Setting up an SSL cert in Plesk

This is for how to generate a brand new SSL cert on a Plesk VPS or VM package.

After you have assigned an 'Exclusive' or dedicated IP address to the domain you wish to set the cert up on you can now start generating the CSR (Certificate Signing Request). This is a piece of encrypted text that you will pass on to whomever you are purchasing the SSL cert from.

See the following for how to assign an Exclusive IP address:
Setting a domain to use an exclusive IP address in Plesk
Or if running Plesk 10+:

In order to generate this log in to your Plesk control panel as the admin user and go to:
Domains >> thedomainname.com >> Certificates

In here you can fill in the first part of the form and press "Request" to request a CSR. The various fields mean:

Certificate name * - the full hostname you want the cert to be set up on. e.g. www.thedomainname.com, shop.thedomainname.com, or secure.thedomainname.com.
Bits - You can leave this at 2048 by default, though it would depend on the type of cert you are ordering (most are 2048)
Country, State or province *, Location (City) * - The address of the company/owner of the domain you are setting up the SSL cert for (this might not be your own address).
Organization name (company) * - The company name associated with the domain in question
Organization department/division name - you can set this to 'web'
Domain name * - the same as the certificate name (the certificate name is actually arbitrary, however it is less confusing to keep these the same).
E-mail * - your email address

Once you have the CSR you can pass it on to us, or whomever you are purchasing the SSL Certificate from.

When you receive the SSL certificate back you can paste it into the Certificate field.

Now just set the domain to use the new SSL cert under:
Plesk >> Domains >> domainname >> Domain Setup or Web Hosting Settings (depending on your Plesk version)

Notes: If you have a Windows VPS then when ordering the certificate through whomever you are purchasing it, please ensure you tell them it is for a Plesk system. If you are renewing an SSL cert, and need a new CSR to be generated, simply call the Certificate Name something else, like example.com_new