Using an FTP Client to Upload Files

One of the tools that every website owner will eventually want to learn how to use is an FTP tool. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and FTP client lets you easily upload your website’s content from your hard drive to your site seamlessly. Without an FTP client, you would need to upload all of your content individually, which would take a very long time and would require a lot of effort on your behalf. If you use an FTP client than you’ll be able to upload hundreds of files simultaneously without having to upload each file manually. If you’re running several websites, or one that is graphic or file intensive, then you’ll most definitely need to use an FTP client.

What FTP Client Should You Use?

If you’re worried about the cost of an FTP client then you should be aware that there are many free FTP clients that will do everything you need them to with ease. One such FTP client is FileZilla which is used by many people all around the world. Even large businesses use free FTP clients, and you can do pretty much anything you’d like with a free FTP client such as FileZilla.

Using the FTP Client

Using an FTP client is actually very simple, although it can seem intimidating at first, the program is actually designed to be user-friendly and you’ll soon learn how to upload content to your site quickly and easily. First, you’ll want to become acquainted with the FTP interface. Almost all of the FTP clients have the same central design. The left side is devoted to your hard drive, and the right side is devoted to your website. The top of the interface is devoted to folders, while the bottom displays the files within those folders. When you click a folder on the top side of the interface, you’ll see it on the bottom of the interface in the files section. To upload content simply right click on the file you want to upload on the left side of the FTP client, then click on upload. You can upload several files at once by holding down the Ctrl key and then clicking the files you would like to upload. Once you have highlighted all of the files you’d like to upload simply right click them and then click upload.

Making Backups with an FTP Client

Just as you can upload files using your FTP client, you can also download files using your FTP client as well. This means you can backup your entire website by downloading it onto your hard drive. Although there are easier ways to backup a website, this is one of the fundamental ways to do it. Simply click on the main folder of your website on the right side of the interface, then right-click it and click download. It may take a while to download all of the files, but the wait is worth it since you’ll be able to restore your website at any time if you’d like.

For more information please see this page in our support section.

Choosing a webhosting company is not something to be taken lightly.  Indeed, making a hasty or ill-informed choice can lead to completely avoidable stress and problems as your hosting needs evolve.  Because we at WebHero are very interested in your success, I’d like to take a moment to look at some of the questions that should be a part of your decision making regarding the webhosting company you choose.

What kind of hosting services, plans, and bandwidth options are offered? 

You want to choose a hosting company that has the bandwidth, plans, and services that are not only the right fit for your needs now, but also offers adaptable services that can expand with you as your business grows.

We offer several different plans that are upgradable as your business grows. We have an entry level plan for newcomers to web hosting and higher end plans for those with more demanding needs.

How reliable is this company, anyway? 

Have you ever tried to visit or shop at a website, and become frustrated because it was down?  Maybe you waited and tried back later, or maybe you just decided to take your business someplace that has a more reliable hosting service?  This is not something you want happening to you and your business, so be sure to pay close attention to your hosting company’s server uptime agreement for the plan you will be using.

Our services have a 99.98% uptime as verified by an independent 3^rd party.

Is there a backup plan?

 It’s always a good idea to have your own backup data, but what happens if you don’t and the server goes down?  Does this hosting company have a backup storage in place to prevent and protect your (and your customers’!) data from being lost? 

We makes backups of your website data every hour and keeps those backups for 4 weeks. In case of a catastrophic disaster we also have a second datacenter located at an offsite location.

What about security? 

Customer information, especially in the case of online payments, absolutely must be kept secure.  If your customers cannot be assured by use of SSL certificates they aren’t likely to give you their business. 

Webhero offers pre-configured SSL certificates as well as allowing you to use your own from another company.

Can I get a little help here? 

Unless you happen to know a lot about technical support issues, you’re probably going to at least occasionally run into situations in which you need some help.  We all know that things like that don’t always (or often) happen conveniently during business hours, so having access to round the clock tech help is something worth keeping in mind.  Likewise, you want to have the same excellent level of customer support from your hosting company that you provide to your own customers.

Just remember, choosing the right hosting company is a business decision like any other. Weighing the important facts and balancing that with what a particular company offers you is definitely a smart move.