FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is the most common method of uploading files to your web hosting account. Unless you intend to use Microsoft FrontPage to manage your files, you will need to know how to use FTP.
What do I need to use FTP?
You will only need one thing to FTP into your site, an FTP client. An FTP client is a program that will allow you to select files from your computer, and upload them to your web server.
There are many excellent FTP programs that you can use. Two of the best are SmartFTP and CuteFTP.
Connecting to your account using FTP
You will need the FTP login details contained in your activation email to login to your account using FTP:
- FTP Host Address (this is your domain name or IP address)
- FTP Username (this is the same as your cPanel control panel username)
- FTP Password (this is the same as your cPanel control panel password)
FTP Tips
All of your website files should be put into the "public_html" directory in your document root. If you put them outside of this directory, the web server will not be able to see them which means neither can your visitors.
When uploading CGI scripts, you should always upload in ASCII mode. If you can't get your scripts to work (you get internal server error), chances are, you've uploaded them in binary mode.
A lot of CGI scripts mention something called "chmod". You can chmod a file through your FTP client by right clicking on that file on the server, and selecting the chmod option from the drop-down menu.
