Website files need to move from one place to another: from a developer’s computer to hosting, from staging to live or from your hosting account to a backup location.<\/p>\n
For many site owners, this is where terms such as FTP and SFTP appear. They sound technical, but the basic idea is simple: they are ways to transfer files between your computer and a server.<\/p>\n
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It has been used for many years to upload, download, rename and organise website files.<\/p>\n
The important caveat is that traditional FTP is not encrypted. That means usernames, passwords and transferred data may not be protected in the way modern website owners expect.<\/p>\n
SFTP stands for SSH File Transfer Protocol. It provides a more secure way to transfer files because the connection is encrypted.<\/p>\n
Where available, SFTP is usually the better choice for managing website files. It is especially important when working over public networks or handling sensitive files.<\/p>\n
File transfer clients such as FileZilla can make it easier to connect to your hosting account and manage files. Always download tools from the official website and keep them updated.<\/p>\n
Avoid saving passwords on shared computers. If a device is compromised, saved FTP or SFTP details can put the website at risk.<\/p>\n
File permissions control who can read, write or execute files. Incorrect permissions can break a website or create security risks.<\/p>\n
Do not change permissions unless you understand why. If a guide tells you to make files or folders widely writable, treat that advice with caution.<\/p>\n
Before editing, deleting or replacing website files, make sure you have a clean backup. A small mistake in the wrong folder can take a site offline.<\/p>\n
This is especially important when editing configuration files, theme files or plugin files.<\/p>\n
Many hosting control panels include a browser-based file manager, which can be useful for quick edits. SFTP is often better for larger uploads, development work or repeated file management.<\/p>\n
Secure file transfer is not glamorous, but it is part of good website maintenance. Use encrypted connections where possible, protect login details and take backups before making changes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FTP, SFTP and file managers are common ways to move website files. Here is what website owners should know about using them safely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hosting","category-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4uhosting.co.uk\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4uhosting.co.uk\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4uhosting.co.uk\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4uhosting.co.uk\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4uhosting.co.uk\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1525"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.4uhosting.co.uk\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3644,"href":"https:\/\/www.4uhosting.co.uk\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1525\/revisions\/3644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4uhosting.co.uk\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4uhosting.co.uk\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4uhosting.co.uk\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4uhosting.co.uk\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}