Have you built a whole website and then got stuck at the upload step? You may already own the right tool, a file transfer client such as FileZilla, and still not know where to click. The quick guide on the FileZilla Wiki jumps to technical details too soon for a beginner.
Many people face the same problem. That is why we at Omaha Web Hosting wrote this step-by-step guide. FileZilla is one of the most popular transfer tools. It is easy to use, reliable and free to download from the developer’s site.
Install FileZilla. Double-click the program file you downloaded. Finish the installation as usual. Then open FileZilla from the Start button. A window with many menus appears.
Add your site. Click the File menu near the far left corner, then click Site Manager. Click New Site. Type a name for your site, such as “My site” or “Omaha Web Hosting”.
In the Host box, write your site address without “http://”. For example, mysite.domain.com.
Set the Logon Type to “Normal.” Then you can fill in the username and password. The username is your subdomain name. Your host gives you the password. Click “OK.”
There is an easier way. Click “File,” then “Import,” to load a configuration file if your host gave you one. It fills in all the details for you.
Upload your files. Open Site Manager again and double-click the site you created. If your settings and internet connection are fine, FileZilla connects to the server. The box on the right then shows what is on the server, such as a “cgi-bin” folder. Your web hosting company can tell you which folder holds your website.
The left side of the window shows the files on your computer. The right side shows the files on the server. To upload, drag a file to the right side. You can select several files and drag them over together.
The wide box at the bottom of the window shows the queued, failed and successful transfers. When the upload is done, the message “Upload successful” appears in the wide box just below the top menus.
Sometimes FileZilla asks what to do when a file already exists on the server. Read the choices and pick the one you want. If FileZilla cannot connect, check that the Host box holds your domain name and that the username and password are right.
I have just downloaded the newest version of FileZilla 3.6.0, it was installed on my computer correctly, the installation also removed the old version of FileZilla. This new version also kept the old set of my connections. When I am connected to a specific IP address with password and username in place, using normal FTP I tried dragging a file from the server I am connected to, I was given an error message: “Could not determine the target od the Drag& Drop operation. Either the shell extension is not installed properly or you didn’t drop the files into an explorer window”. The dragging move also created a folder on my desktop named: “fz3-8778663282”, however, the folder was empty. I tried reinstalling FileZilla, same happened. I have been using FileZilla for a long time (years) and I have never experienced this error.
We would recommend using an uninstaller program like Revo uninstaller and starting fresh with your installation. You can also go into %AppData% > roaming folder > filezilla and delete it manually. You will need to reinsert your login information for FTP as if it was a new installation.