From Your Computer To Your Webspace

Install an FTP client

In this task you're going to install an FTP client. It should take you about five minutes.

Before you can put your first page live on the web you're going to need some means of transferring it from your computer to your webspace. There are many methods of doing this but by far the most popular solution is to use either FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or preferably SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) if your web host supports it. Either way you'll use a FTP client to transfer files back and forth.

There are many pieces of FTP software and just like text editors some are free and some are paid for. If you're using Windows or a Mac then two popular (and free) choices are Filezilla and Cyberduck. It's up to you which one you choose, it will largely be a matter of personal taste.

When you've downloaded and installed one of the above FTP clients you're ready to set it up to connect to your webspace. The exact settings you'll need will depend on the web host that you're using but it's common to enter a server address (probably yourdomain.com or ftp.yourdomain.com) a username and a password. If all goes according to plan then you should be able to connect to your web space and see all of the files or folders in your web space.

The files and folders that you see will depend on your web host but you should see a folder called webroot or public_html. Anything you place in these folders will be available to the world. This is exactly what you're going to do in the next challenge. Whatever the folder is called we're going to refer it as your root folder.

Task Discussion

Some Guy in Baltimore said:

Filezilla is great I have been using it for years. It does not come with spyware. If you're not paying attention or your browser has been hijacked you will be redirected to the incorrect site. Make sure you're going to www.filezilla-project.org Source

on Aug. 8, 2014, 6:45 p.m.
Dscherer21 said:

Tried out Filezilla and it came with some adware plus I could not get it to connect to the server. Just kept connecting then reconnecting. Cyberduck seems to work way better I had virtually no trouble setting it up. Took me a sec to find the root folder but other than that no problems.

on July 6, 2014, 11:37 p.m.
Johnny van der Laan said:

Used to FilleZilla for years.

on May 12, 2014, 12:31 p.m.

Some Guy in Baltimore said:

This guy knows what I'm talking about.

on Aug. 8, 2014, 6:42 p.m. in reply to Johnny van der Laan
Maggie said:

I'm using WinSCP, I can't tell you why I've picked this, it was a while ago when I made the decision.

on Sept. 9, 2013, 6:09 p.m.
Joby John KJ said:

I installed FileZilla on my PC.

on July 26, 2013, 7:04 p.m.
Adri said:

I used to use CuteFTP in the beginning since there wasn't such thing as free/open source programs back in those days, however the constant updating (and actually charging you extra just to upgrade) really displeased me, knowing that securities are at risk and then I have to pay more just to keep my software safe and secure from getting hacked/viruses. Not cool.

I decided to switch to FileZilla after I had my computer formatted some years ago. I've stuck with FileZilla ever since.

on March 21, 2013, 9:43 p.m.

algotruneman said:

CuteFTP was also my primary client back when I used Windows daily. I recommended FileZilla to those who were starting up on the school server.

Since I've shifted to GNU/Linux for daily work, I changed to gFTP because it fits my style.

More at my blog: http://ramblings.runeman.org/?p=13

on July 4, 2013, 1:47 p.m. in reply to Adri
n3on3ko said:

I dont know about everyone else but my prefrence for FTP client has always been Filezilla, just seems so straight forward and to the point.

=^.^=

on March 10, 2013, 3:53 p.m.
Senua said:

I've been using Core ftp for years. It's not particularly pretty, but it does the job easily and reliably, which is the main thing.

on Feb. 10, 2013, 9:17 a.m.
preclectic said:

Hello, fellow P2PU participants. Although I have generally been using the Unlimited FTP resource at my hosting service (Bluehost), I enjoyed playing with both FileZilla and Cyberduck. I think Cyberduck is going to be my FTP client of choice. You can see a short post I created about this topic on my blog, The Visitor.

Thanks!
:-)
Jeff

on Dec. 30, 2012, 3:03 a.m.
Eenvincible said:

Hello,

I have not been using any of the common two but I use Web Deploy which comes with Microsoft's WebMatrix and it is as simple as clicking a button and entering your credentials once! I like it but I think I might give FileZilla a try!

For more info on web hosting and tools, please check out my awesome blog at:

http://simpledeveloper.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/web-hosting-going-live-level-5/

and please leave me a link to yours so i can check it out!

Thank you and let us connect!

on Dec. 29, 2012, 11:25 p.m.
S Briggs said:

I've always prefered using the default Cpanel Webdisk which creates a Network Drive to my host. It can easily drag /drop - copy paste with it..
I'll give filezilla a try.
(Heard the rumors of it being unsafe?)

on Dec. 17, 2012, 10:37 a.m.

coderthebestthereis said:

Can you guys please stop replying to me! It is freaking me out.

on Dec. 17, 2012, 5:40 p.m. in reply to S Briggs

Borzislav said:

@coderthebestthereis

Hi! Just edit the notification settings: Settings => Notifications.

Or, use the link below:

https://p2pu.org/en/profile/edit/settings/

on Dec. 19, 2012, 1:04 p.m. in reply to coderthebestthereis
Andy Crowe said:

This is my first time using any of these programs but I thought I'd give Cyberduck a go :)

on Dec. 13, 2012, 4:46 p.m.
Keven said:

I have always liked FileZilia.

on Oct. 16, 2012, 5:31 p.m.
GeorgeKarametas said:

Firezilla and FireFTP

on Sept. 16, 2012, 2:03 p.m.
Anonym said:

I've always used Filezilla on both win7 and ubuntu!

on June 28, 2012, 3:33 p.m.
Buzzy said:

I wouldn't go past WinSCP on Windows.

on May 12, 2012, 4:55 p.m.
Olexiy said:

I used Total Commander in WinXP. Now, in Ubuntu, I use FileZilla.

on May 8, 2012, 4:44 a.m.