SSL/TLS Certificates in Plesk

Install a free Let’s Encrypt certificate

After issuing or renewing, confirm everything from the outside with the SSL test: chain, expiry, protocols, and hostname match, graded.

1. Open the subscription → SSL/TLS Certificates.
2. Click Install next to the Let’s Encrypt option.
3. Enter an email address for certificate expiry notifications.
4. Check Include www subdomain if you want the cert to cover both yourdomain.com and www.yourdomain.com.
5. Click Get it Free. Plesk requests the certificate from Let’s Encrypt and installs it automatically.
6. The certificate is valid for 90 days and renews automatically before expiry.

Domain must be pointing at your server: Let’s Encrypt verifies domain ownership by making an HTTP request to your domain. The domain’s A record must be pointing at your server IP before the certificate can be issued.

Force HTTPS

After installing SSL, redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS:

1. Open the subscription → Hosting Settings
2. Enable Redirect from HTTP to HTTPS permanently (301)
3. Save

Or add to .htaccess:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]

Install a custom certificate

If you purchased a certificate from a CA (DigiCert, Sectigo, etc.):

1. Open the subscription → SSL/TLS Certificates → Add.
2. Enter the certificate name.
3. Paste the private key, certificate, and CA bundle into the respective fields.
4. Click Upload Certificate.
5. Go back to SSL/TLS Certificates, select the certificate, and click Secure the Domain.

Manage the Plesk panel certificate

The Plesk admin interface itself also needs an SSL certificate. Install one:

1. Tools & Settings → SSL/TLS Certificates
2. Click Get it Free to issue a Let’s Encrypt cert for the Plesk hostname
3. Once issued, click Secure Plesk

Certificate status overview

Tools & Settings → SSL/TLS Certificates (server level) shows all certificates on the server with their:

• Domain coverage
• Issuer
• Expiry date
• Whether auto-renewal is active

Certificates shown in red are expired or expiring within 30 days.

Troubleshooting certificate issues

Let’s Encrypt fails with “domain not found” The domain’s A record hasn’t propagated yet. Wait and try again, or verify with dig yourdomain.com A +short.

Mixed content warnings after enabling HTTPS Your site has hardcoded http:// URLs in the database. Use a plugin like Really Simple SSL (WordPress) to find and replace them, or run:

wp search-replace 'http://yourdomain.com' 'https://yourdomain.com' --all-tables

Certificate for wrong domain Check that the domain in Plesk matches exactly what Let’s Encrypt was issued for (with/without www).