftp
  • Securing login configurations

These skills are used daily in real production environments.

6. Securing the VPS

Before deploying anything, you'll likely:

  • Update and patch system packages
  • Install a firewall (UFW or iptables)
  • Install and configure fail2ban
  • Avoid running apps as root
  • Set up basic backup routines

7. Setting Up a Reverse Proxy & HTTPS

Real-world deployment involves:

  • Installing Nginx as a reverse proxy
  • Routing requests to different services
  • Enabling HTTPS with:
    • Certbot
    • Let's Encrypt SSL certificates

8. Installing Databases & App Dependencies

Depending on your app, you might:

  • Install and Configure PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, or Redis
  • Run services with Docker or Docker Compose
  • Manage environment variables

9. Logs, Monitoring & Troubleshooting

You'll eventually break something — and that's a good thing. You'll learn to:

  • Read Nginx and app logs
  • Check system status using systemctl
  • Inspect resource usage with top / htop
  • Debug issues with journalctl

Bonus Skills You Develop

  • CI/CD pipeline basics
  • Handling secrets & environment variables
  • Performance optimization
  • Scalability planning
  • Cost management
  • Thinking like an engineer, not just a programmer

Conclusion

Deploying on a VPS is not just about hosting your project. It's about learning:

  • DevOps fundamentals
  • Deployment architecture
  • Real-world debugging
  • Security basics
  • Production responsibility

Even if you do it only once, the learning curve will significantly improve your engineering maturity.

So if you're a developer — beginner or experienced — I highly recommend deploying at least one personal project on a VPS. You will come out of the experience more confident, more skilled, and better prepared for real-world engineering challenges.

Note

You can also use cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, or Oracle Cloud, many of which offer free credits for running virtual machines. Most ideas in this post apply to those platforms too.

Purchase a VPS only if your budget allows.

There are also cases where hosting providers (Vercel, Netlify, GitHub Pages, etc.) are still better:

  • Deploying a simple static site
  • When you already understand deployments and want to save time with managed services

However, if you're learning, doing it manually at least once is worth it.

Reviewed with the help of AI tools for grammar and clarity. All ideas and content are based on my personal experience.

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