What you need

A VPS running Ubuntu 20.04 or later (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Vultr, etc.)

SSH access — either password or private key

A GitHub account with your Next.js repo

A domain name (optional, but recommended for SSL)

Why deploy Next.js to a VPS?

Vercel and similar platforms are excellent for prototypes and small projects. But as your app grows, costs can skyrocket — Vercel charges $0.15/GB for bandwidth above 100 GB, and team plans start at $20/month per member.

A $5/month VPS from Hetzner or DigitalOcean can host multiple production Next.js apps with no traffic limits, full SSH access, and complete control over your environment. The tradeoff used to be complexity — but that's what DeployWise solves.

1Set up your VPS

Start with a fresh Ubuntu 22.04 LTS droplet/instance. Make sure SSH is accessible on port 22 (or a custom port). You'll need either a root password or an SSH private key.

Recommended minimum specs for a single Next.js app:

Spec	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	1 vCPU	2 vCPU
RAM	1 GB	2 GB
Storage	20 GB SSD	40 GB SSD
Monthly cost	~$5/mo	~$10/mo

2Add your server to DeployWise

Open DeployWise dashboard and sign in with GitHub. Then navigate to Servers → Add Server and fill in:

NameAny label (e.g. "Production VPS")

HostYour server's IP or hostname

Port22 (or your custom SSH port)

Usernameroot or your sudo user

AuthPassword or paste your private key

Click Test Connection. DeployWise will SSH into your server to verify connectivity. If the test passes, save the server.

3Create your project

Go to Projects → New Project. Connect your GitHub account if you haven't already, then configure:

RepositorySelect your Next.js GitHub repo

Branchmain or production — whichever you deploy from

Build commandnpm run build (default, can leave blank)

Start commandnpm start — required for SSR. Leave blank for static export.

Port3000 (Next.js default) or your custom port

DomainOptional — your custom domain for Nginx + SSL setup

Auto DeployEnable to trigger deploys on every git push

4Deploy

Click Deploy Now. DeployWise will execute the following steps on your server automatically:

1.Install Node.js via NVM (if not present)

2.Install PM2 globally

3.Clone your repository via Git

4.Run npm ci to install dependencies

5.Run npm run build

6.Start/restart the app with PM2

7.Configure Nginx reverse proxy

8.Issue Let's Encrypt SSL certificate (if domain configured)

The entire process typically takes 30–90 seconds. You can watch every step live in the deployment log panel.

What happens after deployment

Your app is now:

Running under PM2 — restarts automatically if it crashes

Proxied through Nginx — handles HTTP/HTTPS, gzip, and headers

Protected with SSL — free Let's Encrypt certificate, auto-renewing

Accessible at your domain or via server IP

Future deploys are one click away. If something breaks, roll back to any previous commit from the deployment history.

Common issues

Build fails with 'out of memory'

The Next.js build process can require 1–1.5 GB RAM. If your VPS has only 1 GB, add a 1 GB swap file: sudo fallocate -l 1G /swapfile && sudo mkswap /swapfile && sudo swapon /swapfile

Port 3000 is already in use

Another PM2 process may be occupying the port. Check with: pm2 list — and stop conflicting processes, or change your project's port.

SSL certificate fails

Ensure your domain's A record points to your VPS IP and that port 80 is open in your firewall (ufw allow 80).

Deploy Next.js to VPS: Step-by-Step Beginner Guide