Web Hosting - A Brief Introduction to FTP

Web Hosting - A Brief Introduction to FTP

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If you’re setting up a web site, you will probably need to transfer files to your web host. To accomplish this task, FTP is invaluable. But what is it and how do you use it? Keep reading to find out.

FTP stands for "File Transfer Protocol." As you may have guessed from the name, it is a protocol for transferring files from one computer to another over a network connection. While this is often done over the Internet, it doesn't have to be. Users on a large intranet, like those at a corporation or on a college campus, may also transfer files between computers within the intranet via FTP.

In basic outline, it works like this: one computer, known as the "client," uses an FTP Client software program to request a file from another computer. The second computer is known as a "server." The file is then moved, or downloaded, to the computer that made the request. The same FTP Client software can be used to upload files to another computer. For example, if you have created files for your web site on your own computer, and you want to send them to your web host, you would use the FTP Client software to accomplish this task.

FTP can also come in handy for downloading software to your computer, and transferring information between your home and work computers. Calling it "transfer" is really a misnomer, though. You're not "transferring" files from one computer to another; you're copying them. It beats "SneakerNet" any day, and you can even transfer files that are too big for email attachments. You will need to have an account on both computers to make it work, however (unless you're doing anonymous FTP, which you don't see very often anymore for security reasons).

While FTP can be done with a command line interface - after all, that's the way it started - these days, there are a variety of FTP programs available that provide users with a friendly GUI interface. Even Internet Explorer will allow you to use FTP (which I'll discuss in more detail later in this article), but many good shareware FTP programs have extra features that come in really handy (like being able to transfer a whole bunch of files all at once).

FTP Connecting with IE

Let's put aside the question of FTP programs for the moment. If you have a website you need to build (or update), and you're eager to put the power of FTP to work for you, you probably have everything you need for the basic stuff right on your computer already. As I mentioned, Internet Explorer supports FTP, and it's available on practically every Windows PC. You won't get the extra features available in many FTP programs, but you'll be dealing with a very familiar interface. Best of all, of course, it's free.

In order to use FTP, it helps if you know the site you're going to connect to. You can use either the site's URL or its IP address if you know that (the four-part number that you don't have to memorize anymore thanks to friendly URLs). Instead of using http:// as you normally would for viewing the site, however, you use ftp://. If you have your own domain set up with your web host, you'd probably type something like ftp://ftp.MyDomain.com/ into the address bar.

The whole point of this exercise is to connect IE with an FTP site. The FTP site is supposed to let you transfer files from your computer (the local machine) to a folder on the Internet server. Or vice versa, if you need to grab a file and update it (or download new software, or any one of a number of tasks). If you've typed the right information into IE's address bar, you'll get a login dialog that looks something like this:

FTP Connecting with IE

Yes, I admit it, I couldn't resist checking with a big site to show you what the login dialog looks like. Somehow I think Amazon.com will forgive me. Anyway, at this point you'll need the user name and password that your web host assigned to you when you opened your account with them. Enter them in the appropriate spaces in the dialog, and hit the log on button.

What you'll see next in your browser will look very much like what you'd see in Windows Explorer - a list of files. Since the FTP site - in this case, your web host - controls the files you can access, the only files you're likely to be seeing are your own. Of course, you don't merely want to look at your files; you want to transfer some files. And that's the next step.

Transferring Files with IE

Transferring files from your computer to your web site on your web host takes a little bit of set up if you want to do it efficiently. Now that you've connected to the web host via IE, minimize your browser and open up Windows Explorer. Go to the place on your hard drive where you have the files that you want to transfer to your web site. You can do this either by clicking the My Computer icon or by navigating to Windows Explorer in your Start menu (try Programs -> Accessories -> Windows Explorer).

Now you'll want to resize and reposition the Windows Explorer window so that it takes up roughly half your display. Maximize your Internet Explorer browser with its FTP connection to your web host, and resize it so that it takes up, roughly, the other half of your display. In other words, you want to position the two windows so that they are side by side.

At this point, all you need to do is drag and drop the files you want to transfer. You can copy and paste if you're more comfortable doing that. Either way, you need to keep in mind that as soon as you transfer a file to your web site, it is "live." You will immediately be able to navigate to your site (using http:// this time) and see that file. So it's a good idea to make sure you've thoroughly tested any files before you transfer them!

The transfer process works the other way, as well; you can transfer files from your web site to your computer. Keep in mind that "transferring" files doesn't actually transfer the file; it copies it. So if you want take down a file to work on it, you'll first have to "transfer" it to your own computer, and then delete it from the web site. You do the latter in the same way you'd do it on your own computer: by selecting the file and pressing the Delete key. You can also use the Delete command on the menu that pops up when you right click on the file name. You can also create folders on the FTP site, simply by right-clicking and choosing New|Folder from the pop-up menu. If you want to see all the files in a folder, just double click the icon, exactly as you would in Windows Explorer.

Using FTP Client Programs

There are literally tons of FTP client programs available. A search on Google with those three key words yields more than 43,000,000 hits. Some well-known FTP programs include Cute FTP, SmartFTP, and WinSCP. These programs usually provide an intuitive graphical user interface, and many of them are free. Some even provide video tutorials and screen shots!

If you use Dreamweaver to design your site, you'll be pleased to know that the program already has FTP capability. Check your documentation; you may be able to take advantage of this, and save yourself some work. The capability will need to be configured before you can use it.

Whatever program you use, you go through the same basic steps: establish a connection with your FTP site, then upload or download the appropriate files. It's hard to be more specific without talking about specific programs (and excluding others). SmartFTP's site gives a fairly good explanation of how its program works, complete with video tutorials. There are versions of this program that are free, and others that carry a price tag; aside from the price, the biggest difference between the two is that the free version does not come with maintenance and support. SmartFTP is only available for various versions of Windows.

The company that sells Cute FTP offers a free 30-day trial period. The software comes in Home and Professional versions (with the Professional version priced higher but offering many more features). Unlike SmartFTP, Cute FTP comes in both Windows and Mac versions.

WinSCP is not only free, it is open source software. It offers an easy-to-understand GUI. In fact, we use it here at Developer Shed.

You may not have needed to use FTP software before, but once you start using it, you'll see how easily it can help you maintain your web site. I hope I've encouraged you to explore your options.


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