How to FTP into your sites using FileZilla
Using FileZilla to FTP into your sites is one of the most utilized ways to update your sites quickly and efficiently without all the “distractions”. If your curious, FTP stands for “File Transfer Protocol”.
You can download FileZilla at the following link: https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client
Most of our clients are using FTP for their WordPress website but our hosting covers all types of CRM's, static sites, and etc that will benefit from this access.
Install FileZilla
Once you have unzipped the download folder and executed the installer, open FileZilla and you will be shown the screen like this below:
The left hand side is “your” desktop/laptop or Local files. The right side is your server of your web hosting account.
Find FTP Credentials in cPanel
You'll need 4 key pieces of information that you can get from your cPanel login.
- Host (your main domain or IP address associated with your cPanel account)
- Username (if you are the main account holder, your username to log into cPanel)
- Password (again, if main account holder… same as you would use….)
- Port (optional)
*Tip: I would just use the IP Address of your account. It is the cleanest …no mistake way of getting this to work. You can find this at cPanel Dashboard > right side > click “Server Information” and you will see on the screen.
In your cPanel account dashboard, navigate to FTP Accounts. From there, you will create a username, password, and assign what directory you want to “start” from. Most want to start from “public_html/”. This is the “root” of your web hosting or the base of where it all starts.
Use Site Manager in FileZilla to Stay Organized
Once you've completed this process, you'll want to organize your logins or “sites” in FileZilla. Navigate to the menu bar > File > Site Manager (a pop up window will occur).
Looks like this:
- Enter your “Host” = This can be your main domain or IP address associated with your cPanel account.
- Port = you can leave blank. It automatically finds this but you can override if need to.
- User & Password = are the same from your cPanel account or if you created an additional login
- Logon Type leave as normal
- Protocol = FTP – File Transfer Protocol
- Encryption = “Only use plain FTP (insecure)” NOTE: we suggest using the first drop down called “Use explicit FTP over TLS if available”. You can take it a step further for more security with the additional 2 selections.
- Hit “Connect” button.
Now you should be logged in!
Boom, Ready To use FTP & FileZilla
You can now download from the right side the file / folder that you want to save locally to work on and vice versa by uploading a file / folder.
