What is FTP?
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and is used to upload and download files from your hosting account. FTP is a good way to transfer multiple files to the server because you can drag all your files at once to the folder on your server instead of uploading each file one at a time. You can connect to FTP in several ways.
GETTING YOUR FTP SETTINGS
You will need to have your FTP settings on hand in order to use FileZilla to upload your Website. This is the FTP information you will need in order to use an FTP client:
| Hostname | ftp.yourdomain.com |
| Username | Hosting Username |
| Password | Hosting Password |
| Port | 21 |
HOW TO USE FILEZILLA
The first time you use FileZilla, it is good to set up a profile that saves your setting for future use.
| Step 1. | Launch FileZilla. |
| Step 2. | Under the File menu, choose Site Manager. |
| Step 3. | Click on the New Site button. |
| Step 4. | You’ll be able to type the name of the new site in the left column under My Sites, as shown in this graphic: |
| Step 5. | Name the site ftp.yourdomain.com. |
| Step 6. | Complete these fields in the Site Properties screen: Below is the description of the fields: Host ftp.yourdomain.com Port 21 Protocol FTP Encryption Use Plain FTP Logon type Normal User Hosting Username Password Hosting Password |
| Step 7. | Click the Transfer Settings tab. Choose Passive. |
| Step 8. | Click the OK to save your site settings. |
You can now use FileZilla to Upload.
HOW TO CONNECT WITH FILEZILLA
This tutorial shows you how to connect with FileZilla. You can connect with FileZilla by doing the following:
| Step 1. | Click on the Server Icon and select your pre-configured site to start a connection. |
| Step 2. | The screen will connect and display information, Errors show in red. A successful connection will look like this: |
Congratulations, you are now connected with FileZilla.
UPLOADING OR DOWNLOADING FILES TO YOUR WEBSITE
Once you have connected to a server, you can transfer files in one of three ways:
Transfer Arrows. Select a file to transfer. Click the arrow that points away from the pane the file is in.
Drag and Drop. Click on a file and hold the left mouse button while you drag the file to where you want to transfer it. Select multiple files by holding down the Ctrl key while selecting.
Copy and Paste. Right-click on a file and select Copy. Then, right-click where you want to transfer the file and select Paste.
The left window is your computer files. The right window is your web server. Locate the public_html directory on your web server. click to open and move all website files here.
COMMON PROBLEMS
My FTP program connects and then won’t display a list of files on your server, or immediately disconnects
You need to toggle the Passive Mode setting on your FTP program. If it is currently off, turn it on. If it is currently on, turn it off. If that doesn’t solve the problem, you might need to try a different FTP program.
My FTP program seems to disconnect often without warning
Our server has a timeout of 300 seconds. If it does not see any files transmit during that time it disconnects your FTP client. To reconnect, look for a menu option or button that says Connect or Reconnect. On FileZilla, Reconnect is found under the ‘Server‘ menu.
Files I publish on the remote server have the wrong timestamp
In your FTP program you will need to find the setting which allows you to adjust the server time zone. You would change the remote time stamp by -3 hours. In FileZilla, this setting can be reached under the ‘Advanced‘ tab ‘Adjust server timezone offset‘ section when creating a site profile.
The load-balanced, clustered web servers hosting your site are physically located at two different time zones. One set of servers is located on the East Coast and the other is located in the Mid-West. All servers are standardized to reflect EST regardless of timezone they are actually in.