I have a similar setup for my personal and project websites. Some similarities and differences:

* I use Linode VMs ($5/month).

* I too use Debian GNU/Linux.

* I use Common Lisp to write the software.

* In case of a personal website or blog, a static website is generated by a Common Lisp program. In case of an online service or web application, the service is written as a Common Lisp program that uses Hunchentoot to process HTTP requests and return HTTP responses.

* I too use systemd unit files to ensure that the website/service starts automatically when the VM starts or restarts. Most of my unit files are about 10-15 lines long.

* The initial configuration of the VM is coded as a shell script: https://github.com/susam/dotfiles/blob/main/linode.sh

* Project-specific or service-specific configuration is coded as individual Makefiles. Examples: https://github.com/susam/susam.net/blob/main/Makefile and https://github.com/susam/mathb/blob/main/Makefile

* I do not use containers. These websites have been running since several years before containers were popular. I have found that the initialization script and a Makefile have been sufficient for my needs so far.

* I use Nginx too. Nginx serves the static files as well as functions as a reverse proxy when there are backend services involved. Indeed TLS termination is an important benefit it offers. Other benefits include rate limiting requests, configuring an allowlist for HTTP headers to protect the backend service, etc.

* I have a little private playbook with a handful of commands like:

  curl LINK -o linode.sh && sh linode.sh
  git clone LINK && cd PROJECT && sudo make setup https

* The `make` targets do whatever is necessary to set up the website. This includes installing tools like Nginx, certbot, sbcl, etc., setting up Nginx configuration, setting up certificates, etc. Once the `make` command completes, the website is live on the world wide web.