diff --git a/nginx-minimal-proxy-config b/nginx-minimal-proxy-config
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d0fcf7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nginx-minimal-proxy-config
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# the point of this template is to work cleanly with certbot
+# set up your proxied service, create nginx config with this template,
+# then run certbot and the resultant config should work correctly
+
+server {
+    listen 80;
+
+    server_name your_domain;
+        
+    location / {
+        proxy_pass app_server_address;
+        include proxy_params;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/nginx-minimal-static-site-config b/nginx-minimal-static-site-config
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fc518eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nginx-minimal-static-site-config
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# the point of this template is to work cleanly with certbot
+# make a static site, create nginx config with this template,
+# then run certbot and the resultant config should work correctly
+#
+# the cache-control entry is almost definitely something you want
+# it is not saying "do not cache", explanation here:
+# https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/Cache-Control
+
+server {
+        listen 80;
+
+        root /var/www/your_domain;
+        index index.html;
+
+        server_name your_domain;
+
+        location / {
+		add_header Cache-Control 'no-cache';
+                try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
+        }
+}