You can download the current version of WS_FTP Home for free from
here.
For the purpose of this tutorial, we provided instructions for using the Free version of WS_FTP LE. WS_FTP LE is no longer available. It has been replaced with the new Ipswitch WS_FTP Home. We will be updating this site with the newer instructions, but most FTP clients are very much alike and work in the same way. You'll be able to apply these instructions (with maybe a small modification or two) to most FTP
software programs.
If you haven't already done so ... get organized ;o)
Create a folder on your hard drive to hold all of your HTML pages in one spot
Create "sub-directory" folders within the main folder for each area of your site.
Back up! Keep a current back up copy of your web site ... just in case.
For instance, I have a folder in "My Documents" called "Web Sites" and in that folder I have a
folder for each web site that I own ... like "NewbieHangout". And in the "NewbieHangout" folder I
have several folders: "generators", "HTML", "affiliates", "templates", "linkware" etc., etc.
It really pays to get organized now when you're just learning all this stuff.
Whichever HTML editor you use to create your web pages, it's important to remember a couple points:
Your homepage should be named "index.html" or "index.htm"
The 1st page for each subdirectory also needs to be named "index.html" or "index.htm"
Use lowercase letters when naming your pages.
Open WS_FTP Home.
You will see the screen above. If not, then click on the Connect
button at the bottom-left.
Now .... enter the following details (they're case sensitive):
Profile Name = An Easy to Remember "Nickname" i.e., "My WebSite".
Host Name Address = (depends on your host - check documentation) Example: ftp.b2phat.com
Host Type = Usually auto detect. Check with your Host if auto detect doesn't work.
User ID = the username you received from your Host
Password = your password.
Account = should be left blank.
Comment = blank unless you just HAVE to say something ;o)
Click on the Advanced tab at the top of the Session Properties window.
Your settings should match those of the image above.
Click back onto the General tab, click on Apply to save the changes, then click on
OK.
You will then be prompted to connect. Once you have connected, WS-FTP will connect to the web
server where your web space is located (see image below).
You will see two windows: the one on the left is your computers hard drive. The window on the right is your remote server (your webspace on your hosts server).
Navigate to the folder on your hard drive where you saved your HTML pages, by using either the drop down menu (where you see the C:\) or using the green arrow (above the file names). Once you've opened the folder where your html pages are located, you can start transferring. Put your mouse over the file you want to transfer so it highlights. Then click on the arrow on the center
bar that points towards your remote folders. Your index.htm page should go into your BASE folder. Check the documentation from your web host to find out what that is. Usually it's something like "public_html", "htdocs", "home" or "web".
To transfer more than one file at a time, simply highlight all of the files by holding down the Shift key at the same time you select the files. You can transfer a whole folder and it's contents by highlighting the folder itself.
To navigate within your remote folders, just double click on a folder to open it and view the contents. If you want to transfer a file from your hard drive to a subdirectory of your website, double click on the folder name so it is open .... then just transfer from your hard drive to the folder on your site.
Play with the different controls and options to familiarize yourself with how it all works. You can right click on folders and get different menus. You can rename files, move them and delete them.
Once you have finished transferring the web pages and images click on
Close or Exit at the bottom-left of your screen.
To view your web site you will need to open Internet
Explorer. In the address bar type in your website url and pat yourself on the back!
Congratulations! You just transferred your website using File Transfer Protocol!
About the Article: Created specifically for The Newbie Hangout a user-friendly and newbie-friendly site which is designed to help the new webmaster succeed.
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Using FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
