Move from apache2 to nginx inplace | Howtoforge

If websites have no directives and .htaccess files it should be fairly straigh forward.

Apache directives are completely different than their nginx counterpart.
If any of the websites have directives you should translate them prior to migrating.

Also Nginx cannot handle .htaccess files!
Here too if any of the websites have .htaccess files you should translate them into directives or some other alternative prior to migrating.

When you’ve finished your preparations you can uninstall Apache2 and install Nginx.
Afterwards run “ispconfig_update.sh –force” so ispconfig knows your new webserver is Nginx and resync all your websites under System >> Resync and restore directives if any.

Before you start anything make sure you have a backup you can fallback to if anything goes wrong!!