Publish Web Site FTP Files

What is FTP ?

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is the protocol that allows you to transfer files between different computers over the Internet. FTP is most commonly used to publish your web site files from an individual's computer to the web server hosting the site. Also, you can use FTP to download files from a website to your own computer.

What tools are available to transfer my files ?

There are a number of tools you can use to publish web site FTP files. Some web hosts provides a Web-based FTP tool that enables you to quickly and easily connect to your Web erver directly from the hosting control panel. The tool would likely automatically establish a connection and authenticate you.

There are also a number of third-party FTP applications that you can use. Many of these can be downloaded from the Internet or purchased online. Some common FTP tools include:

CuteFTP
FlashFTP

What information do I need to connect to my Web site via FTP ?

In order to connect to your Web site and transfer files via FTP, you will need the following information:

Host Name	This is the location to which you will publish your files. The host name is your domain name, including your domain extension. For example, sampledomain.com or sampledomain.net.
Host Directory	This is the directory that will hold all of the files for your Web site. This is also known as your root² directory. Your Host Directory will always be: www For UNIX servers, the directory path for the www folder is /home/domain/www. For Windows servers, the directory path for the www folder is /domain/www.
User Name	This is the user name for the account you will be using to FTP files. You FTP files using your ftp login id. If you have a UNIX plan, you will need to modify permissions before users can use the FTP account to upload files.
Password	This is the password associated with the User Name you are using.

Does it matter what I name my files ?

Yes. File names should not include spaces, special characters or punctuation marks other than underscores (file_name.htm) and the period between the file name and the extension (filename.htm). In UNIX, file names are case-sensitive. Also make sure that you are using the correct extensions. For example, .htm, .html, and .asp.

Can I set up sub-directories ?

Yes. You can set up sub-directories within your /www directory. Setting up sub-directories makes it easier for you to organize and maintain your files. For example, many people create a sub-directory named ¯images² to hold all of their image files. If you use sub-directories, be sure to reference the correct directory path when using images and links and to upload files to the correct directory.

My images are not showing up. What is wrong ?

First you should verify that you have uploaded all of the images files in binary format and have placed them in the correct directory. If you have done this, then the problem most likely has to do with the path to the image file you used in your HTML code (the src attribute of the image tag). Finally, check that the file name is correct and that you have used the correct extension (typically, .gif or .jpg).