What does FTP stand for and why should you care? FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is the primary way most people transfer files to and from their web hosting account. Once you create a web page, you need to get it onto the web server that is hosting the website. This file transfer is usually handled via FTP.

In order to take advantage of FTP, you will need access to an FTP client. There are literally thousands of FTP clients available. My personal favorite – and the one I use constantly – is found at www.coreftp.com. CoreFTP is free for personal or educational use and is relatively easy to use. If you are going to use CoreFTP to handle the web files of your business, the only thing the makers of CoreFTP ask is that you register with them. The folks at CoreFTP have also provided a number of useful tutorials to learn how to use the software.

What kind of things can you do with FTP?

While most people will use FTP to transfer files to and from their website, you can also use FTP to download files from public FTP sites. Many major tech companies offer hundreds and sometimes thousands of files to the public via FTP. Microsoft, for example, makes available all kinds of interesting files via public FTP. In their games directory, they offer many graphic files, extra scenarios provided by fans, videos, etc... In order to access these files, you would put ftp.microsoft.com as the hostname. You would log on anonymously to Microsoft using your email address and the password anonymous. You would then a listing of directories you can access.

What if you are uploading website content?

If you plan to use an FTP Client to upload your website, the next thing you need to know is which directory to upload your files to. When using a Linux web server, you should upload your files to the public_html directory.

What does FTP stand for? I trust you now know what FTP is and why you would use it.