Every hosting plan includes Plesk with a WordPress installer. You do not have to download anything manually or create databases.
- 1Log in to Plesk with the details from your welcome email.
- 2Click WordPress in the menu.
- 3Click Install and pick the domain your site should live on.
- 4Enter your preferred username, password and email address.
- 5Click install and wait about a minute.
Do this right after
- Enable SSL via the SSL/TLS tab, it is free and takes a minute
- Check that your site runs on https and http redirects automatically
- Turn on automatic updates for the WordPress core
Want to test before pushing changes live? Use the staging feature in Plesk. You make a copy, change it and publish afterwards.
The first settings that matter
| Setting | Where | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Permalinks to Post name | Settings, Permalinks | Clean urls, better for search engines |
| Allow search engines | Settings, Reading | Otherwise your site stays invisible |
| Time zone to Amsterdam | Settings, General | Scheduled posts appear at the right time |
| Automatic updates on | Plugins and core | Prevents known security holes |
Plugins we recommend
- A caching plugin for speed, for example WP Super Cache
- An SEO plugin for your meta titles and sitemap
- A backup plugin on top of our own backups
- Nothing more than that. Every extra plugin makes your site slower and more vulnerable.
Never install two caching plugins side by side. That is the most common cause of a white page after an update.