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Installing an SSL Certificate in Parallels Plesk Panel

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Last Updated: July 15, 2015 3:22 PM

Follow the instructions below to install the SSL certificate on your Web server. When you have completed the installation process, you must restart Parallels Plesk Panel so that your server will recognize the new certificate.

About the Intermediate Certificate

Before you install your issued SSL certificate, you must install our intermediate certificate on your Web server. Intermediate certificates provide an added level of security because the Certification Authority (CA) does not need to issue certificates directly from the CA root certificate.

An intermediate certificate is a subordinate certificate issued by the trusted root specifically to issue end-entity server certificates. The result is a trust-chain that begins at the trusted root CA, through the intermediate, and finally ending with the SSL certificate issued to you. Such certificates are called "chained root certificates."

You can download the intermediate/root certificate bundle from our repository.

After you download the bundled certificate, intermediate certificate, and your issued SSL certificate, install all of the files on your Web server. For more information, see Downloading an SSL Certificate.

To Install SSL and Intermediate Certificates in Parallels Plesk Panel 8.x

  1. Log in to Parallels Plesk Panel.
  2. From the menu on the left, select Domains.
  3. Click on the domain name that the certificate is issued for.
  4. Click SSL Certificates.
  5. Click Browse and locate your signed SSL certificate.
  6. Select it, then select Send File. This uploads and installs the certificate against the corresponding private key.
  7. Click the name of the certificate.
  8. Open the certificate bundle in a text editor and copy and paste its contents into the box labeled CA Certificate.
  9. Click Send Text.
  10. Click Up Level, and then select Setup.
  11. At the top of the page, select the certificate you have just installed.
  12. Click the Server item from the menu on the left.
  13. Click Service Management.
  14. If your server is running Linux, stop and start the Apache process. If your server is running Windows, stop and start the IIS service.

    NOTE: Simply restarting Apache will not work. Stop the service and start it again to complete the installation.

To Install SSL and Intermediate Certificates in Parallels Plesk Panel 9.x

  1. Log in to Parallels Plesk Panel.
  2. From the menu on the left, select Domains.
  3. Click on the domain name that the certificate is issued for.
  4. Click Certificates.
  5. Click Browse and locate your signed SSL certificate.
  6. Select the certificate file and then click Send File.
  7. Navigate to the location of the saved site certificate you received from us. Select it, then select Send File. This uploads and install the certificate against the corresponding private key.
  8. On the displayed list, click on the name of the certificate.
  9. Open the certificate bundle in a text editor and copy and paste its contents into the box labeled CA Certificate.
  10. Click the Send Text button.
  11. Click Up Level.
  12. Click Up Level again.
  13. Select Web Hosting Settings.
  14. At the top of the page, change the SSL Certificate field to the certificate you just installed and then click OK.
  15. Click Home.
  16. Click Service Management.
  17. If your server is running Linux, stop and start the Apache process. If your server is running Windows, stop and start the IIS service.

To Install SSL and Intermediate Certificates in Parallels Plesk Panel 10.x and 11.x

  1. Log in to Parallels Plesk Panel as admin. For more information, see Logging in to Your Server.
  2. If necessary, switch to Service Provider view. For more information, see Accessing Service Provider View in Plesk.
  3. From the Hosting Services menu, click Domains.
  4. Next to the domain name you want to use, click Open in Control Panel.
  5. Plesk 11.0-11.4: Go to the Websites & Domains tab, and then click Secure Your Sites.

    Plesk 11.5+: Go to the Websites & Domains tab, click the domain name, and then click Secure Your Sites.
  6. Under Certificate name, click the certificate you want to use.
  7. Next to the Certificate field, click Browse.
  8. Locate your signed CRT file, such as 123456789.crt, and then click Open.
  9. Next to the CA certificate field, click Browse.
  10. Locate the certificate bundle, and then click Open.
  11. Click Send File.
  12. Go to the Websites & Domains tab, and then click the domain name at the bottom of the page.
  13. Make sure that Enable SSL support is selected, and then select your SSL certificate from the menu.
  14. Click OK.
  15. If your server is running Linux, stop and start the Apache process. If your server is running Windows, stop and start the IIS service.

Your SSL certificate should now be installed. If you have problems, see Where can I get information about my SSL's configruation? to help diagnose issues.