Reverse proxies can be complicated (but not at Kinsta)

Creating a website reverse proxy might seem like a straightforward task that any experienced WordPress developer or business owner with some tech-savvy can handle. With tons of tutorials and open-source tools available online, it’s easy to underestimate the complexities involved. But configuring a reverse proxy is often more complicated than it appears — especially for businesses looking to scale.

Reverse proxies are gateways between clients and servers and perform essential functions like load balancing, SSL termination, caching, and unifying multiple origin servers under a single hostname. These features help websites run smoothly, securely, and efficiently. But unless you have a team of experts, managing reverse proxies can be complicated.

What is a reverse proxy? A quick primer

Proxy servers support a wide variety of tasks as intermediaries in Internet communication and can generally be defined as forward proxies or reverse proxies. Forward proxies mask what’s happening on the client side (think of a server fulfilling web browser requests for staff at a corporate office), while reverse proxies mediate requests to one or more servers — origin servers — that host web content or application services.

Reverse proxies can serve multiple important functions, including:

• Load balancing: When distributing incoming traffic across several servers, reverse proxies can ensure no single server is overwhelmed. This boosts performance and reliability, especially for high-traffic websites.
• SSL termination: Reverse proxies can manage SSL/TLS encryption, offloading the heavy lifting of decrypting secure connections from backend servers. This simplifies backend server configurations and improves site performance.
• Caching: Reverse proxies store copies of frequently requested data and serve it directly to users without having to reach the backend server each time. The Kinsta CDN and Edge Caching are forms of reverse proxy.
• Site performance and security improvements: Reverse proxies can also act as gatekeepers, blocking malicious requests and filtering out harmful traffic before it reaches the origin servers.

These functions are critical for many types of customers — from e-commerce businesses to agencies managing multiple client sites. They help websites run smoothly, securely, and without performance bottlenecks.

However, configuring a reverse proxy for Web servers like Apache and NGINX requires significant expertise and attention to detail — especially when it comes to custom setups or high-demand environments. Without deep knowledge of how these systems work, it’s easy to misconfigure something, leading to performance issues or security vulnerabilities.

Why reverse proxy configuration is hard to do manually

Even for experienced developers, setting up and maintaining a reverse proxy manually is a lot of work. Here are some of the main difficulties that arise when setting up a reverse proxy manually:

Complex configurations

Reverse proxies aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Depending on your needs — whether you’re handling multiple domains, balancing traffic across servers, or dealing with SSL certificates — each configuration must be customized to your specific environment. With tools like Apache or NGINX, even small errors in configuration files can lead to performance issues, downtime, or worse, leaving your site vulnerable to attacks.

Multi-server setups

Managing reverse proxies across several servers adds another layer of complexity. As your business scales, you may need to update configurations to handle growing traffic, optimize performance, or adjust security rules. Keeping these configurations synchronized across multiple servers takes a lot of time and is also prone to errors.

Security vulnerabilities

Reverse proxies can filter out malicious traffic, but misconfigurations can open the door to vulnerabilities. Inadequate SSL termination, incorrect firewall rules, or improper caching could expose your website to threats like data breaches, DDoS attacks, or man-in-the-middle exploits. To prevent this, you need to stay up to date with the latest security patches and protocols to ensure the configurations remain secure. That’s an ongoing commitment that takes time and expertise — and not everyone has the time or capability to devote to that.

Ongoing maintenance

Once a reverse proxy is up and running, the work doesn’t stop. You’ll need to regularly update configurations, apply security patches, optimize settings for performance, and monitor for any potential issues. If your setup involves custom configurations, this maintenance can become even more resource-intensive, especially if issues arise that require troubleshooting.

For many businesses managing multiple sites for clients, this ongoing management could consume a lot of resources. The time spent configuring, updating, and securing reverse proxies is time not spent focusing on core business activities or delivering value to clients.

Kinsta simplifies reverse proxies for agencies

Managing reverse proxies manually is a headache, especially for businesses that need to maintain high-quality service while juggling multiple client projects. Thankfully, Kinsta’s expert team can step in to take care of the complex setup and ongoing maintenance. This means your business (and your clients) benefit from all the advantages of reverse proxies — without the technical stress.

With Kinsta, you don’t have to worry about:

• Configuration: Kinsta’s team of experts handles the entire reverse proxy setup for you. Whether you’re dealing with complex, multi-server environments or unique client requirements, Kinsta’s managed service ensures everything is configured correctly the first time.
• Ongoing maintenance and updates: From applying security patches to optimizing for better performance, Kinsta continuously monitors and maintains your reverse proxy.
• Scalability: As your business grows and the needs of your clients evolve, reverse proxy configurations often need to be adjusted to accommodate higher traffic, additional servers, or more complex environments.

This makes Kinsta’s reverse proxy solution particularly beneficial for companies that want to offer a premium service to their clients. Instead of spending valuable hours managing reverse proxies, you can pass on the setup and management costs to clients while offering a more robust and reliable infrastructure.

For agencies without a dedicated IT or development team, Kinsta’s reverse proxy service provides peace of mind. Even if you don’t have the technical know-how, Kinsta ensures that your sites are optimized for speed, security, and scalability — without any heavy lifting on your end.