How to Enable HTTP/2 on Nginx or Apache

Have you ever wondered how websites load so fast these days?

If you’ve been digging into web servers like Nginx or Apache, you’ve probably seen something called HTTP/2. It sounds technical, right? Don’t worry — I’ll walk you through what it means, why it matters, and how you can turn it on.

I remember the first time I tried to speed up my site. I tweaked images, added caching, and still, something felt slow. That’s when I learned about HTTP/2 — and wow, it made a real difference.

Let’s get started.

What is HTTP/2?

Before we get into how to enable it, let’s talk about what it is.

HTTP/2 is a newer version of the HTTP protocol — that’s the way your browser and a website talk to each other. It’s how your computer asks a server, “Hey, can I see this webpage?” and the server replies with the content.

The older version, HTTP/1.1, has been around since 1997. That’s like using dial-up in a world full of fiber internet.

So, what’s the big deal about HTTP/2?

Here’s a quick comparison:

HTTP/1.1 loads files one at a time. If your site has 100 little files (images, CSS, JS), the browser has to wait in line to get them.
HTTP/2 lets the browser grab many files at once. It’s like switching from a tiny straw to a fire hose.

Why Should You Care?

Speed.

When I enabled HTTP/2 on my WordPress site, the page load time dropped by nearly a full second. That might not sound like much, but in the world of websites, every millisecond counts.

Faster pages mean:

Happier visitors
Better SEO (search engines love fast sites)
Less stress on your server

You don’t need to rewrite your website to enjoy these benefits — you just need to enable HTTP/2.

Let me show you how.

What You Need Before You Start

Before you turn on HTTP/2, check a few things:

You need HTTPS. Yep, HTTP/2 only works over a secure connection. If your site doesn’t use HTTPS yet, get a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt.
You need a fairly recent version of Nginx (1.9.5 or later) or Apache (2.4.17 or later).
Make sure your hosting company supports it. Most do now, but it doesn’t hurt to double-check.

How to Enable HTTP/2 on Nginx

I use Nginx for most of my websites because it’s lightweight and fast.

Here’s how I enabled HTTP/2 on one of my VPS servers running Nginx on Ubuntu.

Step-by-Step for Nginx:

Check your Nginx versionOpen your terminal and run:
```
nginx -v
```
If it says version 1.9.5 or newer, you’re good.
Update your Nginx configurationOpen your server block (your site’s config file). It’s usually in:
```
/etc/nginx/sites-available/yourdomain.com
```
Edit the listen lineChange this:
```
listen 443 ssl;
```
To this:
```
listen 443 ssl http2;
```
Test and reloadRun:
```
nginx -t
```
If there are no errors, reload:
```
systemctl reload nginx
```
Check if it workedYou can use an online tool like https://tools.keycdn.com/http2-test to test your site.

How to Enable HTTP/2 on Apache

Apache is still very popular, especially for shared hosting.

I’ve used Apache on several client projects. Enabling HTTP/2 is simple if your server is up to date.

Step-by-Step for Apache:

Check your Apache versionIn the terminal, type:
```
apache2 -v
```
You’ll need 2.4.17 or later.
Enable the HTTP/2 moduleRun this command:
```
a2enmod http2
```
Edit your SSL virtual hostOpen your config file. Look for something like:
```
<VirtualHost *:443>
```
Add this line inside the block:
```
Protocols h2 http/1.1
```
Make sure your SSL is working, too.
Restart Apache
```
systemctl restart apache2
```
Test your siteUse the same HTTP/2 test tool to confirm it’s running.

Some Things to Watch Out For

Here are two common problems I ran into:

Browser cache issues: After switching, some users didn’t see the change right away. Clear your cache or try in private mode.
Mixed content: HTTP/2 needs HTTPS. If your site has old images or scripts using http://, fix them.

Also, make sure your CDN (like Cloudflare) supports HTTP/2. Most do — and they often enable it automatically.

Benefits You’ll Notice

After switching to HTTP/2, here’s what I saw on my websites:

Pages loaded faster, even without other optimizations.
Google PageSpeed scores improved, sometimes by 10+ points.
Less server load during traffic spikes.

If your visitors use mobile (and most do), the speed boost matters even more.

Still Not Sure If It’s Worth It?

Let me ask you this:

Do you want your website to load faster without rewriting code?

Then yes — enabling HTTP/2 is worth it.

You’re already paying for hosting. You might as well get the best performance out of it.

Quick Recap: What You Need to Do

For Nginx:

Use listen 443 ssl http2; in your config
Reload Nginx
Test your site

For Apache:

Enable the http2 module
Add Protocols h2 http/1.1 to your SSL config
Restart Apache
Test your site

Final Thoughts

I won’t pretend HTTP/2 is some magic trick. It’s not going to fix a poorly built site. But if you’ve already done the basics — like image compression, caching, and HTTPS — then this is the next smart move.

It’s like switching from an old two-lane road to a six-lane highway. Your site traffic flows smoother and faster.

Try it out. You don’t have to be a server expert. Just follow the steps, test it, and see the difference.

Have you tried enabling HTTP/2 yet? Did it make your site faster?

Let me know — I’d love to hear how it went.