Deploy Production-Ready Drupal on Digital Ocean in Minutes with Simple VPS Provisioner

The Problem: VPS Setup is Time-Consuming and Error-Prone

If you've ever deployed a Drupal site to a Virtual Private Server (VPS), you know the drill. Hours of work lie ahead: updating packages, configuring Nginx, installing PHP-FPM with the right extensions, securing MariaDB, setting up SSL certificates, configuring firewall rules, managing file permissions, and then finally—finally—installing Drupal.

Miss one configuration detail, and you'll spend even more time troubleshooting 502 errors, database connection failures, or permission issues. And that's just for one site. Need staging and production environments? Multiply that time investment.

The Solution: Simple VPS Provisioner

Simple VPS Provisioner (svp) is a command-line tool that automates the entire LAMP stack setup process for Drupal and WordPress. It transforms a fresh Debian or Ubuntu VPS into a production-ready environment in 5-15 minutes.

What Makes It Perfect for Digital Ocean?

Digital Ocean's droplets ship with clean Debian or Ubuntu installations—exactly what svp is designed for. Whether you're spinning up a $6/month basic droplet or a high-performance production server, svp handles all the provisioning complexity for you.

Real-World Use Case: From Zero to Production Drupal

Let's walk through a realistic scenario: deploying a production Drupal site with staging environment on Digital Ocean.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you'll need:

A Digital Ocean account with a fresh droplet (Debian 11-13 or Ubuntu 20.04-24.04 LTS)
Root SSH access to your droplet
A domain name with DNS configured to point to your droplet's IP address
5-10 minutes of your time

Step 1: Create Your Digital Ocean Droplet

Log into your Digital Ocean dashboard
Click "Create" → "Droplets"
Choose your image: Debian 12 or Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Select your droplet size (minimum $6/month recommended for Drupal)
Choose your datacenter region
Add your SSH key for secure access
Click "Create Droplet"

Wait 1-2 minutes for your droplet to provision. Note the IP address assigned.

Step 2: Configure DNS

Point your domain to your droplet:

A example.com YOUR_DROPLET_IP
A www.example.com YOUR_DROPLET_IP

DNS propagation typically takes 5-30 minutes. You can check status with:

dig +short example.com

Step 3: SSH Into Your Droplet

ssh root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP

Step 4: Install Simple VPS Provisioner

Run the one-line installer:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/willjackson/simple-vps-provisioner/main/install-from-github.sh | sudo bash

This downloads and installs the latest version of svp. Verify installation:

sudo svp --version

Step 5: Deploy Your Drupal Site

Now for the magic. Run a single command:

sudo svp setup example.com \
--cms drupal \
--le-email admin@example.com

That's it. Seriously.

What Just Happened?

In the next 10-15 minutes, svp automatically:

✅ Updates system packages - Ensures your droplet has the latest security patches
✅ Installs and configures Nginx - Optimized web server configuration
✅ Installs PHP 8.4 with FPM - Latest PHP with all required Drupal extensions
✅ Installs and secures MariaDB - Database server with secure random credentials
✅ Creates isolated PHP-FPM pool - Dedicated pool for your domain
✅ Installs Composer - PHP dependency manager
✅ Installs Drupal 10 - Latest stable Drupal using Composer
✅ Configures SSL/HTTPS - Let's Encrypt certificate with auto-renewal
✅ Sets up UFW firewall - Configures ports 22, 80, and 443
✅ Installs Drush - Creates domain-specific Drush alias
✅ Sets proper permissions - Secure file ownership and permissions
✅ Generates login link - One-time admin login for immediate access

Step 6: Access Your Site

Once complete, you'll see output including:

✓ Site setup completed successfully!
Site URL: https://example.com
Database credentials: /etc/svp/sites/example.com.db.txt
Admin login: https://example.com/user/reset/1/...
Click the admin login link to set your password. Your Drupal site is live!

Advanced Deployment Scenarios

Scenario 1: Deploy Existing Drupal Site from GitHub

If you have an existing Drupal site in a Git repository:

sudo svp setup example.com \
--cms drupal \
--git-repo git@github.com:yourcompany/yoursite.git \
--git-branch main \
--le-email admin@example.com

What this does:

Clones your repository to /var/www/example.com
Runs composer install to install all dependencies
Creates and configures a database
Sets up Nginx and PHP-FPM
Obtains SSL certificate
Your site is deployed and running

Required repository structure:

yoursite/
├── composer.json # Required
├── web/ # Document root
│ ├── index.php
│ ├── sites/default/
│ ├── core/
│ ├── modules/
│ └── themes/
└── config/sync/ # Configuration management

Scenario 2: Migrate Existing Site with Database

Moving from shared hosting or another server? Import your database during setup:

# First, upload your database backup to the droplet

scp mysite-backup.sql.gz root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP:/root/

# Then provision with database import

sudo svp setup example.com \
--cms drupal \
--git-repo git@github.com:yourcompany/yoursite.git \
--db /root/mysite-backup.sql.gz \
--le-email admin@example.com

Don't forget to sync your files:

rsync -avz /path/to/old/files/ /var/www/example.com/web/sites/default/files/
sudo chown -R admin:www-data /var/www/example.com/web/sites/default/files/
sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/example.com/web/sites/default/files/

Scenario 3: Multi-Environment Setup (Production + Staging)

Professional development workflow with separate environments:

# Production environment

sudo svp setup example.com \
--cms drupal \
--git-repo git@github.com:yourcompany/yoursite.git \
--git-branch main \
--le-email admin@example.com

# Staging environment (separate domain)

sudo svp setup staging.example.com \
--cms drupal \
--git-repo git@github.com:yourcompany/yoursite.git \
--git-branch develop \
--le-email admin@example.com

# Password-protect staging from public access

sudo svp auth staging.example.com enable \
--username team \
--password secure_staging_pass

What you get:

example.com - Production site (main branch)
staging.example.com - Staging site (develop branch)
Each environment has:
- ✅ Separate database
- ✅ Isolated PHP-FPM pool
- ✅ Individual SSL certificate
- ✅ Independent file storage

Alternatively, use the --extra-domains flag:

sudo svp setup example.com \
--cms drupal \
--extra-domains "staging.example.com,dev.example.com" \
--git-repo git@github.com:yourcompany/yoursite.git \
--le-email admin@example.com

This creates three fully isolated environments on one droplet!

Scenario 4: Start Without SSL, Add It Later

Testing or not ready for SSL? Start with HTTP only:

# Initial setup without SSL (omit --le-email)

sudo svp setup example.com --cms drupal

Your site runs on http://example.com. When ready to add SSL:

# Enable SSL later

sudo svp update-ssl example.com enable --le-email admin@example.com

Certificates auto-renew via cron. Check status anytime:

sudo svp update-ssl example.com check

Scenario 5: Custom PHP Version

Need a specific PHP version for compatibility?

sudo svp setup example.com \
--cms drupal \
--php-version 8.3 \
--le-email admin@example.com

Supported versions: 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4

Need to upgrade later?

sudo svp php-update example.com --php-version 8.4

This safely transitions your site to the new PHP version with zero downtime.

Day-to-Day Operations

Managing Your Drupal Site

Once deployed, you'll use standard Drupal tools:

Using Drush (domain-specific alias):

# Clear cache
drush-example.com cr

# Get one-time login link
drush-example.com uli

# Run database updates
drush-example.com updb

# Import configuration
drush-example.com cim

# Export configuration
drush-example.com cex

# Check site status
drush-example.com status

Update Drupal core and modules:

cd /var/www/example.com
sudo -u admin composer update drupal/core-recommended --with-dependencies
drush-example.com updb
drush-example.com cr

Install a new module:

cd /var/www/example.com
sudo -u admin composer require drupal/admin_toolbar
drush-example.com en admin_toolbar -y
drush-example.com cr

Deploying Code Updates

If using Git deployment:

cd /var/www/example.com
sudo -u admin git pull
sudo -u admin composer install
drush-example.com updb
drush-example.com cim
drush-example.com cr

Database Backups

Create a backup:

drush-example.com sql-dump --gzip > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz

Restore a backup:

cd /var/www/example.com
zcat backup-20250114.sql.gz | drush-example.com sql-cli
drush-example.com cr

View Database Credentials

sudo cat /etc/svp/sites/example.com.db.txt

Output:

Database: drupal_example_com
Username: drupal_example_com
Password: [secure-random-password]
Host: localhost
Port: 3306

Security Features

svp implements security best practices automatically:

1. Firewall Configuration

UFW firewall enabled by default
Only ports 22 (SSH), 80 (HTTP), and 443 (HTTPS) open
IPv4 and IPv6 protected

2. Database Security

Random, strong passwords for each database user
Isolated database per domain
No remote database access (localhost only)
Credentials stored in root-only readable files

3. File Permissions

Web files owned by admin:www-data
Settings files set to read-only
Database credential files (settings.svp.php) restricted to owner-only (400)
Files directory properly configured (775)

4. PHP-FPM Isolation

Dedicated PHP-FPM pool per domain
Isolated process management
Domain-specific error logging
Resource limits configured

5. SSL/HTTPS

Let's Encrypt certificates with automatic renewal
HTTPS-only redirect when SSL enabled
Modern TLS configuration

6. Basic Authentication

Password-protect staging/dev sites
Bcrypt-hashed credentials
Quick enable/disable without removing credentials

# Protect a development site

sudo svp auth dev.example.com enable \
--username developer \
--password devpass123

# Check status

sudo svp auth dev.example.com check

# Remove protection

sudo svp auth dev.example.com disable

Cost Optimization on Digital Ocean

Recommended Droplet Sizes

For Testing/Development:

Basic Droplet: $6/month (1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 25 GB SSD)
Perfect for: Development sites, feature testing, personal projects

For Small Production Sites:

Regular Droplet: $12/month (2 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 50 GB SSD)
Perfect for: Small business sites, blogs, portfolio sites
Handles: ~100k monthly pageviews

For Medium Production Sites:

Professional Droplet: $24/month (4 GB RAM, 2 vCPUs, 80 GB SSD)
Perfect for: Growing businesses, e-commerce, high-traffic sites
Handles: ~500k+ monthly pageviews

Pro tip: Start small and scale up as needed. Digital Ocean makes it easy to resize droplets.

Multi-Site Cost Savings

Instead of separate droplets for each environment:

Traditional approach:

Production droplet: $12/month
Staging droplet: $12/month
Total: $24/month

With svp multi-domain:

Single droplet: $18/month (2 GB RAM)
Hosts production + staging + dev
Total: $18/month (save $6/month, $72/year)

sudo svp setup example.com \
--cms drupal \
--extra-domains "staging.example.com,dev.example.com" \
--git-repo git@github.com:yourcompany/site.git \
--le-email admin@example.com

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue 1: DNS Not Configured

Error message:

[!] DNS mismatch detected!

Solution: Configure your DNS A record and wait for propagation (5-30 minutes):

dig +short example.com

# Should return your droplet IP

Issue 2: SSL Certificate Failed

Common causes:

DNS not pointing to server yet
Port 80/443 blocked
Let's Encrypt rate limit (5 certs per week)

Solution: Start without SSL, add it later:

# Setup without SSL first

sudo svp setup example.com --cms drupal

# Test that site works

curl -I http://example.com

# Add SSL when DNS is confirmed

sudo svp update-ssl example.com enable --le-email admin@example.com

Issue 3: Site Returns 502 Bad Gateway

Check PHP-FPM status:

sudo systemctl status php8.4-fpm

Check PHP-FPM logs:

sudo tail -f /var/log/php8.4-fpm-example.com-error.log

Restart PHP-FPM:

sudo systemctl restart php8.4-fpm

Issue 4: Database Connection Failed

Verify database exists:

sudo mysql -e "SHOW DATABASES LIKE 'drupal_example_com';"

Check credentials:

sudo cat /etc/svp/sites/example.com.db.txt

Test database connection:

mysql -u drupal_example_com -p

# Enter password from credentials file

Issue 5: Permission Issues

Fix file permissions:

cd /var/www/example.com
sudo chown -R admin:www-data .
sudo chmod -R 755 .
sudo chmod -R 775 web/sites/default/files/

Maintenance and Updates

Update Simple VPS Provisioner

Check for svp updates regularly:

sudo svp update

This checks GitHub releases and installs the latest version.

System Updates

Keep your droplet updated:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

SSL Certificate Renewal

Certificates auto-renew via cron. Check status:

sudo svp update-ssl example.com check

Manually renew if needed:

sudo svp update-ssl example.com renew

Verify Configuration

Audit your server configuration:

sudo svp verify

This checks all services, configurations, and certificates.

Why Choose SVP for Digital Ocean Drupal Hosting?

1. Time Savings

Manual setup: 2-4 hours
With svp: 10-15 minutes
ROI: 8-24x faster deployment

2. Consistency

Every deployment identical
No missed configuration steps
Reproducible environments

3. Best Practices Built-In

Security hardening automatic
Optimized performance settings
Industry-standard directory structure

4. Flexibility

Multiple environments on one droplet
Easy PHP version management
Git-based deployment workflow

5. Cost-Effective

Open source and free
Run multiple sites per droplet
No proprietary hosting fees

6. Full Control

Root access to your droplet
No vendor lock-in
Direct SSH access
Complete transparency

Getting Started Checklist

Ready to deploy Drupal on Digital Ocean with svp? Follow this checklist:

Create Digital Ocean account
Spin up Debian 12 or Ubuntu 24.04 droplet
Configure DNS A records for your domain
SSH into droplet as root

Install svp:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/willjackson/simple-vps-provisioner/main/install-from-github.sh | bash

Run setup:

sudo svp setup yourdomain.com --cms drupal --le-email your@email.com

Wait 10-15 minutes
Access your site and set admin password
Configure your Drupal site
Deploy!

Conclusion

Deploying production Drupal sites on Digital Ocean doesn't have to be complex or time-consuming. Simple VPS Provisioner eliminates the tedious server setup process, letting you focus on building great Drupal experiences instead of configuring servers.

Whether you're deploying a single site or managing multiple environments, svp provides a fast, secure, and cost-effective solution that puts you in full control of your infrastructure.

Ready to get started? Spin up a Digital Ocean droplet and deploy your first Drupal site in the next 15 minutes.

Resources

📚 Full Documentation: https://willjackson.github.io/simple-vps-provisioner/
🐙 GitHub Repository: https://github.com/willjackson/simple-vps-provisioner
💬 Get Help: GitHub Issues
🌊 Digital Ocean: Get $200 credit for 60 days

About Simple VPS Provisioner: An open-source, MIT-licensed tool built for the Drupal and WordPress communities. Contributions welcome!