Plesk is the control panel behind every VPSPioneer shared and reseller plan. It manages the website, its files, database, email, DNS and security from one screen. If you are opening it for the first time, this is the map.
The layout
After logging in you land on Websites & Domains. The left menu is the whole panel:
- Websites & Domains — everything about your sites. You will spend 90% of your time here.
- Mail — mailboxes, forwarders, spam settings.
- Applications — one-click installs (WordPress is better handled by its Toolkit, below).
- Files — the File Manager, an in-browser view of your site's files.
- Databases — MySQL/MariaDB databases and phpMyAdmin.
- Statistics — traffic, disk and resource usage.
- Users — additional logins for colleagues.
- Account — your subscription's limits and the option to log out.
Each domain on Websites & Domains is a card with a row of tools. The tools below refer to that card unless stated.
The ten things new users do first
1. Upload a site
Files (or File Manager on the domain card). The document root — where index.html or index.php must go — is httpdocs. Drag files in, or use the Upload button. For anything more than a few files, use SFTP with the credentials under Web Hosting Access.
2. Install WordPress
Click WordPress and then Install. Two minutes; the details are in installing WordPress with WordPress Toolkit.
3. Get an SSL certificate
SSL/TLS Certificates → Install under the Let's Encrypt section. Free, automatic renewal. Then tick the HTTPS redirect under Hosting Settings. Guide: free SSL in Plesk.
4. Create an email address
Mail → Create Email Address. Set the address, a password and a mailbox size. The settings for your phone or Outlook are shown by clicking the address afterwards. Full guide: creating email accounts in Plesk.
5. Change the PHP version
PHP Settings on the domain card. Pick the version at the top and, if you need them, adjust memory_limit, upload_max_filesize and max_execution_time further down. See changing PHP version and settings.
6. Add a subdomain or another domain
Add Subdomain or Add Domain at the top of Websites & Domains. Each gets its own document root, and Plesk creates the DNS records for it. Walkthrough: adding a domain and subdomain.
7. Edit DNS
DNS Settings on the domain card. Add, edit or remove records; changes are live within a minute if Plesk hosts your nameservers. Managing DNS in Plesk.
8. Create a database
Databases → Add Database. Give it a name and create a user with it. phpMyAdmin next to each database opens a browser-based SQL client.
9. Take or restore a backup
Backup & Restore on the domain card. Back Up takes one now; Schedule sets a recurring one; the list below lets you restore the whole subscription or individual files and databases. Plesk backups and restore.
10. Schedule a task
Scheduled Tasks — Plesk's cron interface. Run a PHP script, fetch a URL or run a command on a schedule, with email on failure. Cron jobs in Plesk.
Things worth knowing
Where the passwords are. Web Hosting Access has the SFTP/SSH login. Each database user's password is what you set at creation; it can be changed there but not viewed. Mail passwords likewise.
Logs. The Logs tool on the domain card shows access and error logs live, filterable by type. When a site shows a 500 error, the answer is here.
Two-factor authentication. Under your profile (top right) → Two-factor authentication. Turn it on; the panel controls everything. 2FA for Plesk and WordPress.
Resource usage. Statistics shows disk, traffic and — on shared plans — CPU and memory against your limits. If a site is slow, look here before anything else.
Help. The ? icon on any screen opens the Plesk documentation for that exact page.
Plesk changes little between versions, so once you know where these ten things are you can manage any Plesk server, including a VPSPioneer reseller plan where you get a Customers menu on top of all of the above.