FTP is File Transfer Protocol

Why do you need FTP?

To place files on your server. You can also use it to download files that are stored on a remote computer [your server]. If you are using Wordpress.org you can directly install themes and plug-ins without FTP.

You have a theme with a logo such as logo.png and you want to replace the logo without editing code. Create your new logo, save it as logo.png, use your FTP program and drop your new image in the same folder as the soon to be replaced logo. When prompted chose to overwrite the existing file.

Your domain host does not offer easy install of Wordpress, Joomla , ETC… You will need an FTP program to get the files to your server.

What FTP program should you use?

My personal favorite is FileZilla. It serves my purposes, It’s still updated, and it’s FREE! If you do like the software I might suggest donating to their cause.

How to use FileZilla

The folks at FileZilla have a wiki site dedicated to documenting the install process and other How-Tos such as Network Configuration. That site is here: http://wiki.filezilla-project.org/Documentation

Because you are already here I will give you my interpretation of FileZilla setup basics:

After you have downloaded and installed FileZilla you will need to configure it to connect to your host. This is easy!

1. Click on File
2. Click on Site Manager
3. Select the New Site button
4. Fill in the necessary information on the General Tab

• • Host: this is your url such as www.iheartblogtools.com
  • Servertype: FTP- File Transfer Protocol
  • Logontype:
    • Normal [if you want to input your password now]
    • Ask for password [more secure.]
  • User: what username did you set up in the cpanel of your host?
  • Press OK when finished. At this point there is no need to go into advanced settings.

If you are having trouble locating your username here is how I found mine. Keep in mind that I am using BlueHost which may have a different setup than your host. If you don’t have a host… try BlueHost. I love ‘em.

After logging into your cPanel [control panel] look for your FTP accounts. In BlueHost cPanel it looks like this:

1. Click on the FTP accounts icon.
2. From Here you are taken to the FTP account manager where you can add a new FTP account or edit existing accounts.
3. My username is setup as user@iheartblogtools.com. Obviously for security purposes my username is not ‘user’. But, you get the point.
4. Click on the Configure FTP Client Button that corresponds to the user you wish to use for your FTP.
5. From here you can automatically update your registry to plug the login info into FileZilla. 
6. There is also Username, Server, and Server Port info if you plan to manually configure your FTP program.

I hope this helps you to choose and configure an FTP program. I will follow up with another article about how to use FileZilla.