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FTP Tutorial
In this FTP tutorial we will explain how to use FTP for uploading and downloading your web site files.
What is FTP?
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a fast and convenient way to transfer files over the Internet. That is why
many webmasters use FTP for uploading their websites files on their hosting accounts.
The FTP tutorial includes:
How to use FTP clients (FileZilla and CuteFTP);
How to create FTP accounts;
How to control FTP sessions;
How to change file permissions through FTP CHMOD with FTP;
We have also prepared the following video tutorials for FTP:
SiteGround has long experience in providing web space for clients using FTP. Our Professional FTP
hosting service is the best choice since it gives you everything you need to create and manage a
powerful FTP space.
We offer:
The richest set of features;
Unlimited FTP access;
FTPexpertized support team, which provides high quality customer service;
Fast and secure servers;
Multiple FREE tools;
FTP Clients
How to use FTP for transferring files?
To make an FTP connection you can use a standard Web browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox,
etc.) or an FTP Client. To establish an FTP connection you need to have an FTP hosting account where
you plan to upload your files. You can also create additional FTP accounts for other users.
When using a Web browser for an FTP connection, FTP uploads are sometimes very slow, and downloads are not
protected (not recommended for uploading or downloading large files).
An FTP Client is a software designed to transfer files back andforth between two computers over the
Internet. It needs to be installed on your computer and can only be used with a live connection to the
Internet.
FTP clients' interface is usually divided in two the pane on the left shows the files and folders on your
computer (your Desktop, My Documents, etc,) and the pane on the right displays the files on the remote
server (if this is your website hosting account, you will see the public_html folder, where the files of
your site are stored).
File transfers are made by simply dragging and dropping files from one pane to the other. Additional
features of the FTP Client include: multiple file transfers at a time, auto resuming of the transfer, file
queueing and more.
You can read the following tutorials for two of the most popular FTP clients:
FileZilla
CuteFTP
FTP Clients: FileZilla
This tutorial will show you how to use FileZilla to upload your website. FileZilla is a powerful and free
software for transferring files over the Internet. FileZilla is a very popular FTP client and is used by
webmasters from all over the world. Here you can download FileZilla Software. FileZilla is fully
compatible with our Professional FTP hosting.
How to use FileZilla FTP Client
Once you have the FileZilla client already downloaded and activated on your computer, enter your
domain name in the address field (you can also use the server's IP address). The username and the
password you need to type in are the same as the ones you use to log in to your cPanel. The FTP port is
21.
Click Quickconnect and the file listing will appear. Find the www (it is a symbolic link to public_html)
directory and double click on it.
Then, select the files to be uploaded and drag anddrop them under the www folder. Wait for the
transfer to be completed.
If you are behind a firewall and/or a router you will need to use a Passive mode for FTP to get a stable connection.
You can configure this setting as shown bellow:
Open FileZilla and go to Edit > Settings. In the Connections section, click FTP and set the Passive
mode option to Use the server's external IP address instead.
FTP Clients: CuteFTP
CuteFTP is an FTP client used for transferring files over the Internet. It has an easy and intuitive
interface and will help you a lot when publishing your web site or downloading files. CuteFTP is fully
compatible with our Professional FTP hosting.
How to use CuteFTP Client
CuteFTP has a connection wizard that will walk you through the setup of an FTP connection.
Step 1: The first screen prompts you for the host address of the server, for which the FTP
connection will be established. You also need to enter the label for your new connection. You can use
your domain name if you like.
Step 2: The next screen prompts you for your FTP username and password. Enter them in the
corresponding boxes and click Next.
Step 3: Here you are prompted for a 'default local directory'. You should choose the folder where
you keep your website files. Click Next.
Step 4: The screenshot below shows the panes when you are logged in your web hosting
account. On the left you will see your local computer files and on the right the ones under your hosting
account.
You'll notice a directory named public_html in your web hosting account. This is the main one for your
website content. The files uploaded there are visible when you type your domain in a web browser.
Step 5: If you are behind a firewall and/or router you often need to use passive mode to get a
stable connection. Open the Site Manager and choose your connection by its label. Click on the Type
tab and select the Use PASV option from the Data connection type dropdown menu.
Step 6: Often when installing scripts and other web tools you will need to "chmod" or change
permissions on a file or a directory. Rightclick on the file/directory for which you'd like to change the
permissions and you'll get the window below. You can then either type in the permissions you'd like to
set using numbers (750 for example) or use the various check boxes to set them.
FTP Accounts
This tutorial will show you how to connect to your account via FTP. To establish an FTP connection you
need an FTP hosting account where you can upload your files. You can also create additional FTP
accounts for other users.
Check out the How to create FTP accounts video tutorial:
How to Create FTP Accounts Video Tutorial
How to create FTP accounts detailed tutorial
To add new FTP accounts, click on the FTP Accounts icon from the Files box of your cPanel.
On the top of the page you will be prompted for all the necessary details for your new account:
When filling in the details, make sure to pick a strong password for the account. This is important for preventing
the socalled bruteforce attacks. A strong password will contain at least one number and one special character.
One of the boxes is called "Directory". It determines which will be the home directory of the newly
created account. Leaving it blank will allow a full access to your hosting account.
SiteGround recommends that a specific directory is set for each particular user. Leaving the directory space blank
will allow your FTP users access the main folder. They will be able to alter the content of your website.
If you are willing to grant such access, you should consider doing this for a limited period of time and
then change your password. Otherwise your account could be compromised.
In order to complete the FTP account creation, click on Create at the end of the section.
Removing FTP accounts
Well done! You can now add, manage and delete FTP accounts!
FTP Sessions
This tutorial will show you how to use the sessions function of the FTP service. You can use this function
to see who is currently logged in your site through FTP. This is helpful for controlling the access to your
files and the FTP activity.
How to use the FTP Sessions
The link to the FTP Session Control can be found by logging in cPanel and looking at the Files section.
This section provides all the information about the current FTP sessions and gives you an option to
disconnect users.
CHMOD with FTP
This tutorial will show you how to change the permissions of your files via FTP. You may also check our
tutorial on How to change file permissions via the FileManager tool in your cPanel.
What is CHMOD?
CHMOD is a UNIX command that changes the mode of a file. There are three modes which can be either
enabled or disabled: read, write and execute. Each mode can be set for either the owner, the members
of the owner's group, or all users.
Here you will find detailed instructions how to change the permissions of a file using SmartFTP.
SmartFTP is an FTP client which can be downloaded from here. SmartFTP is fully compatible with our
Professional FTP hosting.
How to use CHMOD?
When you have downloaded and installed the FTP client, connect to your FTP server. (If you have an
account with SiteGround, use the username and the password of your cPanel.)
Once connected, you will need to locate the file(s)/folder(s), for which you would like to change the
permissions. In this example, we will change the permissions on the public_html/cache folder and all
of the subdirectories/files within it.
Rightclick on the cache folder located in public_html. A new menu will appear as shown below. Click
on Properties / CHMOD.
A new window will popup. In this new window there is a field Permissions. Change the value in this
field to the appropriate number as specified by the documentation of the product you're using. In this
example, we will change the value to 750 as shown below.
You may want to change the permissions of all the files and subfolders under the cache directory.
SmartFTP has a useful feature that allows you to change the permissions recursively. This means that
the permissions you have entered in the Permissions field will also be applied to all of the files and
subfolders of your current selection. To do this, click the checkbox next to Apply changes to this
folder, subfolders and files as shown above.
The execution can take several minutes if you are changing the permissions of a lot of files.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or recommendations about this tutorial at: tutorials 'at'
siteground.com