The Small Business Guide to Choosing a Reverse Proxy

If you are running more than one self-hosted application, you need a reverse proxy. It is the piece of infrastructure that sits between the internet and your apps, handling SSL encryption, routing traffic to the right application, and keeping everything secure. But which one should you use?

What a Reverse Proxy Actually Does

Think of a reverse proxy as a front desk at an office building. Visitors arrive at one address (your domain). The front desk knows which office (application) they need and directs them there. Without it, each application would need its own entrance on a different port number, and none of them would have proper security screening.

A reverse proxy handles three essential jobs:

• SSL termination. It manages HTTPS certificates so every application gets encrypted traffic without each one needing its own certificate setup.
• Routing. It directs requests to the right application based on the domain name. cloud.yourcompany.com goes to Nextcloud. crm.yourcompany.com goes to EspoCRM. All on the same server, same IP address.
• Security. It sits between the internet and your applications, blocking malicious requests before they reach your apps.

Nginx Proxy Manager: The User-Friendly Choice

Nginx Proxy Manager (NPM) is what VPS1 deploys for most clients. It wraps the powerful Nginx web server in a clean, web-based interface. No configuration files to edit. No command-line certificate management.

Why we recommend it:

• Add a new proxy host in 30 seconds: enter the domain, point it to the application container, click save.
• SSL certificates via Let us Encrypt with one click. Auto-renewal built in.
• Access lists let you restrict specific domains to specific IP ranges or require HTTP authentication.
• Runs in Docker itself, so it fits cleanly into any Docker-based stack.
• Perfect for teams where the person managing infrastructure is not a full-time sysadmin.

Limitations: Less flexible for complex routing rules. If you need advanced traffic shaping, header manipulation, or dynamic routing based on request content, you will outgrow NPM.

Traefik: The DevOps Favorite

Traefik takes a different approach. Instead of you telling it where your applications are, it discovers them automatically by watching your Docker containers. When you start a new container with the right labels, Traefik notices and configures routing and SSL automatically.

Why some teams prefer it:

• Zero manual configuration for new applications. Deploy a container and Traefik routes to it.
• Built-in middleware for rate limiting, authentication, compression, and redirects.
• Real-time dashboard showing all routes and services.
• Native support for Docker Swarm and Kubernetes if you scale beyond a single server.

Limitations: Steeper learning curve. Configuration is done through YAML files and Docker labels, not a web UI. Better suited when a technical team manages the infrastructure.

Which Should You Choose?

For most small businesses, Nginx Proxy Manager hits the sweet spot. It does everything you need without complexity you do not. VPS1 deploys NPM by default and can switch to Traefik if your needs grow. You do not need to make this decision yourself: we recommend the right tool based on your specific stack and tell you why.

Get in touch and we will design the right infrastructure for your applications.