In this article, we will explain what Plesk hosting is. We will also review each of the different hosting types supported by Plesk: Web hosting, Forwarding, and No hosting.
Plesk web hosting
When we talk about web hosting, we mean the physical server where the website is located. For example, HostPapa is a web hosting service with physical servers where your website information lives.
Some specifications of your Plesk web hosting you should know about are:
Document root: This is the location of the directory where you can find all the files and subdirectories of your site. The default directory is “httpdocs”, but you can specify another one.
Preferred domain: Commonly, all websites are accessible with or without the prefix “www” (i.e. www.yourdomain.com or yourdomain.com). You can set a Preferred domain to one of these to redirect your visitors to yourdomain.com, even if they type www.yourdomain.com.
Plesk uses HTTP 301 code for this redirection, which is SEO-friendly. If you disable the Preferred domain, the search engines will split your domain rankings between two URLs.
Forwarding domains
Domain name forwarding: You can redirect one or more registered domains to one website. This will automatically redirect visitors from one or your domain to another. You can choose between two types of redirects with Plesk: standard and frame forwarding.
Standard forwarding: Users who have been redirected to another URL will be able to see the destination URL in the browser’s bar. You can also choose a permanent redirect (code 301) or a temporary redirect (code 302), both of which are HTTP response codes.
- Permanent redirects (code 301): Using this redirect type avoids rankings to split between the original URL and the redirected URL.
- Temporary redirects (code 302): Using this redirect type will help you test a new website version without removing the old one. If you use this redirection, search engines will not index this domain.
Frame forwarding: This keeps the source URL in your visitor’s browser address bar when redirected to another site. This is a frame forwarding, and the index page of the source site contains a frame with the destination site.
No Hosting
You can disable your web service at any moment and use your domain only for email services. To do so, follow these steps:
- Access your Plesk control panel through your HostPapa Dashboard.
- Go to Websites & Domains.
- Click Hosting Settings.
- Change the link near Hosting Type to No web hosting.
Note: You will not be able to edit the Hosting Type for the primary domain. However, this is available for additional domains in the hosting account/subscription.
If you need help with Plesk, please open a support ticket from your dashboard.
