What is FTP – is a question I had back when I started my first site. I really had no idea.
FTP stands for “file transfer protocol”. It is the way to get files from your computer somewhere on the internet. In the most simple of terms it is really just the process of uploading stuff from your own hard drive. Most people use some method of this every day. For example, uploading pictures to facebook or Kodak gallery or flickr – is all just a process of transferring files.
For webmasters ftp is a little more technical. Traditional websites are usually built offline using a software program like Dreamweaver or Kompozer. Once the pages are ready to be published – the webmaster uses and ftp program to upload the finished pages to their webhost.
There are a lot of technicalities involved – like the ftp address that the files will be sent to. This information is available from the hosting company.
For a new blogger the answer to the question – what is ftp – does not have to be too involved. Someone new to the medium needs to know the basics and how that information will help them.
First, for a free blog service like Blogger or WordPress.com – file transfer protocol is not really needed. The blogging software is managed by the company offering the service. In the case of Blogger – Google takes care of updating and upgrading. The user just needs to write posts and focus on other aspects of growing their business.
A self hosted WordPress blog on the other hand is an entirely different animal. While the newest version of the software can often be installed and upgraded straight from the web hosts control panel – there will come a time when ftp is needed. Sometimes themes and plugins need to be uploaded via ftp. Sometimes files from the site need to be downloaded and edited and then reuploaded. Images that are used on the site can be grabbed through the wordpress dashboard but it may be easier to just move the files manually to an images folder using an ftp client.
It may seem complicated at first, but the good news is that usually ftp is not needed right away. The WordPress Dashboard has become much more usable over the years – and now it is possible to install free themes and plugins directly. So, for someone new – this really is all that is needed to get started.
In the meantime – my advice would be to become familiar with different ftp clients and make a decision as to which one to use. Then set it up and experiment a little bit by uploading images, new themes, and plugins. Since I use an Apple Mac computer – I began ftp with a free trial of Fetch which I liked but opted for the free Cyberduck utility instead.
I am not as familiar with the programs available to Windows users – but I did try Filezilla many years ago and found that agreeable as well.
If anybody has some suggestions as to their favorite ftp client, I would love to hear them!
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Twitter: mpolicha
April 20, 2010 at 3:39 pm
I started out using a program called SmartFTP, which seemed OK at first but I ran into some problems with it (this was a few years ago and I don’t remember exactly what the problem was).
Since then, I’ve been using Filezilla, and I’ve never had a problem with it. I think unless you’re willing to spend money on a program, you can’t do much better than Filezilla.
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