FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. This is an application protocol which is used to transfer data from one computer to another. Using FTP you can upload or download programmes and files from an FTP server.

FTP is the most commonly used method for transferring web pages from the local computer to the server where the web site is situated.

How do I use FTP?

To use FTP you will need to install FTP software on your computer. There are many free FTP clients available and a search on the Internet for "FTP client" should turn up something that appeals to you.

Two commonly used FTP clients are:
Cute FTP (http://www.cuteftp.com/products/ftp_clients.asp), and
SmartFTP (http://www.smartftp.com/)

How do I connect with FTP?

Follow the steps below to connect to your domain (we will base this example on Cute FTP and assume you have it properly installed on your computer):

1. Check that you have Internet access running.

2. Open Cute FTP.

Let's say your user name is "bob", your password is "bob123", your domain is "bob.com", and you want to upload a file to our server.

3. Go to "Site Manage", "Site Settings for New Site".

In the Profile Name text, enter a name to give your FTP connection.

In the Host Address text box enter the address of the server you are connecting to (this can either be the DNS entry or the IP Address).

Enter the Port number on which the server accepts FTP connections (the default port for FTP is 21).

Tick the Use PASV option, if your computer is behind a firewall, which does not allow external FTP connections.

So, for our example site we would use the following settings:

Profile for site: Bob's Site
FTP Host Address: bob.com
FTP site User Name: bob
FTP site Password: bob123
FTP site connection port: 21
Login type: Normal

4. Click on the connect button on the toolbar or select connect from the Tools menu. When connected, you should see the directory "public_html", go in, and you should see all the files in your web site.

5. On left side of the window, find the file on your local computer that you want to upload to the server.

6. Just drag and drop the file into your server's "public_html" directory. That's it, you are done! Your file is now available on your web site.