

You will use a separate username and password specifically for using FTP. Your WordPress username and password will not work for this. It will probably be 21 or 222, but you should check your hosting account for this number.

Understanding the specifics isn’t important. The port is a number that basically tells the server what actions you’ll be taking. The IP address will be used as the “host.” Port When using FTP to connect directly to your server, DNS servers are not used, so you need to enter your website’s IP address. Otherwise, you’d have to memorize a bunch of IP addresses for your favorite sites! Source: Bill Amend Basically, the real address of a website is its IP address, and the domain name is an alias that we use so we can have branded names for websites. When you visit a website by name, like, a DNS Server translates that domain name into an IP address to fetch the website. If your site uses “https” then use the second option called “SFTP.” Host If your site uses “http” then use the first option called “FTP.” If you can’t find something, message your host and they should be able to give you the info right away. You can probably find all five pieces of information in one place. Login to your hosting account and look for an FTP menu. In total, there are five pieces of information you need to connect to your site via FTP: Once you’ve entered them in, you can click the Connect button at the bottom, but first, let’s talk about those login credentials. On the right side of the window, you’ll enter in your access credentials so you can connect to your server. Then click the New Site button in the popup that appears. Start by clicking this icon in the top-left corner of FileZilla to open the Site Manager: In order to access your site, you need a new set of login credentials.Īccessing your site via FTP is different than logging into your WordPress website, so you won’t use the same username and password. Regardless of the solution you choose, the steps will be the same, but I’ll be using FileZilla for all the screenshots throughout this tutorial. That can work fine, but honestly, it’s faster to just open an app like FileZilla installed on your computer than navigating to one inside your hosting dashboard. Your web host probably has a free FTP client available within the cPanel as well. It’s free to use and available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.įileZilla has a nice interface and you can save multiple site’s credentials, so it’s a practical choice if you have a few websites. There are lots of good options, but I always use and recommend FileZilla. The FTP client will give you an interface to transfer files to and from your site. The first thing you need to do is choose an FTP client. Now let’s cover how exactly you can use FTP. In other words, it’s for transferring files between a server and a computer. FTP stands for “File Transfer Protocol” and it’s a method of uploading and downloading files from a server.
