If you haven’t read my earlier ‘jargon buster’ post, then you might not know that FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol.
This is the way that you or your web designer, transfer the web pages you have created, from your computer to your web host’s server.
This is done using an FTP client, and is accessed via the control panel provided to you by your web hosting company. You can also transfer files using a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox, and what’s different is that instead of an “HTTP” address, you enter an “FTP” address (ftp.hostname.com) and you transfer files instead of opening them.
However, that’s not all that FTP can do.
FTP clients can also be downloaded from the Internet for use on your own desktop, and some of these such as CuteFTP or a great free FTP program is FileZilla, offer a lot more than just a means of transferring files to your website hosting provider.
While most FTP clients can also be used to view, rename, delete, and reorganise the pages and files which make up your website, but the advanced features of a good FTP client can do a lot more.
Indeed, when people realise what’s available, a FTP client can quickly become a valuable tool for running many other facets of a modern, Internet based business.
For example a good FTP client can be used to transfer multimedia files and other documents between your computer and any other FTP server, such as those used to host auction websites.
It can be used in the other direction too, to download multimedia files such as music, images or video files, as well as game demos or patches, or software. Most good FTP clients will also offer an integrated HTML Editor, so you can edit files on your web host’s server without having to download them again.
Increasingly, too, you will find other features which can help you keep pace with the explosion of social media unfolding today. For example a FTP client Podcast Manager helps you to automatically create and update your Podcast RSS feed, so you can automatically download and select the podcasts you want to listen to.
Other advanced features of FTP clients can also take care of the back office too.
Some have ‘Event Trigger’ functionality which allows you to determine automatic events which occur every time you open the client. This can be really useful for regular events such as the download of virus scan updates. For FTP clients which offer a ‘back-up’ feature, you can also schedule a regular back up of your local computer, so your data is safely stored on a remote server, and available to be downloaded from the archive if your computer goes down.
More sophisticated FTP Clients also offer more robust features for larger businesses which both require a higher level of security, and, who need to meet regulatory restrictions.
For example, businesses which have a number of websites on different servers; have their own in-house servers at more than one location; or who need to exchange files with clients or suppliers; need to be able to configure who gets access and when, what kind of files can be transferred and when, how much data can be sent, and which kind of IP addresses need to be blocked.
A more advanced FTP client should also provide an optional reporting and auditing module – which logs user activity so reports can be generated to meet security and privacy regulatory requirements.
Indeed, whether your business needs to meet regulatory requirements or not, your FTP client, should clearly indicate it provides Secure File Transfer Protocol.
SFTP indicates that the files being transferred are encrypted in the same way that information from your online bank is.
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