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FTP Access

FTP = File Transfer Protocol

In plain English, FTP allows you to connect to your web host to easily manage your web site files.

The three key pieces of information needed to connect to your hosting account are:

  1. FTP Address - your host will give you a special address to use for connecting to your account. For example, the FTP address to connect to Comcast (my ISP) is upload.comcast.net, while the address to connect to my Godaddy account is ftp://disdatmac.com. It all depends on the host. You can usually find the FTP address either in the Welcome email your host sends or on the Support pages of your host. If you cannot find the information, then it might be necessary to contact the host. Keep in mind, some free hosting services do not offer FTP service. GeoCities (Yahoo) and FreeWebs do not offer FTP; they only offer upload by a file manager.
  2. Login Name - this is usually the account user name from your hosting account. If you have a paid account that offers an option to set up more than one FTP account (most likely through a control panel,) then for security reasons, set up a new FTP account for yourself. Use a different login name and password than the account.
  3. Password - your FTP login password.

So how exactly do you connect to the web host? The most common way is with FTP software. Establish a connection, by typing your web site FTP address, along with your login name and password, click "connect" and your connection is made; you now have access to your hosting account, where you can upload, download and edit your files and directories.

Which FTP Software to Use

There are many free and paid software choices for both Windows and Macintosh users.

  • Smart FTP (Windows only) is the software I recommend for Windows users. It is easy to use, and free for personal use. The tutorial movies available on their web site are excellent and are a great way to learn the functions of Smart FTP and FTP in general. The software interface is very similar to Windows Explorer, so it is easy to feel at home using it.
  • Transmit (Mac only) - not free, but a very powerful full-featured application
  • CyberDuck (Mac only) Free and very easy to use.
  • FileZilla (Windows only) Free.
  • Fetch (Mac only) Not free.
  • WS-FTP (Windows only) Not free. I used to use this software back when they offered a free version, but I haven’t used it in many years. I always found it clumsy to use, but things might be different in newer versions.
  • Cute FTP (Windows and Mac) - not free
  • Interarchy(Mac only) not free
  • Wikipedia offers a great comparison of different FTP software.

What do you use for FTP software? Leave a comment to share your favorite.

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6 Comments

  1. Comment by Sharon Noble on August 24th, 2006

    I like you used to use WS_FTP and purchased it but had a problem when I installed too many times (as I have 3 computers) and it shut me down and wanted me to purchase it again. I found Internetsoft Corp. FTP Commander and am using it. It is free but they offer a premium product for purchase. I can be found at http://www.internet-soft.com/cftp.htm.

  2. Comment by debbie T on August 26th, 2006

    Thank you for your FTP software recommendation, Sharon! I hadn’t heard about this one!

  3. Comment by Vicki on October 15th, 2006

    I like AceFTP….it’s free, and I love the way it works. Very easy.

  4. Comment by debbie T on October 16th, 2006

    Thanks for your recommendation, Vicki!

    Here is the link to AceFTP if anyone is interested:
    http://software.visicommedia.com/en/products/aceftpfreeware/

  5. Comment by Frank on June 28th, 2007

    Wonder if you can help ?
    I just set up a comcast account and reconfigured Cute FTP to upload files to a directory. The files are pictures I use in my auctions on ebay. What would the new html link to a comcast file look like. My old one was:

    This link would insert the pictures right into the auction.

    Thank you.
    Frank

  6. Comment by debbie T on June 28th, 2007

    Hello Frank,
    Thank you for writing!

    I don’t think your message appeared correctly. Perhaps you inserted some code that didn’t display in the message.

    I did receive your email, so I will reply to you using email! Okay?

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