What is FTP?

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a method of transfering files over the Internet. It is commonly used by website developers to load files up to the web server on which the website is hosted. FTP is particularly useful when you wish to transfer files that are particularly large.

FTP Software

In order to FTP files you will need to install a program known as an FTP Client on your computer. An FTP Client allows you to establish the necessary connection to the web server, and then transfer the files.

You can download a popular, free FTP Client here: Filezilla

If you have a Windows PC, download and install FileZilla_3.0.3_win32-setup.exe

Configuring FTP Access with Filezilla

Before you can use the newly installed software you will need to have handy the FTP login information for your website. Your hosting company will usually have supplied this information to you when you first opened your hosting account. If you don't have the login information, contact your hosting provider.

The login information you will need is:

1. Host
   This is also known as Server or FTP address. It commonly takes the format ftp.somesite.com.au
   where somesite.com.au is the domain name of your site.
2. User
   Also may be called the Username
3. Password

Uploading Files Using FTP and Filezilla

Start up Filezilla, and in the top menu navigate to File > Site Manager
A dialogue box will popup where you can enter the FTP details for your site (the numbers below correspond to the red numbers in the screen capture below)

(click on image to view large version)

You have now successfully created configured FTP access to the website.
In future when you wish to login using FTP, simply navigate to Site > Site Manager and double-click on the website's icon (2 in the screen capture).

This will open a view as in this screen capture:

(click on image to view large version)

Pane 1a and Pane 1b display the folders and files on the Local Site ie your PC.
Pane 2 displays the files on the Remote Site ie the webserver.

Use Pane 1a to navigate the folder tree on your local PC until the file you wish to upload displays in Pane 1b.
In Pane 2, navigate the folder tree on the web server to open and display the contents of the folder to which you wish to add the uploaded file.
Then simply click on the file in Pane 1 and drag the file across to the folder in Pane 2.

While the upload is in occuring you will see the progress displayed in Pane 3.

To download files from the web server to your local computer the process is much the same, except drag the file from Pane 2 to Pane 1b.

Useful Tips

1. In order to have a complete backup of your sites files, it is a good idea to have an exact match of the web server's file structure duplicated on your local PC. It also makes it easier to manage and upload files to the web server.
   
   When you wish to upload a new file to the web server, simply place the new file in the appropriate directory on your PC, then upload to the web server per the above instructions.
   
   This way, you always have an up-to-date copy of all of your website's files on your local PC.
2. Filezilla can be configured to automatically display the files of a particular local folder in Pane 1a when you start up FTP access to a website (i.e. by double clicking on 2). This is very convenient if you have created a local copy of the website's files per tip 1 above.
   
   You can set this by navigating to File > Site Manager and click once on the website's icon (2) to highlight it. Then click on the "Advanced..." button. Here you can set the Default local directory - use the "..." button to navigate the folder structure of your PC.
   
   Similarly you can set the Default remote directory if you wish,; however, it is not really necessary as the root directory on the server will open if no directory is specified.
3. Pane 2 typically will display the folders in the root directory of your hosting account by default.
   
   The directory structure does vary somewhat depending on the hosting service, but usually the root directory contains a folder called "public_html" - this is the folder containing the website files that are able to be viewed via a web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer).