FTP

💡 The Concept

Using FTP to upload website files is the traditional way to transfer your local project to a hosting server so it goes live on your domain. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is how web developers move files from their computer to a web server. Once you understand it, you have direct control over everything in your hosting account.

Local Files vs. Remote Files

FTP software shows you two panels at once:

• Local files (left panel): the files on your own computer
• Remote files (right panel): the files on your hosting server

To publish your site, drag files from the left panel to the right. To download a backup, drag from right to left.

FileZilla: The Most Popular Free FTP Client

FileZilla is the standard FTP application for web developers. It is free and available for Mac and Windows.

Download it from: filezilla-project.org

Connecting to Your Server

Your hosting provider will give you FTP credentials, usually found in your hosting control panel. You will need:

• Host: your domain name or server IP address
• Username: your FTP username
• Password: your FTP password
• Port: 21 (the default FTP port)

After connecting you should see the message: Directory listing of ‘/’ successful. That means you are in.

Uploading Your Website

1. On the right (server) side, navigate into the public_html folder. This is the root of your website.
2. On the left (local) side, navigate to your project folder.
3. Select all your files and folders and drag them to the right panel.

Rules to Follow

• index.html must be directly inside public_html, not inside a subfolder. If it is buried in a folder, your site will not load.
• Keep your folder structure intact: if your images are in an images/ folder locally, upload that folder too. If the path changes, your images will break.
• Use lowercase filenames: servers are case-sensitive. Photo.jpg and photo.jpg are treated as different files. Your computer may not catch this, but the server will.
• Avoid spaces in filenames: use hyphens or underscores instead. Spaces cause broken links on servers even when the file is there.

Exercise: Try It Yourself

Step 1. Download and install FileZilla.

Step 2. Log in to your hosting control panel and locate your FTP credentials (host, username, and password).

Step 3. Enter your host, username, password, and port 21 in the FileZilla toolbar and click Quickconnect.

Step 4. On the server (right) side, navigate into the public_html folder.

Step 5. On the local (left) side, navigate to your project folder. Select all your files and drag them to the right panel.

Step 6. Visit your domain in a browser to confirm the site is live.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

★ Key Takeaways

FTP gives you direct access to your hosting server so you can upload, update, or back up your website files at any time. The key habits to build are keeping your folder structure consistent and using lowercase filenames. Next, you will learn about GitHub Pages, a free way to publish a website without FTP or paid hosting.

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