diff --git a/bin/vhost-add.sh b/bin/vhost-add.sh
index 9c27c0a..1c7304b 100755
--- a/bin/vhost-add.sh
+++ b/bin/vhost-add.sh
@@ -73,15 +73,6 @@ vhost::set-phpVersion
 if [[ -f /etc/php/$phpVersion/fpm/pool.d/$username.conf ]]; then
   if ! /bin/grep -q "^php_admin_value\[sendmail_path\]" /etc/php/$phpVersion/fpm/pool.d/$username.conf; then
     echo "php_admin_value[sendmail_path] = /usr/sbin/sendmail -t -fwebmaster@$domain" >> /etc/php/$phpVersion/fpm/pool.d/$username.conf
-    # restart php-fpm if it's active
-    if systemctl is-active --quiet php$phpVersion-fpm ; then
-      # check for valid config before restarting
-      if /usr/sbin/php-fpm$phpVersion -t >/dev/null 2>&1 ; then
-        systemctl reload php$phpVersion-fpm
-      else
-        echo "WARNING: php-fpm$phpVersion configuration test failed"
-      fi
-    fi
   fi
 fi
 
diff --git a/bin/vhost-del.sh b/bin/vhost-del.sh
index 172e3e1..099e152 100755
--- a/bin/vhost-del.sh
+++ b/bin/vhost-del.sh
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ username=$(stat -c '%U' /srv/www/$domain)
 # disable the apache conf and reload apache
 if [[ -h /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/$domain.conf ]]; then
   a2dissite --quiet $domain
-  systemctl --quiet is-active apache2 && systemctl --quiet reload  apache2
 fi
 
 # remove the apache config
diff --git a/bin/vhost-disable.sh b/bin/vhost-disable.sh
index c9e5804..2041419 100755
--- a/bin/vhost-disable.sh
+++ b/bin/vhost-disable.sh
@@ -29,5 +29,5 @@ if [[ -z $domain ]]; then
 fi
 
 if [[ -h /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/$domain.conf ]]; then
-  a2dissite --quiet $domain && systemctl --quiet is-active apache2 && systemctl --quiet reload apache2
+  a2dissite --quiet $domain
 fi
diff --git a/bin/vhost-enable.sh b/bin/vhost-enable.sh
index 5e2027a..9cb7423 100755
--- a/bin/vhost-enable.sh
+++ b/bin/vhost-enable.sh
@@ -156,16 +156,10 @@ fi
 echo "$macro_vhost_line" > /etc/apache2/sites-available/$domain.conf
 
 # enable apache conf
-if [[ ! -h /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/$domain.conf ]]; then
+if [[ -h /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/$domain.conf ]]; then
+  # modify timestamp on existing symlink to trigger apache restart
+  touch --no-dereference /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/$domain.conf
+else
   a2ensite --quiet $domain.conf
 fi
 
-# restart apache
-if systemctl --quiet is-active apache2 ; then
-  if /usr/sbin/apachectl -t >/dev/null 2>&1 ; then
-    systemctl --quiet reload  apache2
-  else
-    echo "apache config test failed, not doing restart"
-    exit 2
-  fi
-fi
diff --git a/bin/vhost-exp.sh b/bin/vhost-exp.sh
index 467d578..7317e16 100755
--- a/bin/vhost-exp.sh
+++ b/bin/vhost-exp.sh
@@ -122,14 +122,6 @@ if [[ -d /srv/www/$domain ]]; then
     # /etc/ configs
     if [[ -d /srv/www/$domain/.exp/etc ]]; then
       echo "cp -a /srv/www/$domain/.exp/etc/* /etc/"
-      # reload apache
-      if [[ -f /srv/www/$domain/.exp/etc/apache2/sites-enabled/$domain.conf ]]; then
-        echo "systemctl reload apache2.service"
-      fi
-      # reload php
-      if [[ -f /srv/www/$domain/.exp/etc/php/$phpVersion/fpm/pool.d/$username.conf ]]; then
-        echo "systemctl reload php$phpVersion-fpm"
-      fi
     fi
   fi
 
diff --git a/bin/vhost-user-add.sh b/bin/vhost-user-add.sh
index 4bfe299..f8bcf78 100755
--- a/bin/vhost-user-add.sh
+++ b/bin/vhost-user-add.sh
@@ -116,12 +116,4 @@ if [[ ! -f /etc/php/$phpVersion/fpm/pool.d/$username.conf ]]; then
   fi
   echo "pm.max_children = $fpmmax" >> /etc/php/$phpVersion/fpm/pool.d/$username.conf
   echo "pm.process_idle_timeout = 3s;" >> /etc/php/$phpVersion/fpm/pool.d/$username.conf
-  # restart php$phpVersion-fpm
-  if systemctl is-active --quiet php$phpVersion-fpm ; then
-    if /usr/sbin/php-fpm$phpVersion -t >/dev/null 2>&1 ; then
-      systemctl reload php$phpVersion-fpm
-    else
-      echo "WARNING: php-fpm$phpVersion configuration test failed"
-    fi
-  fi
 fi
diff --git a/bin/vhost-user-del.sh b/bin/vhost-user-del.sh
index 066d09a..871db94 100755
--- a/bin/vhost-user-del.sh
+++ b/bin/vhost-user-del.sh
@@ -60,14 +60,6 @@ fi
 vhost::set-phpVersion
 if [[ -f "/etc/php/$phpVersion/fpm/pool.d/$username.conf" ]]; then
   rm /etc/php/$phpVersion/fpm/pool.d/$username.conf
-  # restart php$phpVersion-fpm if it's running
-  if systemctl is-active --quiet php$phpVersion-fpm ; then
-    if /usr/sbin/php-fpm$phpVersion -t >/dev/null 2>&1 ; then
-      systemctl reload php$phpVersion-fpm
-    else
-      echo "WARNING: php-fpm$phpVersion configuration test failed"
-    fi
-  fi
 fi
 
 # if users home dir is mounted in a jail, unmount it
@@ -96,6 +88,4 @@ fi
 # remove jailkit socket if it exists
 if grep -q "\[/usr/jails/$username/dev/log\]" /etc/jailkit/jk_socketd.ini; then
   sed -i "/\/usr\/jails\/$username\/dev\/log/,+3 d" /etc/jailkit/jk_socketd.ini
-  killall jk_socketd
-  jk_socketd
 fi
diff --git a/bin/vhost-user-jail.sh b/bin/vhost-user-jail.sh
index 2e40d05..c767cdf 100755
--- a/bin/vhost-user-jail.sh
+++ b/bin/vhost-user-jail.sh
@@ -56,6 +56,4 @@ chmod a+rwx /usr/jails/$username/tmp
 install -d -o $username -g $username -m 755 /usr/jails/$username/home/$username
 mount --bind /home/$username /usr/jails/$username/home/$username
 echo "/home/$username /usr/jails/$username/home/$username none bind 0 0" >> /etc/fstab.jails
-killall jk_socketd
-jk_socketd
 jk_jailuser -n -j /usr/jails/$username -s /bin/bash $username
diff --git a/bin/vhost-varnish-disable.sh b/bin/vhost-varnish-disable.sh
index a1d1093..285a31b 100755
--- a/bin/vhost-varnish-disable.sh
+++ b/bin/vhost-varnish-disable.sh
@@ -60,6 +60,4 @@ fi
 if [[ -f /etc/varnish/sites.d/$domain ]]; then
   rm /etc/varnish/sites.d/$domain
   /usr/local/bin/vhost-varnish-update-sites.sh $vhost_enable
-  # uncomment to flush varnish cache
-  # systemctl is-active --quiet varnish && systemctl reload --quiet varnish
 fi
diff --git a/bin/vhost-varnish-enable.sh b/bin/vhost-varnish-enable.sh
index 45ca363..da83295 100755
--- a/bin/vhost-varnish-enable.sh
+++ b/bin/vhost-varnish-enable.sh
@@ -103,7 +103,6 @@ if [[ ! -f "/etc/varnish/sites.d/$domain.vcl" ]]; then
   echo "  }" >> /etc/varnish/sites.d/$domain.vcl
   echo "}" >> /etc/varnish/sites.d/$domain.vcl
   /usr/local/bin/vhost-varnish-update-sites.sh
-  systemctl is-active --quiet varnish && systemctl reload --quiet varnish
 fi
 
 /usr/local/bin/vhost-enable.sh $vhost_enable
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 3dd3e1f..896f8c7 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -40,6 +40,16 @@ if [[ -f /etc/needrestart/needrestart.conf ]]; then
   sed -i "s|^#\$nrconf{restart} = 'i';|\$nrconf{restart} = 'a';|g" /etc/needrestart/needrestart.conf
 fi
 
+# create local systemd dir
+if [[ ! -d /usr/local/lib/systemd/system ]]; then
+  mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/systemd/system
+fi
+
+# install systemd files and reload
+cp systemd/* /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/
+chmod 644 /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/*
+systemctl daemon-reload
+
 # install pwgen, used to create random passwords
 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y install pwgen
 
@@ -94,6 +104,7 @@ echo '    AllowOverride None' >> /etc/apache2/conf-available/security.conf
 echo '    Options None' >> /etc/apache2/conf-available/security.conf
 echo '    Require all granted' >> /etc/apache2/conf-available/security.conf
 echo '</Directory>' >> /etc/apache2/conf-available/security.conf
+systemctl enable --now vhost-reload-apache.path
 
 # configure php
 sed -i "s|post_max_size = 8M|post_max_size = 256M|g" /etc/php/8.1/fpm/php.ini
@@ -112,6 +123,7 @@ systemctl reload apache2
 #   sed -i "s|^user = www-data|user = $USERNAME|g" /etc/php/7.2/fpm/pool.d/www.conf
 #   sed -i "s|^group = www-data|group = $USERNAME|g" /etc/php/7.2/fpm/pool.d/www.conf
 systemctl reload php8.1-fpm
+systemctl enable --now vhost-reload-php.path
 
 if [ -d /srv/www ]; then
   if [ -d /var/www ]; then
@@ -134,21 +146,13 @@ else
   install --owner=vhost --group=vhost --mode=755 --directory /srv/www/html
 fi
 
-# create local systemd dir, used by webalizer & jailkit
-if [[ ! -d /usr/local/lib/systemd/system ]]; then
-  mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/systemd/system
-fi
-
 # Webalizer
 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y install webalizer
 cp etc/logrotate.d/apache2 /etc/logrotate.d/apache2
 chmod 644 /etc/logrotate.d/apache2
 rm /etc/cron.daily/webalizer
 rmdir /srv/www/webalizer
-cp systemd/webalizer.* /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/
-chmod 644 /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/webalizer.*
-systemctl enable webalizer.timer
-systemctl start webalizer.timer
+systemctl enable --now webalizer.timer
 
 # install status.php
 cp html/status.php /srv/www/html
@@ -217,9 +221,8 @@ if ! [ -f "/etc/fstab.jails" ]; then
   chmod 644 /etc/fstab.jails
   echo "# /etc/fstab.jails: jail bind mounts information." > /etc/fstab.jails
 fi
-cp systemd/jail-mounts.service /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/
-chmod 644 /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/jail-mounts.service
 systemctl enable jail-mounts.service
+systemctl enable --now vhost-reload-jailkit.path
 
 # varnish
 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y install varnish
@@ -227,6 +230,7 @@ cp -a etc/varnish/* /etc/varnish/
 find /etc/varnish/ -type d -exec chmod 755 {} +
 find /etc/varnish/ -type f -exec chmod 644 {} +
 chown -R root:root /etc/varnish/
+systemctl enable --now vhost-reload-varnish.path
 ## /usr/bin/varnishncsa
 
 # mini_sendmail so users can send out of jails
diff --git a/systemd/vhost-reload-apache.path b/systemd/vhost-reload-apache.path
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c1ef2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systemd/vhost-reload-apache.path
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+[Unit]
+Description="Reload Apache on changes to sites-enabled configs"
+After=apache2.service
+
+[Path]
+PathChanged=/etc/apache2/sites-enabled/
+Unit=vhost-reload-apache.service
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=default.target
diff --git a/systemd/vhost-reload-apache.service b/systemd/vhost-reload-apache.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0332290
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systemd/vhost-reload-apache.service
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Reload Apache
+
+[Service]
+Type=oneshot
+ExecStartPre=sleep 2
+ExecStart=systemctl reload apache2
diff --git a/systemd/vhost-reload-jailkit.path b/systemd/vhost-reload-jailkit.path
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b94747
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systemd/vhost-reload-jailkit.path
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+[Unit]
+Description="Reload Jailkit socketd on changes to config file"
+
+[Path]
+PathChanged=/etc/jailkit/jk_socketd.ini
+Unit=vhost-reload-jailkit.service
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=default.target
diff --git a/systemd/vhost-reload-jailkit.service b/systemd/vhost-reload-jailkit.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cd1941c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systemd/vhost-reload-jailkit.service
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Reload Jailkit socketd
+
+[Service]
+Type=oneshot
+ExecStartPre=killall jk_socketd
+ExecStart=/usr/sbin/jk_socketd
diff --git a/systemd/vhost-reload-php.path b/systemd/vhost-reload-php.path
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5b4df68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systemd/vhost-reload-php.path
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+[Unit]
+Description="Reload PHP-FPM on changes to pool config files"
+After=php8.1-fpm.service
+
+[Path]
+PathChanged=/etc/php/8.1/fpm/pool.d/
+Unit=vhost-reload-php.service
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=default.target
diff --git a/systemd/vhost-reload-php.service b/systemd/vhost-reload-php.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8950a80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systemd/vhost-reload-php.service
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Reload PHP-FPM
+
+[Service]
+Type=oneshot
+ExecStartPre=sleep 2
+ExecStart=systemctl reload php8.1-fpm
diff --git a/systemd/vhost-reload-varnish.path b/systemd/vhost-reload-varnish.path
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..39b5d93
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systemd/vhost-reload-varnish.path
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+[Unit]
+Description="Reload Varnish on changes to site configs"
+After=varnish.service
+
+[Path]
+PathChanged=/etc/varnish/sites.d/
+PathChanged=/etc/varnish/sites.vcl
+Unit=vhost-reload-varnish.service
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=default.target
diff --git a/systemd/vhost-reload-varnish.service b/systemd/vhost-reload-varnish.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5b8d858
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systemd/vhost-reload-varnish.service
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Reload Varnish
+
+[Service]
+Type=oneshot
+ExecStartPre=sleep 1
+ExecStart=systemctl reload varnish.service
diff --git a/update.sh b/update.sh
index 42b54ca..99c4b90 100755
--- a/update.sh
+++ b/update.sh
@@ -82,16 +82,16 @@ if ! diff -q libexec/command-not-found-handle /usr/local/libexec/command-not-fou
   echo
 fi
 
-# check systemd timer for update
-if ! diff -q systemd/webalizer.service /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/webalizer.service ; then
-  cp systemd/webalizer.service /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/webalizer.service
-  chmod 644 /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/webalizer.service
-  echo "systemd/webalizer.service updated"
-  echo
-fi
-if ! diff -q systemd/webalizer.timer /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/webalizer.timer ; then
-  cp systemd/webalizer.timer /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/webalizer.timer
-  chmod 644 /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/webalizer.timer
-  echo "systemd/webalizer.timer updated"
-  echo
-fi
+# check for systemd updates
+systemdConfigs=(`ls -1 systemd/`)
+for systemdConfig in "${systemdConfigs[@]}"
+do
+  if ! diff -q systemd/$systemdConfig /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/$systemdConfig ; then
+    cp systemd/$systemdConfig /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/$systemdConfig
+    chmod 644 /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/$systemdConfig
+    systemctl daemon-reload
+    /systemctl --quiet is-active $systemdConfig && systemctl --quiet reload $systemdConfig
+    echo "systemd/$systemdConfig updated"
+    echo
+  fi
+done