Plesk

Plesk is a commercial web hosting control panel designed to simplify the management of websites, domains, email, databases, and other hosting tasks. It provides a web-based graphical user interface that enables hosting providers, developers, and system administrators to provision and administer websites on both Linux and Windows servers.

Plesk supports multi-domain hosting and offers tools to manage websites, mail accounts, databases (MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL), DNS settings, FTP accounts, and certificates. It includes development and deployment capabilities such as WordPress Toolkit, Docker integration, Git deployment, and support for PHP, Node.js, and Ruby. The platform is designed to help automate routine tasks and streamline site administration.

Security and reliability features include Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates, ModSecurity, fail2ban, and backup options. Administrators can automate tasks through a REST or XML API and a command line interface, and extend functionality via an integrated extensions marketplace that offers various add-ons and integrations.

Plesk runs on major Linux distributions (such as Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS/RHEL, and openSUSE) and Windows Server. Editions target different user groups, from Web Admin to Web Pro and Web Host, and licensing is typically per-server with a fixed domain allowance or per-subscription options.

Originating in 2001 with SWsoft (later Parallels), the Plesk product line evolved into a standalone solution developed by Plesk International GmbH. It is widely used by hosting providers, data centers, and IT teams to streamline server provisioning, website deployment, and ongoing administration, offering a centralized, extensible platform for managing web hosting environments.