In this article, you will learn how to use FTP as well as some important information about it.

What is FTP?

First of all, you need to understand how this process works and what it means. FTP is a protocol that enables you to transfer files between your TBC-Hosting account and another computer. What it basically does, it establishes the connection between a server and a client (which is your computer). In order to make all the files, media, and information on your website accessible for visitors, you have to use FTP client, and upload them to TBC-Hosting account on the server. You then can download those files on your local computer from your TBC-Hosting account, if needed.

The basic (original) FTP will not secure your files while transferring them between your computer and our servers. We recommend you to use an encrypted FTP connection to transfer files whenever possible:

• SFTP (Secure Shell File Transfer Protocol) is available for all our Linux hosting accounts.
• FTPS (FTP over SSL) is available for all our Windows hosting accounts.

Using an FTP Client

You can configure an FTP Client, but this procedure depends on what type of hosting account you have.

Linux Hosting Accounts

There are numerous FTP clients available, and many of them support SFTP (Secure FTP) as well. TBC-Hosting recommends FileZilla, it’s a free program. It supports FTP and SFTP, and runs on Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux. In the following procedures, we show how to use FileZilla to connect to your account and transfer files.

In case you don’t want to use FileZilla, you will need the following information to connect to your account:

• Domain name: Your web site's domain name.
• FTP account username:
• For SFTP, you must use your cPanel username. Make sure you do not include your domain name. For example, type username, do not type username@example.com.
• For FTP, you can use either your cPanel username or the username for an FTP user you have created in cPanel (for example, ftpuser@example.com).
• Password: The password for the account you are using.
• Port number: For SFTP connections, use port 7822 instead of the default port 22.

Connecting to your account

To connect to your account using FileZilla, follow these steps:

• Start FileZilla.
• On the File menu, click Site Manager. The Site Manager dialog appears
• Click New Site, type a name for the site and then press Enter.
• In the Host text box, type your site's domain name. Alternatively, you can type the server hostname instead.
• If you want to connect using SFTP, type 7822 in the Port text box. Otherwise, leave the Port text box blank.
• In the Protocol list box, select the protocol you want to use:
  • To use SFTP, select SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol.
  • To use regular FTP, select FTP - File Transfer Protocol, and then in the Encryption list box, select Only use plain FTP (insecure).
• In the Logon Type list box, select Normal.
• In the User text box, type the account username you want to use:
  • If you are using SFTP, you must use your cPanel username. Make sure you do not include your domain name. For example, type username, do not type username@example.com.
  • If you are using a regular FTP connection, you can use either your cPanel username or the username for an FTP user you have created in cPanel (for example, ftpuser@example.com).
• In the Password text box, type the password for the account you just specified in the previous step.
• Optionally, you can specify a default directory for FileZilla to open on the remote server after it connects. For example, many people prefer to have an FTP client access the website document root directory by default. To do this, follow these steps:
  • Click the Advanced tab.
  • In the Default remote directory text box, type /home/username/public_html, where username represents your TBC-Hosting account (cPanel) username.
• Click Connect. After a few seconds, FileZilla establishes the connection.

Transferring Files

After FileZilla establishes a connection between your local computer and the TBC-Hosting server, you can transfer files. FileZilla has a Local site pane that displays files on your local computer, and a Remote site pane that displays files in your account on the TBC-Hosting server.

To transfer files using FileZilla, follow these steps:

• Navigate through folders in the Local site and Remote site panes just as you would in Windows Explorer or the Mac OS X Finder. To open a folder, double-click it.
• To upload a file to the server, drag the file from the Local site pane to the Remote site pane. After the file transfer is complete, the file appears in the Remote site pane.
• To download a file to the local computer, drag the file from the Remote site pane to the Local site pane. After the file transfer is complete, the file appears in the Local site pane.
• You can also transfer entire folders at once:
  • To upload a folder to the server, drag the folder from the Local site pane to the Remote site pane.
  • To download a folder to the local computer, drag the folder from the Remote site pane to the Local site pane.

Windows Hosting Accounts

There are numerous FTP clients available. A2 Hosting recommends FileZilla, it’s a free program. It supports FTP and FTPS and runs on Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux. In the following procedures, we show how to use FileZilla to connect to your account and transfer files.

You do not have to use FileZilla. If you want to use a different FTP client, however, you will need the following information to connect to your account:

• Domain name: For Windows hosting accounts, you use a combination of your domain name and the server name. For example, if your domain name is example.hosted.com, and your account is on server mi3-wss2.tbc-hosting.com, then the FTP hostname is example.mi3-wss2.tbc-hosting.com. Alternatively, you can use the IP address for your server instead of the hostname.
• FTP account username: For Windows hosting accounts, the username is a combination of the FTP user account in Plesk and the server name. For example, if you create a user in Plesk named kelly, and your account is on server mi3-wss3.a2hosting.com, then the FTP username is mi3-wss3\kelly.
• Password: The password for the account you are using.
• Port number: For regular FTP, use port 21. For FTPS, use port 990.

Connecting to your account

To connect to your account using FileZilla, follow these steps:

• Start FileZilla.
• On the File menu, click Site Manager. The Site Manager dialog appears
• Click New Site, type a name for the site and then press Enter.
• In the Host text box, type a combination of the domain name and the server name. For example, if your domain name is example.hosted.com, and your account is on server mi3-wss2.tbc-hosting.com, then the FTP hostname is example.mi3-wss2.tbc-hosting.com.
• Leave the Port text box blank.
• In the Protocol list box, select FTP - File Transfer Protocol, and then in the Encryption list box, select Require explicit FTP over TLS.
• In the Logon Type list box, select Normal.
• In the User text box, type the account username you want to use. The username is a combination of the FTP user account in Plesk and the server name. For example, if you create a user in Plesk named kelly, and your account is on server mi3-wss3.tbc-hosting.com, then the FTP username is mi3-wss3\kelly.
• In the Password text box, type the password for the account you specified in step 8.
• Optionally, you can specify a default directory for FileZilla to open on the remote server after it connects. For example, many people prefer to have an FTP client access the website document root directory by default. To do this, follow these steps:
  • Click the Advanced tab.
  • In the Default remote directory text box, type /httpdocs.
• Click Connect. After a few seconds, the connection is established.

Transferring Files

After FileZilla establishes a connection between your local computer and the TBC-Hosting server, you can transfer files. FileZilla has a Local site pane that displays files on your local computer, and a Remote site pane that displays files in your account on the TBC-Hosting server.

To transfer files using FileZilla, follow these steps:

• Navigate through folders in the Local site and Remote site panes just as you would in Windows Explorer or the Mac OS X Finder. To open a folder, double-click it.
• To upload a file to the server, drag the file from the Local site pane to the Remote site pane. After the file transfer is complete, the file appears in the Remote site pane.
• To download a file to the local computer, drag the file from the Remote site pane to the Local site pane. After the file transfer is complete, the file appears in the Local site pane.
• You can also transfer entire folders at once:
  • To upload a folder to the server, drag the folder from the Local site pane to the Remote site pane.
  • To download a folder to the local computer, drag the folder from the Remote site pane to the Local site pane.