How to Install an SSL Certificate in Plesk (Complete Tutorial)

To install an SSL certificate in Plesk, go to Domains → your domain → SSL/TLS Certificates and choose between generating a free one with Let's Encrypt or uploading a commercial certificate you purchased from a CA.

This tutorial walks through both routes so you can enable HTTPS on your site in under ten minutes.

Before You Start: What You Need

Before touching Plesk, make sure you have the following ready:

• Access to Plesk with domain administrator or server administrator permissions.
• The domain pointing to the server (DNS must be propagated — this is critical for Let's Encrypt domain validation).
• If installing a commercial certificate: the .crt (or .pem) file, the private key .key file, and if your CA requires it, the certificate chain file (CA Bundle/intermediate).

Option A — Install Let's Encrypt (Free Certificate)

Plesk ships with the Let's Encrypt extension pre-installed in most recent versions. It's the fastest option and auto-renews every 90 days.

Detailed Steps

1. Log into Plesk and click Domains in the left sidebar.
2. Find the domain you want to secure and click its name to open the management panel.
3. Locate the Security block and click SSL/TLS Certificates.
4. Click the blue Get It Free button (next to the Let's Encrypt logo).
5. On the configuration screen, check the appropriate boxes:
   • Include the www subdomain — enable if you use both domain.com and www.domain.com.
   • Secure webmail too — optional, only if you use webmail on this domain.
   • Redirect HTTP to HTTPS — recommended; enables automatic redirection.
6. Click Get It Free and wait about 30-60 seconds while Plesk communicates with Let's Encrypt servers to validate the domain and issue the certificate.
7. When the confirmation message appears, the certificate is installed and active.

Verify the result by opening https://yourdomain.com in a browser — you should see the padlock icon in the address bar.

Option B — Install a Paid (Commercial) SSL Certificate

If you purchased a certificate from a certificate authority (DigiCert, Sectigo, GlobalSign, etc.) or through your hosting provider, the process has two stages: generating the CSR and then uploading the issued certificate.

Step 1 — Generate the CSR in Plesk

1. Go to Domains → your domain → SSL/TLS Certificates → Manage.
2. Click Add SSL/TLS Certificate.
3. Fill in the CSR form:
   • Certificate name: a descriptive name to identify it in Plesk.
   • Bits: select 2048 or 4096 (both are secure; 4096 is more robust).
   • Domain name: enter the exact domain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com).
   • Fill in organization details: country, state, city, company name, and contact email.
4. Click Request. Plesk will generate the CSR and private key, which will appear on screen.
5. Copy the CSR text (the -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- block) and paste it into your CA's form to complete the purchase and domain validation.

Step 2 — Upload and Install the Issued Certificate

Once the CA sends you the certificate (minutes for DV, days for OV/EV):

1. Return to Domains → your domain → SSL/TLS Certificates → Manage.
2. Find the certificate you created in the previous step (listed under the name you gave it) and click on it.
3. In the Upload certificate as text section, paste the contents of the .crt file from the CA into the Certificate field.
4. If the CA provided a chain file (CA Bundle or Intermediate), paste it into the CA Certificates field.
5. Click Upload Certificate.
6. Go back to the main SSL/TLS Certificates screen and make sure the newly uploaded certificate is selected as active for the domain. If not, select it and click Update.

Enable the HTTP to HTTPS Redirect

Installing the certificate alone isn't enough — you need to ensure all visitors use the secure version. In Plesk there are two ways to do this:

Basic .htaccess rule to force HTTPS:

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

After enabling the redirect, confirm there are no redirect loops by loading the site in a browser and checking the Network tab in DevTools.

Verify Your SSL Installation

Once the certificate is installed and the redirect is active, verify everything is working correctly:

• SSL Labs: go to ssllabs.com/ssltest and enter your domain. A grade of A or A+ confirms a solid configuration.
• Why No Padlock: detects mixed content (images or scripts still loading over HTTP that break HTTPS).
• Browser: the padlock in the address bar and the absence of mixed content warnings are immediate positive signs.

If you're unsure which certificate type suits your needs or need to set up SSL in a more complex environment, the team at hosting technical support specialists can point you in the right direction.

You can also explore more web protection resources in our SSL security section.

Key Takeaways

• Plesk lets you install free SSL certificates (Let's Encrypt) with automatic renewal in just a few clicks.
• For commercial certificates, generate the CSR from Plesk, submit it to the CA, then upload the issued certificate.
• Always enable the HTTP to HTTPS redirect so all visitors use the secure connection.
• Verify the installation with SSL Labs to confirm there are no vulnerabilities or mixed content issues.
• DNS must be propagated before installing Let's Encrypt; otherwise validation will fail.

Need help managing SSL on your server or migrating to a hosting plan with Plesk included? Visit elenlace.com and our team will advise you with no commitment.

FAQ

Does Let's Encrypt in Plesk renew automatically?

Yes. The Let's Encrypt extension in Plesk includes an automated task that renews certificates approximately 30 days before expiration (every 90 days). No manual action is needed, as long as the domain continues pointing to the server.

Can I install a wildcard certificate in Plesk?

Yes. Let's Encrypt supports wildcard certificates (*.domain.com) but requires DNS validation (DNS-01 challenge). In Plesk this can be configured if your DNS provider is integrated with the extension. For commercial wildcards, the process is the same as for any other paid certificate.

The certificate installed but the site still shows "Not Secure" — what's wrong?

The most common cause is mixed content: resources (images, stylesheets, scripts) still loading over HTTP instead of HTTPS. Use the Why No Padlock tool to identify them and update the URLs in your CMS or site code to use HTTPS or protocol-relative paths (//).

How long does SSL activation take after installing in Plesk?

Activation is immediate: as soon as Plesk confirms the installation, the server starts serving the site over HTTPS. There is no propagation delay for the certificate itself (though if you recently changed your DNS, that change can take up to 48 hours to propagate globally).

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