FTP For Beginners: How To Connect to FTP Host?

Uploading or downloading files on the Internet is no longer a big trouble for us, especially when you’ve already had FTP program. But how to use it?

Are you still new to FTP and longing to know about the origins of FTP? As a new user, you just can’t help but desperately want to know what it’s about. Well, using the FTP feels a bit daunting initially, but it’s quite simple to avail once you’ve understood know how.

In this post today, we’d like to know what FTP is and how it runs so that you no longer worry about using Joomla and Wordpress to upload files.

What is FTP? 

At the time we start to go off on a path about the FTP, so what is it anyway? FTP, or commonly known as File Transfer Protocol, is just what its name implies. It’s said to be a great number of rules for how all files need to be transferred. Once dragging and dropping files on your PC, any change will happen locally with nothing sent out of your PC at all.

But as you know, a website can’t be on our local computer since it could be 100 miles away in the server vaults of other hosting companies. If so, how to move those files from the computer to the server? Since you’ve asked us this question, FTP will be the best answer for you. The FTP program would use the rules that are defined by the protocol to serve as the middle side between your computer and the server.

FTP serves as the middleman between your computer and the server

It’s sort of like how the postman acts like a bridge between the mail and you. Obviously, delivering post is a more complicated process than just sending your postman to deliver. And FTP is just like that! To let FTP connection to be made, the users have to display some necessary details that inform they have been authorized to access that FTP server.

This information should consist of the host server’s name (also known as FTP host) the users like to connect to plus the credentials of the personal server login.

In reality, you might encounter FTP already without knowing. For example, once getting MP3s from the Sweden personal server, then you’ve just used FTP. Nowadays, web browsers enable us to download some files via FTP within the browser window. It appears highly handy, and perfect for anytime you indeed need to download one or two files. Now we’re going to learn how to connect to the FTP host, but before that, let’s find out what you need at first!

What you need

You need to prepare for connecting to FTP host

There will be some materials you need to connect to the server, and this is often offered by the host in the welcome email after you register. Also, you can find it available in the cPanel or the Account page, based on the host:

• Host - it’s your domain name or the IP address of the website.
• Username - it’s the username of your FTP account.
• Password - It’s the password from your FTP account.
• Port - it’s often 21.

Both host name and port shouldn’t cause any problem. The host is just the website address while the port number is often 21. As for the username and password, they tend to be different based on your host.

How to connect to your FTP host?

Add an FTP account to the ePanel

To set up an FTP connection to a server, the client should set the FTP connection settings at first. This connection setup will comprise offering the information about the FTP Account for the host. These details are sent to each user upon registering for one particular hosting service and need to be introduced in the fields within the FTP Client software. The corresponding fields lie at the top of the client display.

When the login fields get designated with both username and password on most of the clients, the FTP host field is usually mentioned in many ways, such as ‘hostname’, ‘server’, ‘host address’, etc. This would be based on the specific program utilized. Furthermore, the FTP host address field can be written with the IP of the server, or simply with one certain host.

How about another setting that needs to be set in the FTP client software? It’s called the FTP host port! The port is set up to 21, but when the FTP server avails various ports, it’s a must to specify it right in the field. As the FTP client software doesn’t own any FTP port field, then it’s possible to identify that port in the hostname field right after the host address.

With every setting set in the FTP client, you’re so ready to set up a connection to the FTP host, right? But if the server can’t enable you to connect, then try to check the account details of the FTP once more. When all of such information is accurate, there will be many other adjustments you must set before establishing the FTP connection with success.

Let’s check the number of all connections enabled by the server. A few FTP hosts are established to allow just one single connection for each client. This also means that you’re able to transfer one file one by one.

Conclusion

And that’s done! We hope that this post has supported you much to get a great grip on the basics of how to use the FTP on the host. If you’re still not sure about what your FTP host is, feel free to check in the manager section and view the created accounts.