It’s fun getting your first website up. It’s exciting finally creating a design, or grabbing a blog template, or working in html. But then comes the question of uploading that content to your hosting server. And, for most beginners, this is where they don’t understand where to go. Don’t worry, this step is incredibly easy, once you understand what’s going on.
The first thing you will need is your FTP login information. FTP just stands for File Transfer Protocol. It’s just how files are transferred over the internet. You don’t need to know any more than that. You may not know what your FTP login is. Most of the time, you can find this if you login to your web host. You will probably find that under your hosting information. If not, give them a call and ask what your ftp info will be. It is usually tied to your hosting login somehow. Okay, once you have your FTP login it’s time to get a FTP client. The FTP client program will allow you to connect to the FTP server on your web hosting account. Let me suggest some great, free FTP clients:
SmartFTP - I love this program and use it constantly. It’s free and easy to use. It has a familiar file and folder look. I highly recommend this FTP client.
FileZilla - A great program with a great name. I know many people using this FTP program. It’s easy to use, but powerful.
Now, all you have to do is enter your site name and your FTP login information into one of these programs. This will connect you to where you can upload your files. If you are on a shared web host, then it should connect you straight into your web server file structure. Just remember, if you are on windows, you will need an index.html file. If you are on linux, you will need an index.php file if you are utilizing a php environment. That’s about it.
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