This guide provides a comprehensive introduction to Plesk, detailing the initial login procedures, offering an in-depth overview of its user interface, and clarifying the essential concept of subscriptions. Whether you are a shared hosting customer or a server administrator, this section will equip you with the foundational knowledge to navigate and effectively utilize Plesk Obsidian.

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> represents either the domain name or the IP address associated with your Plesk server. Upon reaching the login page, you will be prompted to enter your assigned username and password to gain access. Your initial login experience will vary based on 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 may require you to update your default administrator password. You have the option to automatically generate a new password or manually specify one that adheres to Plesk's stringent password strength policies for enhanced security.

Logging In as a Shared Hosting Customer

Upon your first successful login as a shared hosting customer, you will be prompted to complete a contact information form. This form typically requests details such as:

• Your company name, if applicable.
• Your primary phone number and email address.
• Your current address and country of residence.

This vital information enables your hosting provider to contact you efficiently regarding any potential service issues or important updates. The form also offers you the opportunity to establish a new password for your user account. This newly set password, combined with your existing username, will be used for all subsequent Plesk logins. Please note that direct modification of your username is not available through the user interface; any desired changes to your username should be requested directly from your hosting provider.

Logging In as the Server Administrator

When you initially log in to Plesk as the server administrator, you will be guided through a series of configuration forms designed to gather your personal details and assist you in setting up Plesk's preliminary configurations. The sequential steps are 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 server parameters:
   • Specify the fully qualified hostname of your server.
   • Select the default IP address to be used by Plesk.
   • Categorize all IP addresses on your server into either shared or dedicated addresses.
   • Establish a new, secure password for the Plesk administrator account.
3. Personal Information Form: You will need to complete a form requesting your personal contact information to finalize the setup.
4. Plesk Interface Selector: Here, you will determine the primary purpose of your server and choose one of the two distinct Plesk interface options:
   • Power User view: This interface is recommended for web administrators who are actively managing websites for their clients.
   • Service Provider view: This interface is specifically designed for shared hosting providers who intend to offer hosting services to customers who will manage their own websites.
5. Plesk License Key Provision: You will be required to provide your Plesk license key. This can be done by uploading a .ZIP archive, an .XML file, or by entering the activation code directly.
6. First Subscription Configuration (if Power User view selected): If you opted for the Power User view, you will then configure your initial subscription, which involves specifying:
   • The primary domain name.
   • The associated IP address.
   • The system user username and password.

Plesk User Interface Explained

Plesk is designed to cater to a diverse range of users, each with unique needs and operational requirements. For instance, a hosting provider might need to establish service plans and configure server-wide settings, while a customer may primarily focus on creating a new database or modifying PHP settings for a specific domain. To effectively serve all parties, Plesk offers two distinct control panels:

• The Customer Panel: This panel is primarily oriented towards web hosting operations, providing all the essential tools required to create and manage websites, email accounts, and other related services. It is specifically tailored for hosting customers.
• The Power User view: This comprehensive view encompasses all the functionalities available in the Customer Panel, alongside additional tools that facilitate the management of server-wide settings. This view is ideally suited for server administrators who host their own websites, as well as for web agencies managing multiple client websites.

Both panels offer robust capabilities for managing subscriptions effectively. Given that this guide is designed for shared hosting customers and web designers who manage client websites, our primary focus will be on the Power User view. Let's delve into a detailed examination of the Plesk interface when operating in Power User view.

The Plesk Power User interface is logically structured to ensure ease of navigation and efficient management:

1. This prominent section, known as the Navigation Pane, plays a crucial role in organizing the Plesk interface. Tools are intuitively grouped by their function; for example, all tools related to managing web hosting settings are conveniently located on the Websites & Domains page, while mail account management tools are found on the Mail page. Below is a concise overview of some key tabs you might encounter, depending on your installed license and extensions, along with their core functionalities:
   • Websites & Domains: This is where you can add, remove, and manage domains, subdomains, and domain aliases. It also allows you to configure various web hosting settings, create and manage databases and database users, adjust DNS settings, and secure your websites with SSL/TLS certificates.
   • Mail: Use this tab to add and remove mail accounts, as well as to configure mail server settings.
   • Applications: From here, you can easily install and manage a wide array of popular web applications.
   • Files: This web-based file manager enables you to upload content to your website and manage existing files within your subscription on the server.
   • Databases: Create new databases or manage your existing ones through this section.
   • Statistics: Access detailed information about disk and traffic usage, and follow links to comprehensive web statistics providing an in-depth overview of your site's visitors.
   • Server: Visible exclusively to the server administrator, this tab provides tools for configuring server-wide settings.
   • Extensions: Manage installed Plesk extensions and access the additional functionalities they provide.
   • Users: Add and remove user accounts, allowing other individuals to log in to Plesk with specific permissions.
   • My Profile: This item, only visible in the Power User view, allows you to review and update your contact details and other personal information.
   • Account: Exclusively visible in the Control Panel for shared hosting customers, this item displays information about resource usage for your subscription, allowed hosting options, and granted permissions. Here, customers can retrieve and update contact details, personal information, and back up their subscription settings and websites.
   • Docker: If the Docker Manager extension is installed, this item becomes visible, allowing you to run and manage containers based on Docker images.
   • WordPress: Visible when the WPToolkit extension is installed, this tab provides comprehensive tools for configuring and managing your WordPress websites.
2. This is the Search field, a convenient tool for quickly finding domains, extensions, specific options, and more within the Plesk interface.
3. This section prominently displays the name of the currently logged-in user and the active subscription. Users can modify their account properties and select which subscription they wish to manage.
4. This section contains the Help menu, your gateway to accessing context-sensitive online guides and a library of helpful video tutorials.
5. This central section dynamically presents all controls and options relevant to the tab that is currently open. For example, in the provided screenshot, with the Websites & Domains tab active, various tools for managing web hosting aspects of the subscription are readily displayed.
6. This area provides a blend of miscellaneous controls and informative displays, designed to enhance user convenience and accessibility.

As you progress through this guide, you will find detailed instructions for performing numerous everyday tasks within Plesk. In most scenarios, these instructions will direct you to open a specific tab and click a particular control. If you encounter a situation where a required tab or control is missing from your panel, it is most probable that the corresponding functionality has been disabled for your subscription. In such instances, we advise you to reach out to your hosting provider for further assistance and clarification.

Overview of the Navigation Pane Items

The following table provides a detailed overview of the operations available under each tab in the Navigation Pane, offering quick reference to key functionalities:

Understanding Subscriptions

To fully grasp how resource usage is effectively managed within Plesk and how the range of options available to different users is controlled, it is crucial to understand the fundamental concept of a subscription.

When a customer acquires a hosting account, a dedicated subscription is automatically generated for them within Plesk. A subscription can be precisely defined as a tailored combination of available resources and granted permissions allocated to a specific user. Resources typically encompass disk space and bandwidth, while permissions might include, for example, the ability to add supplementary domains or modify PHP settings. This granular control over permissions offers hosting providers significant flexibility in determining which services and operations their customers are permitted to manage.

Note: Later in this guide, you will encounter instructions detailing a wide array of everyday tasks. If you find yourself unable to follow a particular set of instructions 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 circumstances, we advise you to reach out to your provider for further assistance and clarification.

The resources allocated to a subscription can be utilized by the customer as they deem most appropriate. For instance, 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 any combination thereof. Should the subscription permit the creation of multiple domains, the customer can establish one or more additional domains and judiciously distribute the available disk space among them according to their requirements.

It is important to recognize that a single customer may possess more than one subscription. However, a critical distinction is that resources are not shared between these individual subscriptions. For example, if a customer holds two separate subscriptions, each providing 100 megabytes of disk space, that customer cannot utilize 150 megabytes for one subscription and only 50 megabytes for the other. Such a disparity in resource usage would constitute a violation of one of the subscriptions' established resource limits and could potentially lead to the suspension of the offending subscription.

Warning: Should a subscription be suspended, all associated domains will become inaccessible, and the owner will be unable to manage the subscription until it has been reactivated by the provider. If you discover that your subscription has been suspended, please contact your hosting provider as promptly as possible to resolve the issue and restore full functionality.

For individuals managing their own Plesk server and hosting personal websites or those of their clients, the concept of strict resource limits is often less relevant. In such scenarios, the administrative subscription typically features unlimited resources, providing maximum flexibility and control.