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Getting Started with WordPress Pro

With the Multisite Management option of WordPress Pro, you can manage all your WordPress projects with the web server management software Plesk. Plesk, a web server management software suite, further simplifies the updates and testing processes of your WordPress installations. You can find an introduction for your first steps with WordPress Pro below.

Additional Information

Create a WordPress Installation with WordPress Pro

To install a WordPress installation with WordPress Pro:

  • Log in to your IONOS account account.
  • Click Menu > Hosting in the title bar.
    Optional: Select the desired WordPress Pro contract.
  • Click the Manage WordPress Projects with Plesk button. Plesk will open in a new browser window.
  • From the Plesk menu bar, select WordPress. The WordPress Toolkit tabs will be displayed.
  • Click Tab: Installations > Install > Button: Install WordPress . A palette with pre-populated parameters of your installation will pop up. Note that the Install tab is only present if a domain has been connected through Plesk. You can learn more about how to connect domains here.
  • Change these parameters as desired and add your email address in the WordPress Administrator > Email data group.
  • Start the installation with Install.

After a short time, your new WordPress installation will appear as a tile below the Plesk WordPress menu item. Note that under the Plesk menu item Websites & Domains, the domain for your WordPress installation must be active in advance.

Importing an Existing WordPress Installation into WordPress Pro

To import an existing WordPress installation into your WordPress Pro:

  • Log in to your IONOS account account.
  • Click Menu > Hosting in the title bar.
    Optional: Select the desired WordPress Pro contract.
  • Click the Manage WordPress Projects with Plesk button. Plesk will open in a new browser window.
  • From the Plesk menu bar, select Websites & Domains > %Name of your domain% > Website Importing.
  • Enter the URL and FTP credentials of your existing WordPress installation and start the process by clicking OK. Plesk will now scan the domain.
  • Click Import to import the detected WordPress installation.

After the import is complete, the WordPress installation willl appear as a tile under the Plesk WordPress menu item.

WordPress installations that were moved without using Plesk's WordPress/Import features must be added manually. To do this, select the Scan function under the Plesk menu item WordPress.

Found WordPress installations will be displayed as tiles. On the desired WordPress tile, click the tab: Information & Tools > General Info > Administrator > Setup to create a new administrator password. This will also allow this WordPress instance to be used by WordPress Pro.

Securing Your WordPress Installations

Once you start managing a new WordPress installation through Plesk, it's a good idea to check its security status.

  • Log in to your IONOS account account.
  • Click Menu > Hosting in the title bar.
    Optional: Select the WordPress Pro contract you want to use.
  • Click the Manage WordPress Projects with Plesk  button. Plesk will open in a new browser window.
  • From the Plesk menu bar, select WordPress > Tab: Security. A palette will appear showing the current security status of your WordPress installations.
  • Select the installations for which you want to apply security measures and click Secure. The Security Mesures window will open.
  • Click the All (critical and recommended) option to apply all suggested security measures. If problems occur, you can undo individual settings.

Updates for Wordpress, Plugins and Themes

WordPress Pro extends the update process for WordPress and its components with a pre-test for the stability of the updates.

  • Log in to your IONOS account account.
  • Click Menu > Hosting in the title bar.
    Optional: Select the WordPress Pro contract you want to use.
  • Click the Manage WordPress Projects with Plesk button. Plesk will open in a new browser window.
  • From the Plesk menu bar, select WordPress. WordPress installations with available updates are shown with the Updates: Available indicator.
  • Click View next to the indicator. A palette with the current update status of your WordPress installations will appear.
  • Enable Smart Update. This will create a copy of your WordPress installation before each update and apply the update to it.
  • Select the updates you want to apply and start the process by clicking the Update button. Smart Update checks the update results and shows screenshots with a before/after slider for visual control.

Creating a Test (Staging) Environment for WordPress Installations

WordPress Pro allows you to test major content and structural changes to your WordPress installation outside of your production environment. To do this, click on the Clone button of the desired WordPress tile.

On the palette that will appear, create a copy of your WordPress installation in a subdomain where you can make your changes. Use the Copy Data button on the tile of the created test environment to copy your changes back to your production environment.

Backup your WordPress Installation

With the Plesk Backup Manager you can quickly and easily perform backups of your Plesk configuration and your WordPress installations. The article Using HiDrive as backup storage for Plesk describes how to do this.

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