Here we will learn how to use FTP so that you can transfer files between your hosting server and your computer (and vice versa).
How To Use FTP With FileZilla
To use FTP and connect to our server, we need to have an FTP client. An FTP client is a piece of software that knows how to talk to your server via FTP and shows you your computer and server contents visually via it’s User Interface (UI).
A simple, free, easy-to-use FTP client that is very popular is FIleZilla. It’s what we’ll be using in this tutorial.
You’ll need to download and install FileZilla to your local computer.
Obtain (or create) Your FTP Credentials
You’ll need a username and a password to log in to your web server via FTP. Usually, these credentials are separate from the username and password that you use to log into your hosting control panel. You can usually create or find these credentials inside your hosting control panel (look under any section labeled FTP or FTP Users or FTP accounts). In Hostinger, the FTP section is under Websites > Your Website > Files > FTP Accounts.
Once you have FileZilla and your FTP credentials, you’ll be reading to start FTPing.
How To Use FTP
To get started, open FileZilla and go to File > Site Manager.
From here, click “New Site” and give your site a name. Your site name should make it easy to recognize the server that it’s connected to. A good practice is to name it your site name. If I were creating an FTP site for this website, I would name it “Scott’s Web Dev”.
From there, you’ll need to enter all of the information. You’ll find this information in your hosting control panel.
You’ll need:
- Connection type: FTP or SFTP
- Hostname (or IP address)
- Port
- Username
- Password
Click “Connect”, and if there’s a successful login, you’ll be presented with a view that has your computer’s files on the left, and your servers files on the right.
How To Use FTP To Transfer Files
FTP is used to transfer files (it is called Filter Transfer Protocol, after all).
The most important thing to remember is that the files on your computer reside in the left panel, and the files in the right panel reside on your server.
To upload files, you’d send a file from your computer to your server.
To download files, you’d send a file from your server to your computer.
Download Files
To download a single file, you can double click on the file on your server and it will download it to the current directory you’re in on the left panel on your computer.
You can also right click on a file on your server and choose “Download”.
To download multiple files, hold down the alt button and click all the files you want to download. Then, you can right click on your selection and choose “Download”.
To download all files to your computer, simply click the first file at the top, then hold down the shift button on your keyboard and click the last file in the list. Then right click and choose “Download”
Upload Files
Uploading files is the same as downloading, but in reverse. You’d select the files on the left side and choose “Upload” instead of “Download”.
Besides some other miscellaneous stuff (like file permissions), that’s all there is to it.
Happy FTPing!
More System Administration
See more articles on system adminstration like How To SSH On Windows and How To SSH On Linux.