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FTP

1. What is FTP? #

   FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is the process used to upload and download files from a web server. This is done using an FTP program.

2. What information needs to be entered into a FTP or web design program in order to upload files to the server? #

   Our hosting features SFTP (Secure FTP) which is more secure than FTP by encrypting your connection to the server.

   server/hostname: ftp.example.com (replace “example.com” with your actual domain name)
   username: username
   password: password
   remote directory: /www.example.com/web/content/ (replace “example.com” with your actual domain name)
   port: 22

   If you have not yet pointed your domain name to the cloud name servers, then you will need to use ftp2.ftptoyoursite.com as the server/hostname. Use that address literally, and do not insert your domain name.

3. How do you change the password for FTP access? #

   NOTE: This also resets the control panel password for your hosting account.

   1. Log in to your control panel.
   2. Under “Website List”, select your domain name. If you host multiple domains, you can select any domain name.
   3. Under the “Viewing and Editing” section, locate the subsection “Edit Your Site” and click the link that says “Change Password”.
   4. Enter your current control panel password in the first form field, and then enter your New Password and Confirm New Password, then select “Save”.

   For security reasons, our system will not allow you to create a weak password. If you are unable to click the Save button, then you will need to create a more secure password.

4. Do you recommend any FTP programs? #

   We recommend accessing the cloud via SFTP. Here are a few FTP programs that we recommend that use SFTP:

   For SFTP we recommend Transmit 4 (our favorite) or ExpanDrive on a Mac and ExpanDrive on Windows. Here are some others:

   Mac

   – Transmit
   - ExpanDrive
   – Cyberduck
   – Captain FTP
   – CuteFTP
   – Fetch
   – Coda
   – FileZilla

   Windows

   - ExpanDrive
   – CuteFTP
   – FileZilla

5. What is a FTP user and how do you create one? #

   A FTP user has access to a specific domain or directory with an FTP client. If you would like to setup a FTP user, just enter a support ticket through our Help Desk with the following information:

   1. username, (cannot contain spaces or punctuation and must start with a letter). All FTP usernames for cloud hosting need to be unique and will be rendered lowercase.
   2. full path (/web/content/FTPuser) to the FTP user’s permissioned directory. Please also have the intended /FTPuser directory created prior to the FTP user setup request.

   After an FTP user has been created, you can gain access to the FTP user’s directory using the following configuration information in your FTP program:

   server/hostname: ftp.example.com (replace “example.com” with your actual domain name)
   username: username
   password: password
   port: 22

   An FTP user can only access a permitted directory via an FTP client. If you are intending to allow web access to a directory, you will need to create a password protected directory.

6. The website is not loading in a browser after the files have been uploaded to the server, what might be causing this? #

   1. Double check that you have uploaded your files to /www.example.com/web/content/ (replace “example.com” with your actual domain name)
   2. Check that you have named your default page: index.html, index.htm or index.php

7. My FTP program is having some problems connecting to the server, how do you troubleshoot this? #

   1. Make sure that you have entered all the proper FTP configuration information for your website. This was provided in the account information email that we sent to you when a new hosting account was created for your domain. It can also be located in your cloud control panel.
   2. Double check that your FTP program is set to access port number 21 or 22.
   3. Verify that you currently have a connection to the internet and that your ISP is not having any problems.
   4. If you are behind a firewall, make sure that it is not configured to block access to port 21 or port 22 on outbound connections. Also, you could try enabling “passive mode” on your FTP program since some firewalls require this when using FTP.
   5. If you have a slow connection (ie dial-up), try increasing the time-out value setting in your FTP program. For instance if the default is 60:00, try changing it to 120:00. This is a common issue with Dreamweaver and this fix often solves the problem.
   6. If you are running a BitTorrent program, you need to pause it or turn it off. BitTorrent programs require a massive amount of your internet connection’s uploading/downloading resources to run. Running a BitTorrent program while trying to FTP will cause extremely slow and almost non-existent upload/download times.

8. When the files are uploaded to the server they are corrupted, what might be causing this? #

   Make sure that your FTP application is set to automatically detect ACSII or binary mode.

9. How do I view hidden files such as .htaccess in an FTP client? #

   Files which have a name beginning with a period (.) are not displayed by default in most FTP clients. To view and edit these, you will generally need to enable the display of them in your client.

   In Cyberduck click View -> Show Hidden Files. Check your FTP client documentation for specifics on how to do this with other programs.

10. Do you offer anonymous FTP? #

    For security reasons, we do not support anonymous FTP.

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