ftp in ten minutes: credentials, client, rules

web · 2026-10-13 · 5 min

ftp is the file manager for your hosting: a window into the computer your site lives on. page broken? upload the fix. need a backup? download everything. it looks technical and takes ten minutes to learn — this is the ten minutes.

what you need from hosting

three credentials: host (often ftp.yourdomain.com), username, password — in the hosting panel under "FTP accounts", plus port 21 (plain FTP) or 22 (SFTP, preferred: encrypted). create a dedicated FTP account rather than using the main login; limited accounts limit damage. where this computer lives and what it is: what is hosting.

the client, in one screen

install filezilla (free, every system). enter the three credentials, connect: left pane is your computer, right pane is the server. navigate the right pane to public_html (or htdocs, or www — the folder whose name means "the website"). drag files left-to-right to publish, right-to-left to back up. that is the whole skill; everything else is practice.

rules that prevent disasters

download before overwriting (the server has no undo). edit text files locally, upload, check — never edit blindly on the server. keep permissions at defaults unless you know why (777 on a PHP file is an invitation). upload images in the right folder the first time; reorganizing later breaks links. disasters you are preventing, ranked: my site was hacked, what do I do now.

FAQ

FTP or file manager in hosting panel?

file manager for quick single edits; FTP for bulk work, backups and anything repeated. learn FTP once and the file manager becomes the slow way.

is FTP insecure?

plain FTP sends the password readable — use SFTP/FTPS whenever offered (same client, port 22, one setting). on public wifi, only encrypted. the padlock logic applies to you too: what is an ssl certificate.