What packages are recommended to be installed on VDS for most scripts to work?

Question

PHP

On a new VPS under Ubuntu 16.04, I installed Apache, MySQL + PhpMyAdmin, PHP and curl according to the instructions - DigitalOcean.
But after I installed the script, I found that it doesn't work, namely:
- I don't receive an email after registration
- It doesn't authorize and doesn't connect to Instagram (the script for working with Instagram accounts remotely)
PS.: When installing on another server which another person set up - everything worked right away.

Answer 1

More packages - lower performance.
It is necessary to install exactly those that are required for the project to work.
Look at the Apache logs. There you can usually see which functions are not available.

Answer 2

Go to the error log and it will immediately become clear what is missing

Answer 3

Install the control panel. Why suffer with manual tuning, and even according to crooked manuals?