Over the last few months, I undertook one of the most complex technical journeys of my life — setting up n8n for automation across my business ecosystem.
What started as a simple requirement became a long list of unexpected challenges. But yesterday, everything finally clicked — and I successfully deployed n8n on AWS EC2 + Route 53 with SSL working perfectly, without needing any premium hosting, Cloudflare paid plan, or even a credit card.
Here’s my journey:
1. Started with WordPress Hosting (Hostinger)
I initially tried to host n8n or create an n8n interface inside a WordPress/website hosting environment with Pre-fix domain and tried with Suffex-domain.
- Shared hosting limitations
- No proper root access
- Docker is not supported
- Reverse proxy restrictions
This made n8n impossible to run reliably.
2. Struggled With Subdomains, Prefix URLs & Rewrite Rules
I kept facing:
- /n8n prefix issues
- Misconfigured .htaccess
- 500/502 internal server errors
- Blank pages & infinite loading
Every small change required trial, error, and frustration.
3. Cloudflare Reverse Proxy Conflicts
Even after using Cloudflare:
- Proxy couldn’t pass WebSocket connections
- SSL issues
- Timeout errors
- Connection lost messages in n8n (on the top right corner, showing as "Connection Failed" in red.
Cloudflare's free plan always broke something or the other.
4. Permissions & Ownership Problems
Whether it was:
a. Folder permissions
b. User ownership
c. Docker volume paths
d. File permission error
e. Access denied while pulling or saving config
It felt like solving one issue would create two more.
5. DNS, SSL & Certbot Confusion
Managing DNS from the domain provider + Cloudflare, + WordPress hosting created chaos:
- SSL not applied
- Wrong A-Records
- Misleading redirect loops
- Certificate not renewing
This consumed days/weeks.
6. Multiple Failed Attempts on Different Domains
I tried:
- WordPress domain
- Hostinger domain
- Various subdomains / Main domain
- Different reverse proxy setups
But still… connection failed. Again and again.
7. Finally — The Breakthrough: AWS EC2 + Route 53 + Domain
Yesterday, everything changed.
I purchased a new domain on AWS Route 53, re-launched an old EC2 instance, hence, I don't want to create a new instance and waste credits in AWS, and followed a clean, conflict-free environment:
- No shared hosting
- No Cloudflare interference
- No .htaccess limitations
- Full server control
- Direct DNS mapping
And then… everything fell into place.
8. n8n Installed Successfully With Docker & SSL
With just a clean EC2 server:
- Docker installed
- n8n pulled & configured
- Route 53 DNS mapped
- Nginx reverse proxy is set properly
- Certbot installed SSL automatically
- HTTPS + WebSocket is working perfectly
- Basic authentication enabled
Runs at:
https://n8n.mydomain.com/ (wanted to keep my domain confidential)
9. The Final Result — Total Success
After struggling for months…
- n8n now loads instantly
- SSL is working perfectly
- No reverse proxy errors
- Zero downtime
- Production-ready setup
- Fully secure and stable
This setup is so clean that I entered the n8n UI in the very first attempt, even in Incognito mode, without a single error, and tried with various browsers to test once.
What I Learned (and Why I’m Sharing This)
The entire journey taught me this:
a. Sometimes the easiest path appears only after you experience the hardest failures.
b. Proper infrastructure beats patchwork solutions.
c.
is the most reliable & scalable way for n8n.
If you are struggling with:
- Domain issues
- Hosting limitations
- Reverse proxy errors
- SSL problems
- n8n setup
- Automation infrastructure
Firstly, we should never give up.
Ultimately, I want to deploy this setup to serve two key segments:
Mobile Repair Training Institute
One of the reputed training institute which provides training to fresh graduates who are willing to learn from the basic level to the advanced level Mobile repair training, to earn their own income.Digital Marketing Agencies
To help them build AI-powered automation workflows such as keyword research automation, social-media trending topic auto-publishing, and more.Healthcare Industry
To provide automated call-routing systems that instantly connect patients with doctors for appointment bookings and other essential needs.
Feel free to reach out — I’m happy to share the exact steps and help you avoid the months of challenges I went through.
If my journey inspires or helps you, please drop a comment — it motivates me to share more real, practical experiences like this.
And if you’re facing similar struggles, please don't hesitate to message me anytime. I’ll guide you.
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