What is FTP? How do I publish my files?

FTP stands for “file transfer protocol”, which is a standard method of copying files from your computer to a Web server. You can also use it to delete or move files.

If you create website files on your own computer (instead of using something like WordPress), you’ll need to copy them to our servers. It’s usually easiest to do this using a web browser and our file manager — but if you prefer, you can use an FTP program, which is a software program on your own computer that handles all the details of publishing your files using FTP.

Getting an FTP program

Some Web design programs, including Dreamweaver, have a built-in FTP program. If your Web design program doesn’t have one, you can use a separate FTP program.

Although we don’t directly provide an FTP program, there are many different ones available, and any FTP program should work with our servers.

If you’re looking for a free FTP program, we recommend Cyberduck.

Using your FTP program with our servers

The Settings for Common FTP Programs page explains how to set up your FTP program.