You’ve just designed your first web site and now you need to publish it to your web host’s server so the world can view it. But how? One method is to use File Transfer Protocol Software (FTP). FTP is a network protocol that is used to transfer individual files or entire directories and subdirectories from one computer to another. In this case, from your local PC to your web hosting server. The ability to transfer files back and forth between your computer and your web host makes FTP a valuable tool for web site designers and developers.
FTP is frequently used to make files available for other people to download. If you’ve ever downloaded files from the Internet, such as software or MP3 music files, or uploaded information or pictures to your blog, Facebook or MySpace page, you may not realize it but you’ve been using FTP already.
FTP is a client-server system. In this type of system you use a program on your local computer (called a client) to request access to a remote computer (called a server). The server on the remote computer is designed to let you download and upload files via a designated TCP port. The default port for FTP is Port 21. Before you can transfer files from one computer to another the system you’re trying to connect to must have the FTP service running on it and set up an FTP site, username and password for you to use. A typical FTP site looks like ftp://ftp.mywebsite.com. Before you can start uploading your web site you’ll need to obtain the FTP server information from your web hosting company which includes the name of the FTP site, your username and password and the “home” directory where your files will be stored.
After your web hosting company has set up your FTP site you need a way to upload your files to their server. This is accomplished using an FTP Client. An FTP Client is a software program that is used to transfer files back and forth between two computers over the Internet using the FTP Protocol. A typical FTP client has two panes. The left side displays the files that are on your local computer and the right side shows the files that are on the remote computer. Once a connection is established your local PC and the remote server will appear as a set of folders just like you would see in Windows Explorer.
Transferring files is as easy as selecting a file from either pane and clicking the arrow that points to the computer you want to transfer the files to. Once your files have been transferred to the remote server they will be immediately available for viewing on your web site.
There are many commercial and shareware graphical FTP programs available for you to choose from such as WS_FTP, SmartFTP or CuteFTP. In some cases your web hosting service may also have an web-based version of FTP in the form of a Control Panel on their site but these don’t generally give you the same features and flexibility that a third-party FTP program offers.
WS_FTP - http://www.ipswitch.com/
CuteFTP - http://www.cuteftp.com/
SmartFTP - http://www.smartftp.com/
FTP Explorer - http://www.ftpx.com