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Updated: 12/09/2025
( 25 minutes reading )
What are domain names? A question to which the answer may seem complicated, however, it's actually very straightforward. A domain name is a human-readable address or name for accessing online content, otherwise known as a website. Domain names utilize the DNS (Domain Name System), which translates the IP addresses’ numeric values into memorable names like hostarmada.com.
In Plesk, as well as other control panels, managing domains is an essential task that everyone should be familiar with, especially if they want to run an online business or create websites. This tutorial will walk you through the processes of adding new domains, sub-domains, and aliases, and managing existing ones. Hopefully, by the end, you will be able to efficiently manage your domains in Plesk! Without further ado, let’s begin!
To begin managing your domains in Plesk, please make sure you have logged in to your Plesk control panel. To do that, please type in your IP address, hostname, or domain name inside your browser search bar and add “:8443” at the end. It should look something like: https://yourdomain.com:8443. By doing that, you will be prompted by a login form requiring your username and password.
Once logged in, Plesk will automatically display the “Websites & Domains” page, as this will be the initial starting point of your web hosting journey!
The first step, of course, will be adding a domain name. To do that, please click on the “+ Add Domains” button, located right in the middle of the screen.
Once you perform this action, you will see a side menu show up on the left side of your screen, which will provide you with a couple of choices based on the type of website you are looking to create for that domain. Simply put, this will serve as a wizard that guides you towards adding and deploying the website. Let’s go over all the options to clear up any confusion related to them.
For the sake of this tutorial, we will use the “WordPress” option, as WordPress is the most used application on the planet, and this will likely be the case for the majority of people using Pleks as well.
Upon selecting the “WordPress” option, a new set of options will appear. At the top, you will see a text field where you need to add your domain name. Please use this text bar and type in your desired domain name.
Underneath, you will see the “Webspace settings” drop-down menu. If you expand it, you will see a few other options as well. Let’s go over them.
Finally, when you have added the above information, click on the “Add Domain” button located at the bottom left of the screen. Doing so will trigger a loading screen inside the window that will take a couple of seconds to perform the domain deployment process. Please let it finish.
When the domain deployment is over, the page will refresh, and you will see a brand new side menu that will allow you to deploy WordPress.
IMPORTANT: Please note that this screen will vary based on the earlier options you chose, based on the application/website you want to use.
We will not cover the WordPress installation process, as this will be covered in a separate tutorial.
At the end of the process, your page will be refreshed, and you will be redirected to your website’s management page, which, in our case, helps you manage everything related to WordPress.
However, the important thing is that we have added our first domain to Plesk! To return to the index page, which will allow you to add more domains, sub-domains, or aliases, please click on the “Websites & Domains” option on the left side menu.
If you wish to add another domain name, please click on the blue “Add Domain” button located on the top left side of the page. Performing this action will trigger the same process you did initially, so we will not go over it again.
Now that we have gone over the domain deployment process, let’s explore how we can add sub-domains to our Plesk control panel!
Subdomains can be considered and should be treated as stand-alone domain names, as they can be used for building websites; however, they are derived from other domain names, such as hostarmadatutorials.com. For example, blog.hostarmadatutorials.com is a subdomain of hostarmadatutorials.com.
To add a subdomain to your Plesk control panel, please click on the “Add Subodmain” button, located on the right side of the “Add Domain” button.
Upon doing so, the page will refresh, and Pleks will display the requirements to add a subdomain. Let’s go over all the requirements on the page so you can make better sense of them!
As we mentioned earlier, a subdomain is an actual domain name that shares all characteristics and settings of a domain. Thus, the first thing we need to do is pick a name for our subdomain. Next, we need to configure its root directory, or where it will load content from.
Finally, to create the subdomain, please click on the blue “OK” button located at the bottom of the page. Doing so will trigger a brief loading screen, after which Pleks will redirect you to your newly created subdomain’s management page, where you can start uploading a website, install an application, or do anything you would like to do with your subdomain. The options will be the same as the ones we explained earlier in the “Adding a New Domain” paragraph of this tutorial.
Now that we have subdomains covered, let’s move on to domain aliases!
Domain aliases let you point multiple domains to the same content, which is very useful for branding or redirecting traffic. To add a new domain alias, please click on the “Add Domain Alias” button located on the right side of the “Add Subdomain” button.
This action will redirect you to the domain alias configuration page. To avoid any confusion, let’s explore all the available options there.
Once these options have been configured, please click on the “OK” button located at the bottom of the page.
Doing so will refresh the page, and you will be redirected to the index page for “Domains & Website”, where you will see your domain Alias in the table section there.
There you have it! Adding Aliases is quite straightforward, and you should be completely aware of how to do it now.
Now that we know how to add domains, subdomains, and aliases, let’s go over the process of managing them and what kind of actions we can perform with them.
Managing domain names is an essential part of web hosting, and in the paragraphs to follow, we will go over the main operations you can perform with existing domain names and aliases in Plesk.
Removing domain names, subdomains, and aliases is a useful option when you no longer need them and wish to keep your domain area neat and uncluttered.
Thankfully, Pleks provides a seamless and straightforward option to remove domains/subdomains or aliases.
To remove a domain, please go to the index page of “Domains & Websites”. In the table section underneath, you will see a populated list of all your domains/subdomains and aliases. You will see a three-dot icon at the far right of each domain row.
Please click on the three-dot icon. Upon doing so, a drop-down menu will expand with three options. To remove a domain name, alias, or subdomain, please click on the last available option called “Remove Website”, “Remove Alias”, or “Remove Subdomain”. This choice will vary depending on the type of domain you want to remove.
After clicking the “Remove website” option, a prompt will appear notifying you that performing this action will not only remove the domain but also all files associated with it. To proceed, please click on the “Yes, remove” option.
You will receive a brief loading screen, after which the page will refresh, and you will no longer see the domain in your Plesk hosting account. This wraps up the domain removal process in Plesk. Next up, how to change your domain name to another one!
Changing your website’s domain can be quite a useful option, especially if you are looking to rebrand or if there is a domain name you have no use for anymore. Pleks provides a clear and easy way to perform this change, and we will explain how you can do that below!
To remove a domain, please go to the index page of “Domains & Websites”. In the table section underneath, you will see a populated list of all your domains/subdomains and aliases. You will see a three-dot icon at the far right of each domain row.
Please click on the three-dot icon. Upon doing so, a drop-down menu will expand with three options. To remove a domain name, alias, or subdomain, please click on the option called “Chage Domain”, or “Change Alias” depending on the type of domain you want to change.
Performing this action will open a pop-up window with a text field inside, allowing you to type in the new domain name for your website.
Once you populate the text field with the new name of your new domain, please click on the blue “Change” button on the bottom left side of the pop-up window.
Performing this will trigger a page refresh, after which you will see the domain name updated in your table section with the new one.
In addition to the option of removing and changing domain names, Plesk also presents the user with a variety of settings that allow them even deeper control over their domains.
To access the Hosting Settings for your domains, please navigate to the index page of the “Websites & Domains” functionality. Each domain and subdomain will have its individual “Hosting Settings” page. To open these settings, please click on the “settings slider” button located on the far right row corresponding to the domain you want to configure the settings for.
Performing this action will open a side menu with all the available Hosting Settings. They are divided into “Domain Settings” and “Webspace Settings”. Let’s explore each category individually to avoid any confusion!
Under these settings, Pleks will allow you to configure settings related to your domain’s browser behaviour and its document root.
Hosting Type
SSL/TLS support
Web Statistics
Web Scripting
Settings under this category will allow you to enable or disable scripts that your web server should interpret.
The settings available under this category will allow you to perform changes related to the webspace of your domain, such as changing passwords/usernames, enabling or disabling SSH access, and changing IP addresses.
IMPORTANT: These settings will affect all domains under your web space, including sub-domains.
System user’s Credentials
These credentials will allow you to manage your website’s files using FTP, the Pleks File Manager, and SSH (if enabled).
SSH access
IP address
Disk Space Quota
When you are finished setting up the domain’s Hosting Settings, please ensure to click the blue “Save” button at the bottom left side of the side menu.
With Plesk, domain management is streamlined and intuitive. Whether you're setting up a new domain, adding a blog subdomain, or redirecting traffic through aliases, Plesk provides all the tools you need to keep your web presence organized and efficient.
By following the steps in this tutorial, you'll be equipped to handle all major aspects of domain management directly from your Plesk control panel.
Nikola is an accomplished tech-savvy extraordinaire with over six years of experience in the web hosting field. He started as a customer care representative and quickly rose the ranks to become a support supervisor and, eventually - the head of the technical department in HostArmada. His deep understanding of the client's needs, combined with his technical knowledge, makes him the perfect man to create the ideal harmony between client satisfaction and professional problem-solving. You will often find him creating helpful tutorials, articles, and blog posts that help existing customers get around.
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