Installing an SSL Certificate in Parallels Plesk Panel

About the Intermediate Certificate

Before you install your issued SSL certificate, you must install our intermediate certificateon your Web server. An intermediate certificate is a subordinate certificate issued by the trusted root specifically to issue end-entity server certificates. The result is a trust-chain that begins at the trusted root CA, through the intermediate, and finally ending with the SSL certificate issued to you. Such certificates are called "chained root certificates."

Intermediate certificates provide an added level of security because the CertificationAuthority (CA) does not need to issue certificates directly from the CA root certificate.

The intermediate certificate must be installed on the server bundled with our ValiCert root certificate. 

Once you have downloaded the bundled certificate, intermediate certificate, and your issued SSL certificate, please follow the instructions below to install them on your Webserver.

To Install SSL and Intermediate Certificates in Parallels Plesk Panel 8.x

1. Log in to Parallels Plesk Panel.
2. From the left-hand menu, select Domains.
3. Click on the domain name that the certificate is issued for.
4. Click on the SSL Certificates menu item.
5. Click Browse and locate your signed SSL certificate.
6. Select it, then select Send File - this uploads and installs the certificate against the corresponding private key.
7. On the displayed list, click on the name of the certificate.
8. Open the certificate bundle (gd_bundle.crt) in a text editor and copy and paste its contents into the box labeled CA Certificate.
9. Click the Send Text button.
10. Click Up Level; then choose Setup.
11. At the top of the page, change the SSL Certificate drop-down menu to thecertificate you have just installed.
12. Click the Server item from the left-hand menu.
13. Click Service Management.
14. If your server is running Linux, stop and start the Apache process. If your serveris running Windows, start and stop the DNS service.
    NOTE: Simply restarting Apache will not work. Stop the service and start the service again to complete the installation.

To Install SSL and Intermediate Certificates in Parallels Plesk Panel 9.x

1. Log in to Parallels Plesk Panel.
2. From the left-hand menu, select Domains.
3. Click on the domain name that the certificate is issued for.
4. Click on the Certificates menu item.
5. Click Browse and locate your signed SSL certificate.
6. Select the certificate file and then click Send File.
7. Navigate to the location of the saved site certificate you received from us. Select it, then select Send File - this will upload and install the certificateagainst the corresponding private key.
8. On the displayed list, click on the name of the certificate.
9. Open the certificate bundle (gd_bundle.crt) in a text editor and copy and paste its contents into the box labeled CA Certificate.
10. Click the Send Text button.
11. Click Up Level.
12. Click Up Level again.
13. Select Web Hosting Settings.
14. At the top of the page, change the SSL Certificate field to the certificate you just installed and then click OK.
15. Click Home.
16. Click Service Management.
17. If your server is running Linux, stop and start the Apache process. If your serveris running Windows, start and stop the DNS service.

To Install SSL and Intermediate Certificates in Parallels Plesk Panel 10.x

1. Log in to Parallels Plesk Panel.
2. From the Hosting Services menu, click Domains.
3. Next to the domain name you want to use, click Control Panel.
4. Go to the Websites & Domains tab, and then click SSL Certificates.
5. Under Certificate name, click the certificate you want to use.
6. Next to the Certificate field, click Browse.
7. Locate your signed CRT file, e.g., coolexample.com.crt, and then click Open.
8. Next to the CA certificate field, click Browse.
9. Locate the certificate bundle, gd_bundle.crt, and then click Open.
10. Click Send File.
11. If your server is running Linux, stop and start the Apache process. If your serveris running Windows, stop and start the DNS service.