Getting Free SSL/TLS Certificate from Let’s Encrypt

Ensuring the security of your website is paramount in today's digital landscape. SSL/TLS certificates encrypt the connection between your website and its visitors, protecting sensitive data and building user trust. If the Let’s Encrypt extension is installed in Plesk, you have the convenient option to acquire a free SSL/TLS certificate from the renowned Let’s Encrypt Certificate Authority. This certificate can then be seamlessly used to secure your main domain, your webmail interface, and any associated "www" subdomains, as well as selected domain aliases.

How to Obtain a Free SSL/TLS Certificate from Let’s Encrypt

Follow these straightforward steps within Plesk to secure your domain with a free Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificate:

1. Navigate to the Websites & Domains section in your Plesk control panel, then select the Let’s Encrypt option.
2. Provide a valid email address. This address is crucial for receiving urgent notices regarding your certificate and for initiating lost key recovery processes, if ever needed. By default, Plesk pre-fills this field with the subscription owner's email address.
3. Determine if you wish to include an alternative domain name for your primary domain and each selected alias. For instance, selecting this option will secure www.example.com in addition to example.com. It is highly recommended to select this checkbox to cover common domain variations.
4. Indicate whether you want to include your webmail client, such as webmail.example.com, under the protection of this certificate. Securing webmail is a recommended best practice for encrypted communication.
5. If your domain has any associated domain aliases, review the list and select all aliases that you intend to include in the certificate. This ensures that all variations of your domain are equally secured.
6. Click Install to initiate the process of obtaining and installing the Let’s Encrypt certificate for your entire subscription. Plesk will handle the automatic certificate generation and installation.

Applying the Installed SSL/TLS Certificate to Your Domain

Once the Let’s Encrypt certificate has been successfully installed on your server, the next step is to apply it to your website to activate its security features:

1. Return to the Websites & Domains section of your Plesk panel and then click on Hosting Settings for the domain you wish to secure.
2. Locate and select the SSL/TLS support checkbox to enable secure communication for your website.
3. From the Certificate dropdown menu, choose the Let’s Encrypt certificate you have just received. This will link your newly installed certificate to your domain. After selecting, click OK to save the changes and apply the certificate to your hosting settings.