FileZilla FTP Client Tutorial

The FileZilla FTP Client is a popular and good free upload software. When you create a website you’ll have to publish it to the world wide web to make it visible to other people. So you will be using an FTP Client (software program) to upload (transfer) your site from your computer to a web server.

Note: There are other ways to upload a website. I mostly use WordPress to build a website these days, but I do use the FTP Program to upload files directly to the server from time time. Especially for client websites.

Here we’ll concentrate on the FileZilla FTP client, which will do the job. Our FileZilla tutorial will take you through the steps to uploading a website (and files in general) by using this free ftp software.

Download FileZilla FTP client.

After you have downloaded and installed FileZilla, open the program and click on File, then Site Manager. In the new window click New Site and type the name of your website in the box that opens above.

Then fill in the details on the right side of the window:

• Host: either name of your hosting provider or your domain name. You will receive this information when signing up with a web hosting service (may also be available in the Control Panel of your hosting account).
• Port: usually 21.
• Servertype: FTP – File Transfer Protocol.
• Logontype: click on the tiny arrow to the right and choose Normal.
• User: the user name you received in the welcome email from your hosting provider when establishing your web hosting account.
• Password: the password you received from your hosting provider.
• Click OK.

Now click again on File – Site Manager, check that your website name is highlighted (if not, click on it) and click on Connect. If everything is correct (all details are properly added), you should now get in contact with your web server to which your website is going to be uploaded.

If there is a directory (folder) named public_html and/or any other folder or file in the window to the right, you have contact with your web server. If it’s displaying “<Not connected to any server>” something is wrong and you’ll have to check the details in the Site Manager once again.

The wide box (window) in the upper part of the FileZilla ftp client window shows the actions, or tasks, going on when uploading web files. The wide box on the bottom displays files that are being currently transferred. The four boxes in the middle show your computer (to the left) and the web server (to the right). What you will do to transfer your website files to the web server, is move those filesfrom the left window (your computer) to the right window (web server).

How to Find Your Website Files on Your Computer

In the upper of the two boxes to the left (in the middle area), find the folder in which you have stored the files of your website. When you have localized the folder, click on it. Now all the files in that folder are displayed in the box underneath. Those are the files that will be moved into the corresponding box to the right (into the web server area).

Note that you will upload only the files that belong specifically to your website. Other files that you may have stored in your website folder, like the welcome email from your hosting provider, pictures you won’t use etc., should not be uploaded (it wouldn’t harm your website if you did though, only filling up the web server for nothing).

How to Move Files From Computer to Web Server

You will now move your website files into the public_html directory (folder) of the webserver (right box). So make sure it is open. If it shows in the lower box, it’s not open; double-click on it to open it. If there are any files like default.php or index.php the first time you open the public_html folder, delete them.

Now you’re ready to move your files from the (lower) left box to the right one in Filezilla ftp client. Click on one of the files (for example index.html, which should be your home page), hold the mouse button down and drag the file into the right box and release the button. For a second or two, the file will show in the lowest (wide) box, indicating that it is being transferred. When that box is empty, the transfer is completed, and the file name will show in the public_html directory. This is how you transfer web files.

Batch Upload

Now you can do the same with another file, then another… until all files have been uploded. FileZilla ftp client offers a faster way: click on a file, then press the Ctrl or Shift key while clicking on more files. This way you can highlight all the files you want to transfer. When highlighted, click on one of the files (no matter which – without pressing any key) and drag all the highlighted files into the open public_html folder.

Also, having highlighted the files as described above, right click and choose Upload in the dialog box that pops up. The files will be transferred and show up in the public_html directory.

Tip1: If the file transfer operation should stop and any or all of the files get stuck in the bottom box, the best solution is to close the FileZilla ftp client and then reopen it. Delete any files in the bottom box. Then repeat the uploading process. If any of the files are already uploaded (and display in the right box), you will be asked whether or not to overwrite them. Answer Yes.

Tip2: You can also upload a whole folder (containing files). Just drag and drop the folder into the public_html directory as explained above. For example, you may keep all your images in a folder of their own, or you can even have another website in a separate folder!

Remember, the right box is the web server where your website is hosted. When connected to the server, all the files and folders of the website are displayed there (double click on the public_html directory to open it, if necessary). You can change file names, delete any of the files etc., just as with files on your own computer.

Now you know how to transfer a website with a free ftp client. If you are new to this kind of stuff, you might be a bit confused or overwhelmed, the FileZilla FTP client is a rather simple program that is easy to use with a little practice.