WebsiteKnowledge Base

Use WS-FTP to upload your files

This tutorial assumes that you have already created your web page/site and that you have the file(s) saved on your hard drive. Please keep in mind that we highly recommend that you keep a copy of your web page/site files on your computer's hard drive. This will ensure that you always have a copy in the event that anything should happen and a backup is unavailable.

Step 1:

When you first open WS_FTP you will see a window titled, Session Properties. This is where you will configure WS_FTP so that you may connect to your account. There will most likely be many Profiles already saved in the program so you will want to create a New Profile. Use the following illustration as a guide for your Profile. When you have finished filling in the necessary information, click on the OK button.

Step 2:

After you clicked on the OK button, you should have noticed some text quickly scrolling up towards the bottom of the program. This is just the program making a connection to the server. Now that you are logged in, you should see two windows. On the left-hand side is the Local System, your computer. You will need to navigate your system in this window in order to find your files. On the right-hand side is the Remote System, the web server. You should notice a couple of directories in this window. The one we need to be in is named, "www".

To change directories in WS_FTP you may either double-click on the directory name or click on the directory name to highlight it and then click on the ChgDir button to the right. To exit the current directory you are in, double-click on the green arrow near the top of the system window.

Step 3:

You should now see a couple of files within the "www" directory. One of these files is named "index.html" and serves as your sites current under construction page. You should replace this file with your own. Please be sure to name your first page "index.html" as well. This will ensure that your site loads as it should each time someone visits your site.

There are two ways to transfer files using WS_FTP. First, note that in the middle (between the two windows) there are two arrows. One points to the left and the other to the right. These arrows are used for transferring files. The first way to do this is to select and highlight the files in the left-hand window (Local System) and then click on the arrow pointing to the right. The alternative way is to simply double-click on the file you wish to transfer.

Depending on the size and quantity of your files, the transfer can take up to several minutes. For each file you will see a transfer status indicator. When the transfer has completed, you should hear an a ringing sound (unless you have already disabled this).