This guide will be helping you on how to upload files to your web server and manage them through FTP. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol; it is a commonly used protocol for exchanging the files over the internet. Let us start with the steps that you need to perform these tasks successfully.
- FTP Client: Your web hosting account comes with the FTP tool that runs in a web browser window. But this has a limitation on its own thus you need to have a real FTP client with you. As the name suggests it has a server and a client. The server stands for the web server which includes an FTP server, and a client is a software that is installed on your computer. The client connects with the server. However there are many FTP clients available online, a good and a free option for Mac, Windows and Linux is Filezilla. However, there are paid tool also available which are also convenient and easy to use. According to your need and requirement, you can download and install an FTP client on your computer.
- Connect to the server: Your web hosting service provider will support the information like an FTP hostname, an FTP username, an FTP password and sometimes a port number to help you connect with your server. You have to use this information in the dialog box of your FTP client. After filling in the required fields then you can click on “connect’ button.
- Explore the Interface: The best practice among FTP client is to present your local files on the left and remote file on the right-hand side. In FileZilla, a directory structure is on top and the list of the files below it. This helps you in easy navigation and locate the file and the folder you want to explore. Once you have selected a folder on the right-hand side of it, you can see the content. The Yummy FTP is a slightly different view but has the same concept.
- Start finding the website roots: On the right side you can see the details of your web hosting account. By default, you are connected with the root of your account which is different as the root of your website. Your website is in the folder called www or public_html. Select the folder to see the content of the website. Within the www folder, you will probably see the files that are placed there by your web host — the default file named as index.html.
- Manage the file: With the help of FileZilla you can see, delete a file and manage the file. You can delete the file by selecting it and then choosing Delete option. IMPORTANT: we also recommend you enable “show hidden files” in your FTP client (if it’s not enabled by default) and that you delete the .htaccess file that is pre-installed on your web hosting account. This will ensure that b2evolution can install its custom-tailored .htaccess file.
You can select all the folder, and the files on the left pane then drag and drop them into the right pane. The upload speed depends on the number of concurrent connection you can make to your server. The number of concurrent connections depends on the FTP software and the connection limit set by your web hosting service provider.
