Getting Started with Plesk Obsidian

This section is designed to guide you through the initial steps of working with Plesk Obsidian. It offers a brief yet comprehensive overview of its intuitive interface and clarifies the fundamental concept of subscriptions, which is crucial for effective resource management.

Logging In to Plesk for the First Time

To access your Plesk control panel, navigate to the following URL in your web browser:

https://<Plesk server's address>:8443

Here, <Plesk server’s address> refers to either the domain name or the specific IP address assigned to your Plesk server. Upon reaching the login page, you will be prompted to enter your username and password. Your initial login experience may vary based on your role, specifically whether you are a shared hosting customer or an administrator managing your own server.

Note: If you are logging in as a Plesk administrator, the system might require you to change your default administrator password as per security settings. You have the option to generate a strong password automatically or manually set one that adheres to Plesk's established password strength policies.

Logging In as a Shared Hosting Customer

When shared hosting customers log in to Plesk for the very first time, they will be directed to a form requesting essential contact information. This typically includes:

• Your company name, if applicable.
• Your primary phone number and email address for communication.
• Your residential or business address and country of residence.

This information is vital for your hosting provider to contact you promptly in the event of any service-related issues or important updates. Additionally, this form provides an opportunity to establish a new password for your user account. This password, in conjunction with your assigned username, will be used for all subsequent logins to Plesk. Please note that direct modification of your username is not permitted; should you wish to change it, you must contact your hosting provider for assistance.

Logging In as the Server Administrator

Server administrators logging into Plesk for the first time will encounter a series of configuration forms. These forms are designed to collect personal details and facilitate the initial setup of your Plesk environment. The sequence of steps is as follows:

1. Plesk License Agreement: You must review and accept the Plesk license agreement to proceed with the setup process.
2. Initial Configuration: This crucial step involves defining several core server settings:
   • Specifying the full hostname of your server.
   • Selecting the default IP address for your server.
   • Categorizing all server IP addresses into shared and dedicated types.
   • Setting a new, secure password for the Plesk administrator account.
3. Personal Information Form: You will be required to complete a form with your personal details to continue.
4. Plesk Interface Selector: Here, you will choose the primary purpose for your server and select one of two distinct Plesk interface options:
   • Power User view: This interface is recommended for web administrators who manage multiple client websites and require comprehensive control.
   • Service Provider view: Ideal for shared hosting providers, this view is tailored for those who sell hosting services to customers who will then manage their own websites independently.
5. Plesk License Key Provision: You will need to supply your Plesk license key. This can be done by uploading a .ZIP archive, an .XML file, or by entering a specific activation code.
6. First Subscription Configuration (Power User view only): If you have opted for the Power User view, you will be prompted to configure your initial subscription by specifying:
   • The desired domain name.
   • The associated IP address.
   • A username and password for the system user.

Plesk User Interface Explained

Plesk is designed to cater to a diverse range of users, each with unique requirements and operational scenarios. For instance, a service provider might focus on establishing service plans and configuring server-wide settings, while an individual customer primarily needs tools to create databases or modify PHP settings for their specific domains. To efficiently address these varied needs, Plesk offers two distinct control panels:

• The Customer Panel: This panel is specifically tailored for web hosting operations, providing all the essential tools for creating and managing websites, email accounts, and other related services. It is optimized for hosting customers who need a straightforward interface to manage their online presence.
• The Power User view: This comprehensive view integrates all functionalities available in the Customer Panel with additional tools for managing server-wide settings. It is ideally suited for server administrators who host their own websites or for web studios that manage a portfolio of client websites, offering a unified environment for both web hosting and server administration tasks.

Both the Customer Panel and the Power User view facilitate the management of subscriptions.

Given that this guide is intended for shared hosting customers and web designers who manage client websites, our focus will be primarily on the Power User view to illustrate its functionalities. The Plesk interface is thoughtfully organized to ensure ease of navigation and efficient task completion.

1. The Navigation Pane is a key element that structures the Plesk interface. Tools are logically grouped by their function, enhancing usability. For example, all settings pertaining to web hosting are conveniently located on the Websites & Domains page, while email account management tools can be found on the Mail page. Below is a detailed description of some of the commonly available tabs and their core functionalities, which may vary depending on your installed license and extensions:
   • Websites & Domains: This central hub allows you to add and remove domains, subdomains, and domain aliases. You can also manage diverse web hosting settings, create and manage databases and their users, adjust DNS settings, and secure your websites using SSL/TLS certificates.
   • Mail: Use this tab to effortlessly add and remove mail accounts, in addition to configuring and managing mail server settings.
   • Applications: From this section, you have the ability to install and manage a wide array of web applications, streamlining your site development and functionality.
   • Files: This integrated web-based file manager enables you to upload content to your website and efficiently manage all files and directories within your subscription on the server.
   • Databases: Here, you can create new databases or efficiently manage any existing ones that support your web applications.
   • Statistics: This tab provides valuable insights into your disk space and traffic usage. It also offers a link to detailed web statistics, presenting a comprehensive overview of your site's visitor data.
   • Server: Exclusively visible to the server administrator, this tab provides powerful tools for configuring server-wide settings and maintaining optimal server performance.
   • Extensions: This area allows you to manage installed Plesk extensions and access the specialized functions these extensions provide, enhancing Plesk's capabilities.
   • Users: Utilize this tab to add and remove user accounts, granting other individuals access to log in to Plesk and perform designated tasks.
   • My Profile: Visible only in the Power User view, this item enables you to review and update your contact details and other personal information.
   • Account: This item is specifically visible in the Control Panel for shared hosting customers. It presents information about resource usage for your subscription, outlines allowed hosting options, and lists granted permissions. The tools here empower customers to retrieve and update their contact details, personal information, and back up their subscription settings and websites.
   • Docker: If the Docker Manager extension is installed, this item allows you to run and manage containers based on Docker images, facilitating modern application deployment.
   • WordPress: Should the WPToolkit extension be installed, this tab provides dedicated tools to configure and comprehensively manage your WordPress websites.
2. The Search field is a convenient feature allowing you to quickly find domains, extensions, specific options, and other elements within the Plesk interface.
3. This section prominently displays the name of the currently logged-in user and the active subscription. Users can easily modify their account properties and switch between different subscriptions they are authorized to manage.
4. The Help menu provides immediate access to context-sensitive online guides and a library of video tutorials, offering assistance whenever you need it.
5. This area dynamically showcases all controls and tools pertinent to the tab currently open. For instance, when the Websites & Domains tab is active, various tools for managing web hosting aspects of the subscription are displayed.
6. This final section consolidates a variety of miscellaneous controls and informative displays, designed to enhance user convenience and provide quick access to commonly used functions or status updates.

Throughout this guide, we will furnish detailed instructions on how to accomplish numerous everyday tasks within Plesk. These instructions typically involve navigating to a specific tab and clicking on a particular control. If you find that a tab or control described is absent from your panel, it is most likely due to that specific feature being disabled for your subscription. In such instances, we recommend reaching out to your hosting provider for clarification and assistance.

Overview of the Items in the Navigation Pane

The following table provides a comprehensive overview of the key tabs found in the Plesk Navigation Pane and the operations that can be performed within each:

Understanding Subscriptions

To fully grasp how resource utilization is managed within Plesk and how the range of available options is controlled for different users, it is essential to understand the core concept of a subscription.

When a customer procures a hosting account, a dedicated subscription is established for them within Plesk. A subscription is best defined as a comprehensive package encompassing a specific set of available resources and granted permissions. Resources typically include allocated disk space and monthly data traffic, while permissions dictate abilities such as adding supplementary domains or modifying PHP settings. These permissions provide hosting providers with significant flexibility in determining which services and operations customers are authorized to manage.

Note: As you progress through this guide, you will find instructions for performing a wide variety of routine tasks. If you encounter difficulties following a particular set of instructions, perhaps due to a missing tab or button, the most probable reason is that your hosting provider has disabled the corresponding permission within your subscription's properties. In such cases, please contact your provider for clarification and support.

The resources allocated to a subscription can be utilized by the customer as they deem fit. For example, if a subscription includes 100 megabytes of disk space, the customer has the freedom to allocate this space for website content, email storage, databases, or a combination of these elements. Furthermore, if the subscription permits the creation of multiple domains, the customer can establish one or more additional domains and distribute the available disk space among them according to their needs.

It is important to recognize that a single customer may possess multiple subscriptions. However, a critical aspect to understand is that resources are strictly compartmentalized and are not shared between different subscriptions. For instance, if a customer holds two subscriptions, each providing 100 megabytes of disk space, they cannot use 150 megabytes for one subscription and only 50 megabytes for the other. Such an allocation would constitute a violation of one subscription’s resource limits and could potentially lead to the suspension of the non-compliant subscription.

Warning: The suspension of a subscription results in all associated domains becoming immediately unavailable. Furthermore, the owner will be unable to manage the subscription until it has been reactivated by the hosting provider. If you discover that your subscription has been suspended, it is imperative to contact your provider as soon as possible to resolve the issue and restore service.

For individuals managing their own Plesk server to host personal websites or those of their clients, the necessity for stringent resource limits is often negligible. In such administrative scenarios, the subscription is typically configured with unlimited resources, providing maximum flexibility and control.