Flat disagree. The php framework is going to run on every shared host in the world, and sprint boot isn't. I'm not saying PHP is better, I write java all day every day, but if I had to build a website for a random friend or family member, I'm writing it in PHP, because I know their hosting will run it.
I usually just create a VM from a DO template and that's it, no NGINX stuff (although it's very easy, NGINX has good documentation and sane and working default configuration).