Kerrie Sheehan’s Blog

FTP is short for File Transfer Protocol. As the name suggests, it is a means of transferring files from one computer to another. The software used to perform this task is called an FTP client.

Most often, this software is used to upload files to a web host but it can also be used to download files from the internet. You can use an FTP client to transfer files between two computers in a network, download documents and other media from the internet to your desktop or upload from your desktop to the internet.

There are some download and sharing websites that are run entirely on file transfer protocol and give any user access to their file archives. These sites are usually very popular, with many, many users and may take several attempts before you can get a connection and access the files you want to download.

Many browsers today have FTP clients built into them or it the program is available as an add-on or plugin. The stand alone software can be found either as Open Source (free) software, such as Filezilla, or there are several popular paid software applications such as WSFTP and Smart FTP.

If you are designing a web site you will need an FTP client to upload all of your website files and directories to your web host before you site will be available online. Although many web hosts have online uploaders available
as part of their cpanel, it takes a very long time to upload each file individually. With the software, you can upload files in bulk with one click of a button.

This is just a small bit of information you will need to learn as a new internet marketer.