Use file transfer protocol, or FTP, to transfer many files and folders at once from your computer to your File Manager. FTP can be used to transfer all sorts of file types, including HTML pages, text files, graphics, MP3s, and more. You'll find that FTP access is particularly handy when you want to work offline on your local hard drive on one or many files and then quickly push your changes to your live web site.

Set up your FTP account

Download an FTP program (or client).
There are many FTP programs available on the Web, either free or on a trial basis. For Windows users, we recommend the popular FTP program CuteFTP.

You will get a fully functional version of CuteFTP that will expire in 30 days. You may purchase CuteFTP at any time for $39.95.

Please note: This information is provided for your convenience only. We are not affiliated with CuteFTP. We just like this software and think you will, too.

After your 30-day trial period has ended, you'll have the option to purchase CuteFTP. But there are many other FTP clients available online, including some free tools. To try out different options, visit a software download site like Download.com and do a search for FTP. If you end up using another FTP program, please refer to that software's instructions for more detailed support.

Install CuteFTP and start the program.
CuteFTP will display a series of informational windows that you can ignore for now. To dismiss them, choose OK or Exit until you see the screen depicted below.

Click on the lightning-bolt icon on the CuteFTP toolbar.

Enter your FTP account information and choose Enter.
To obtain your FTP account information, look in your Account Setup email from your host or your site control panel or contact support at your host.

Upload your files.

The middle left-hand pane shows you the files on your computer; the middle right-hand pane (outlined in red above) lists your files on your website's server. To transfer files from your computer to your site, simply drag files from one pane and drop them into the other.

To update files on your site quickly, you can edit them on your local hard drive and then FTP them to your site folders, replacing the older versions in your folder with the newer versions from your hard drive.

Note: File and folder names you FTP to may include hyphens or underscores, but we recommend not using spaces, slashes, or other special characters.