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Installing an SSL Certificate in Plesk

For Cloud Servers, migrated Cloud Servers, VPS, and Dedicated Servers managed in the Cloud Panel

This article explains how to secure a website managed with Plesk with an SSL certificate. It also explains how to protect email addresses and webmail with the SSL certificate. The required procedure is described using the Power User view.

Requirements

  • You have the private key, the SSL certificate (public key), and the intermediate certificate. You can find instructions on how to download the SSL certificate and the intermediate certificate in the following article:
    Downloading Your SSL Certificate and Intermediate Certificate

  • You finished setting up your domain in Plesk.

  • Log in to Plesk as an administrator.

  • Click on Websites & Domains in the navigation bar on the left.

  • Click on the down arrow next to the desired domain.

A screenshot of the Plesk panel, with the down arrow next to the domain name highlighted

  • In the Dashboard tab, click SSL/TLS certificates in the Security section. The SSL/TLS certificate for [domain name] page is then displayed.

A screenshot of the Plesk panel with the "SSL/TLS Certificates" section highlighted

  • Optional: Select the type of SSL certificate under the heading Which certificate are you looking for?

  • In the Download or remove existing certificates area, click Manage.

  • To upload an IONOS SSL certificate, click on + Add SSL/TLS certificate. The Add SSL/TLS certificate page is then displayed.

A screenshot of the Plesk panel, highlighting the button "Add SSL/TLS Certificate"

  • Give the certificate any name that you want.

    Because this SSL renewal and reinstallation process happens annually, it's a good idea to incorporate a date or year into the name. You will need to choose this SSL by name from a list in a further step.

  • Select your country from the list.

  • Go to the Upload certificate files section and select the files for the private key, the SSL certificate, and the CA certificate (in this case the intermediate certificate) on your computer. For this purpose, rename the file extension of the intermediate certificate to .ca.cer.

  • Click on Upload certificate.

A screenshot of the Plesk panel with the Upload Certificate button highlighted.

Connecting Your Website with the SSL Certificate

Once you have uploaded the private key, the SSL certificate and the CA certificate, you can connect the SSL certificate to the website.

  • Click on Websites & Domains in the navigation bar on the left.

  • Click the down arrow next to the desired domain.

A screenshot of the Plesk interface, highlighting the down arrow next to the domain name

  • Go to the Hosting & DNS tab and select Hosting.

A screenshot of the Plesk panel, highlighting the Hosting option under Hosting & DNS

  • Select the desired domain from the Preferred domain* list.

  • In the SSL/TLS support section, activate the checkbox labeled Enabled.

  • Activate the option Redirect visitors from HTTP to HTTPS via an SEO-friendly 301 redirect and select the desired SSL certificate.

A screenshot of the Hosting Settings section in the Plesk panel

  • Click on Save.

Your website is now accessible via https://yourdomain.tld.

Protecting Webmail/Email

  • Click on Websites & Domains in the navigation bar on the left.

  • Click the down arrow next to the desired domain.

A screenshot of the Plesk panel, with the down arrow next to the domain name highlighted

  • Click on the SSL/TLS Certificates icon in the Security section.

  • Check the box next to the desired SSL certificate.

A screenshot of the Plesk panel, highlighting an example SSL certificate in a list

  • To protect webmail with the SSL certificate, click Secure webmail.

  • To use the SSL certificate to protect email addresses that contain the domain name for which the SSL certificate was issued, click Secure mail.

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