How to install an SSL certificate in Plesk

This guide will explain how to install SSL certificates or enable a Let’s Encrypt certificate for domains in Plesk using either the Power-user or Service-provider interfaces.

Power User interface

Follow these steps to install an SSL certificate for domains in Plesk using the Power-user interface:

1. Open the websites and domains menu from the left column of the Plesk panel.
2. Scroll down this page to locate the domain name you need to update and select SSL/TLS Certificates.
3. Click the button Add SSL/TLS Certificate.
4. Enter a name for the certificate
5. Scroll down the page to either upload your certificate files or add the certificate as text.
6. To add the certificate as text:
   • Open the private key file for your certificate (.key) in a text editor and copy/paste the contents of the file into the Private key (*.key) * field.
   • Open the certificate file (domain-name.com.crt) in a text editor and copy/paste the contents of the file into the Certificate (*.crt) * field.
   • Open the CA certificate file (ca.crt) in a text editor and copy/paste the contents of the file into the CA certificate (*-ca.crt) field.
7. Click Upload Certificate to install the certificate to your server.

To enable the certificate for your website, follow these steps:

1. Open the websites and domains menu from the left column of the Plesk panel.v
2. Click Hosting Settings for the site the SSL certificate should be enabled for.
3. Under Security click the drop-down menu for certificate and select the correct certificate name for your site.
4. Click OK to enable the SSL certificate.

Follow these steps to enable a Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate for domains in Plesk using the Power-user interface:

1. Open the websites and domains menu from the left column of the Plesk panel.
2. Click the Let’s Encrypt link below the domain that you want to enable a Let’s Encrypt certificate for.
3. Enter an email address for any notifications/warnings about the certificate to be sent to.
4. Select the tick-boxes if you want the www and webmail prefixes of the domain to be covered by the certificate.
5. Click Install to add the Let’s Encrypt certificate.

Please note: The domain will need to resolve to your server IP address for the Let’s Encrypt certificate setup to complete.

Service Provider interface

Follow these steps to install an SSL certificate for domains in Plesk using the Service-provider interface:

1. Open the domains menu from the left column of the Plesk panel.
2. Click the domain name that you want to access from the list on the following page.
3. Click the link for SSL/TLS from the domain name control panel page.
4. Click the button Add SSL/TLS Certificate.
5. Enter a name for the certificate
6. Scroll down the page to either upload your certificate files or add the certificate as text.
7. To add the certificate as text:
   • Open the private key file for your certificate (.key) in a text editor and copy/paste the contents of the file into the Private key (*.key) * field.
   • Open the certificate file (domain-name.com.crt) in a text editor and copy/paste the contents of the file into the Certificate (*.crt) * field.
   • Open the CA certificate file (ca.crt) in a text editor and copy/paste the contents of the file into the CA certificate (*-ca.crt) field.
8. Click Upload Certificate to install the certificate to your server.

To enable the certificate for your website, follow these steps:

1. Open the domains menu from the left column of the Plesk panel.
2. Click the domain name that you want to access from the list on the following page.
3. Click Hosting Settings for the site the SSL certificate should be enabled for.
4. Under Security click the drop-down menu for certificate and select the correct certificate name for your site.
5. Click OK to enable the SSL certificate.

Follow these steps to enable a Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate for domains in Plesk using the Service-provider interface:

1. Open the domains menu from the left column of the Plesk panel.
2. Click the domain name that you want to access from the list on the following page.
3. Click the Let’s Encrypt link from the domain control panel page.
4. Enter an email address for any notifications/warnings about the certificate to be sent to.
5. Select the tick-boxes if you want the www and webmail prefixes of the domain to be covered by the certificate.
6. Click Install to add the Let’s Encrypt certificate.