Web Hosting Guide
This guide will walk you through the process of setting up a website in your Plesk account.
Find the right web application for your thing.
Plesk offers an easy and powerful dashboard that gives you a complete set of tools for creating and editing websites quickly and maintaining them effortlessly.
You can significantly increase your website functionality by using different Content Management System (CMS) web apps installed directly on your website.
If you are an individual you can present yourself with a blog.
Companies can create an online storefront using e-commerce or CRM web apps.
Hundreds of free apps are available for installation from the Applications section of the Plesk dashboard, the most popular being WordPress.
Create a site that attracts visitors with
WordPress is the top hosting application for creating websites. We’ll introduce you to the basics of WordPress and explain the workflow of creating a website.
WordPress has remained the number one CMS app because it requires little to no HTML experience. This makes it perfect for beginners, professionals, and everyone in between.
Install WordPress Today!
Installing WordPress is as simple as a few clicks.
STEP 1:
Log into my.101domain.com and launch into your Plesk hosting panel under the Websites, Email & Security tab.
STEP 2:
Click Install WordPress located under the main Websites & Domains tab.
STEP 3:
Set your site title and WordPress admin username and password.
STEP 4:
We recommend enabling automatic security updates for WordPress core, plugins, and themes.
Let’s Encrypt SSL
Your hosting plan includes a free Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificate. If your domain is hosted with us this will automatically be set-up for you.
If your domain is not hosted with us or you want to check-in to make sure it’s working, here’s how you can do so:
STEP 1:
Click on Let’s Encrypt under the Websites & Domains tab in Plesk.
STEP 2:
Make sure the checkmarks are selected and the correct domain is secured.
If you are planning on selling products or creating an e-commerce website you might want to consider investing in one of our more powerful SSL Certificates. Having an SSL certificate encrypts sensitive information, protects your customers from cybercriminals and builds brand trust.
Advanced settings.
This section if for advanced users looking to manage PHP Settings for your domains or subdomains. Plesk supports multiple PHP versions out of the box.
Hundreds of free apps are available for installation from the Applications section of the Plesk dashboard, the most popular being WordPress.
To choose the PHP version, go to Websites & Domains > PHP Selector and select the desired PHP version from the menu. You can add all of the resources you need to by checking the boxes.
Set up your email accounts and configure mail settings in your Plesk dashboard.
Email is a brand-building tool used for many purposes including customer acquisition, sales, and support.
Every time you send an email or a newsletter you are getting your website and brand name out there in the digital world.
Email is the preferred method of communication for customers today. A professional email address says your band is an established and trustworthy source.
Power up with
so much more than just email!
Email is included with your hosting subscription but if you are looking for a solution for more than just yourself there is another option available.
If you have a small to medium size team and are looking for an email solution with cloud storage plus collaboration tools, you may want to consider Google Workspace (formerly G Suite).
Google Workspace helps teams increase their productivity with Google sheets, docs, video conference, and email.
Please note that Google Workspace is an independent product from your hosting plan and will need to be managed in a separate platform.
Create the email address where visitors can @ you
Click on the Mail tab in the left navigation of your Plesk dashboard, and click Create Email Address.
- Type the left part of the email address before the @ sign, and, if you have several domain names on your account, select the domain name under which the email address will be created.
- Specify a strong password.
- Leave the Mailbox check box selected. Clearing this check box makes sense only if you want to use this address as a mail forwarder, which will forward all incoming mail to another address.
- Use default settings for maximum resources.
- Click OK.
Take your inbox with you wherever you go
There are two ways you can access your mailbox for sending and receiving email messages.
- Set up and use an email client program on your computer. This option will require you to specify various settings. Learn how to access mail for your preferred client or device here.
- Use a web browser to connect to the webmail interface.
- In a Web browser, visit the
URL webmail.example.com, where example.comis the domain name of your website. When prompted, specify your full email address as the username (for example,[email protected]), and specify the email address password you set above. - When logged in to Plesk, go to Mail, and in the list of email addresses, click
the 
icon next to the email address you need.
- In a Web browser, visit the
Get to know these email records
MX Records are for email
SPF Records are for controlling who can send outgoing email
TXT Records are for SSL use or ownership verification
WordPress Toolkit
WordPress Toolkit is a single management interface that enables you to easily configure, secure, and manage WordPress.
With the WordPress toolkit, you can easily install, update and remove instances, themes and plugins.
Instance
A single installation of a WordPress website. You can make changes in Plesk that apply to one or all instances.
Plugin
Is a piece of software that can be added to your website to significantly increase your website functionality or add new features to your site.
Theme
A pre-made template that determines the overall design of your site including colors, fonts, and layout.
General information and places to know
In the General Info section, you see your WordPress website’s title, current version, and admin login and settings.
HERE YOU CAN
Click Change next to the default Site title to give your website a custom name.
Click
Click Setup to change general WordPress settings like password, email, and site language.
Secure Your WordPress Site
WordPress websites are frequently targeted by hackers. WordPress Toolkit analyzes how safe your website is by checking the following security aspects:
If you see “warning” or “danger” next to one of these aspects, click View and fix it.
Work Smarter Not Harder With These Awesome Tools
The WordPress Toolkit allows you access to many features in the Tools section.
Synchronize the content of your website with
Make a full copy of your website.
Manage your website files in File Manager.
These controls in the WordPress toolkit gives you easy access to the following settings and tools:
Shows your website in the search results of search engines.
Hides your website’s content from visitors and instead displays a maintenance screen.
Helps you debug a website that is not ready for viewing and being tested or developed.
Restricts public access to your website by requiring all visitors to provide username and password.
Check out our new full hosting product line-up!
Cloud Hosting
Dedicated Server Hosting
How to launch your brand new website (with a bang!)
In this section, we will explain how to create websites, fill them with content, add applications, and configure properties related to websites and domain names.
Stay on Trend
Pick Your Theme
A WordPress theme determines the overall design of your website including colors, fonts, and layout. Themes change the look and feel of your website without changing the content. With WordPress Toolkit, you can install and manage themes.
You can search for a theme you like in the WordPress Themes Repository or upload your own custom theme to install.
Once you find a theme you like, head on over to the Themes tab, and click Install. Search for a theme from the WordPress Theme Repository, and then click Install next to the theme you want. Install themes on one or all WordPress instances.
By default, a newly installed theme is not activated. To activate a theme for a particular instance, go to the Themes tab of an instance card. Switch on a theme to activate it. The theme that was previously active will be automatically deactivated.
Edit Your Site
In the General Info section under the Information & Tools tab, click
Customize your text, add images, create a menu and change colors to make your website your own.
Go ahead, check yourself out
You can check how your site will look in a web browser, even before your new site makes an appearance on the Internet.
To preview a site:
- Go to Websites & Domains in your Plesk dashboard.
- Click Preview below the domain name of the website that you want to preview. Your site will open in a new browser window.
Add Keywords To Help Users Find You
Half of the work is making sure your website can be found online. You can improve your site ranking in search results by adding keywords in the HTML text contained in your web pages:
Include frequently searched keyword phrases which are relevant to the topic of your site or your product several times in the text on your web pages.
Add relevant keywords to the <title> and <meta> tags. Search engines look for keywords and descriptions in meta tags to display in search results.
For example, if you are selling hosting automation software, then you can include the following tags in HTML pages of your website:
<head>
<title>Ordering hosting automation software</title>
<meta name=”keywords” content =”order,hosting,software“>
<meta name=”description” content =”Ordering Hosting Automation Software“>
</head>
Don’t Forget This Important Last Step
After you optimize and publish your website, submit it to popular search engines to
help drive traffic and attract visitors.
help drive traffic and attract visitors.
We’re Here to Help!
If you are ever wondering how you can get a hold of us we have many support and customer service channels available to you.
We have a thorough Knowledge Base that covers all types of questions we are frequently asked by our customers. 99% of the time this answers 99% of your questions (we made this up – but really it does!)
Our blog is also a great resource to turn to if you want to learn tons of effective tips, tricks, and stats regarding domain names, hosting, website security, and business development.
If your question can’t be answered with any of the support channels above, you can always open a support ticket in Your Account and we will help you find a solution as quick as possible.
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Contact / +1.760.444.8674 / Toll Free US +1.877.983.6624 / Fax +1.760.579.4996 / Corporate +1.888.982.7940