FTP: The Basics

by ws_jessica

Ok it seems alot of people new to cpanels or even just paid hosting are having problems figuring out how to create an ftp account and how to actually use an ftp program. I know it can seem overwhelming getting started so here is a tutorial (complete with pictures) to get you started. Now, if you don't have your own cpanel and are just wanting to learn how to use FTP, skip to step # 6.

Please click the pictures to see a larger, clearer version of them.

1. If you have a cpanel account for your site, log into it. It will be located at http://yoursite.com/cpanel

2. Your cpanel may look a little different than mine, but what you need to look for is "anonymous ftp". Open that.

 

3. Uncheck the boxes and click "save settings" (this is for security purposes)

 

4. Back on the cpanel mainpage, look for "FTP Accounts". Open that.

 

5. Pay no attention to any ftp accounts that may already be created, you will want to create a new one. You can do that at the top of the page where the empty boxes are.

• Fill in the info for your new ftp account you want to create. Now if you are on a server (like our hosted sites are) you would put "public_html" in the Directory box. But since most of you will just be on shared hosting, you should leave it blank.
• Make sure you put your password and other login info into a Notepad file or something so you don't lose it!
• Close out cpanel after you hit create and get the verification page

6. You need to find an ftp program (those of you who are hosted by us--WickedNoukFamily--we can provide you with one for free). Below is a list of ftp-programs you can use. Keep in mind that most are free trials but may require payment. Note: I have no idea if any of these work on Mac's.

• Cute-FTP
• FireFTP (recommended--requires firefox browser though)
• SmartFTP
• WS FTP
• FTP Commander
• AceFTP
• Wise-FTP (recommended--its what I use and will be using for this tutorial)

7. Now that you have an ftp program you need to install it like a regular program. Then turn it on. Most will have some sort of options or something. My ftp program just has the word "connect" in the upper-left hand corner.

Once you figure out where in the ftp program you are supposed to put your login info (read the manual for your ftp program if you need help on that), you need to actually enter the info. To do that in mine, I have to click "Connect", then "New Site" and fill in the boxes.

Profile Name you should put something like "My Site" or like I put "WS" (wickedsims). Host name is your domain so I would put wickedsims.com (do not put the http:// or www in front of that!!). FTP you should leave as ftp or change it to 21, account leave blank, username will be whatever you chose before (like jessica@wickedsims.com or mss@wickedsims.com) and password will be what you chose before too. Or what was chosen for you by the person providing you hosting. Leave everything else alone and click Connect and save.

8. You should now be connected to your site. On the left side of your screen is your computer files. On the right side of your screen is the site. If your site is brand new, the only thing there will be a folder that says "/"."

 

9. Now you need to figure out how you are going to organize your site. If you are going to put all of your download files (rar and zip) into a folder called "Downloads", right-click on the "/" folder and choose "new folder" in the menu that pops up. Name the new folder "Downloads".

 

10. In my example, I have so many folders and its probably confusing, but notice how I have the MSS folder highlighted? That means I want to upload the files into that folder. If you were wanting to upload your download files into your new "Downloads" folder you would make sure the new folder is highlighted.

 

11. Now that you've determined where you're going to upload the files to, you need to find them on your computer on the left of your ftp screen. Once you have found the files, highlight as many as you need (using ctrl+click or shift+click--you should know how to highlight files by now lol).

 

12. You have two options in my ftp program. You can choose the big arrow pointing to the right ---> or you can right-click on your highlighted computer files and choose "Upload" in the menu that pops up. I prefer to do the right-click method but its up to you.

 

13. Once your files are up, your files will be located at http://yoursite.com/index.html (if they are html pages) or if you put them in a folder it will be something like http://yoursite.com/downloads/AF/littleblackdress.rar (notice that is two subfolders.

If you have more questions or need further help with this, please ask in the forum :)