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What is FTP and what do I need it for?

What is FTP and what do I need it for

What is FTP?

FTP is a file transfer protocol between a computer that acts as a server and another computer that acts as a client.

In this case, the server is the one assigned to you by the hosting company you have contracted, and the client is the computer you use to connect to that server.

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, which if translated into Spanish means File Transfer Protocol.

Come on, the name itself serves as a definition.

This protocol has many functions, but you, who are here to learn how to create a website, are interested in one in particular.

Thanks to FTP you can easily transfer all kinds of files to the hosting you hire to host your website.

When you download WordPress and decompress it on your computer, there are a series of files and folders that you have to upload to your hosting in order to install WordPress.

And the only way you have to upload these files, which are the ones that will compose your website, is through the FTP protocol.

In the same way, every time you have to modify a file, upload a new one or delete something you no longer need, you will have to do it through an FTP connection.

How to use the FTP protocol to upload files to the server

There are several ways you can use to connect via FTP to your hosting server.

In most cases you can do it directly from the cPanel of your hosting account, but you can also use some of the existing programs to create FTP connections.

These programs are installed on your computer and make it very easy to make the connection and file transfers. The best known and probably most used is FileZilla.

To find out how, you can read How to upload files to my website from hosting or FileZilla, an article I created to make your life easier and you can upload files without the slightest problem.