FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and it's generally used for uploading files to websites. It is a protocol that is used to transfer files from your computer to the Web Hosting Server that is hosting your website. To do this, first you need FTP clients. FTP clients are applications that let you transfer files using FTP. FTP uses the Internet, but is not the Web. You will use FTP to move your folders and HTML files from your computer to the web hosting server so that your files are online and can be viewed on the Web.
The basic idea of uploading files using FTP is to first establish a connection with Web hosting server and your computer and then upload the files. This will transfer your files to web hosting servers. There are several different FTP software packages available, but the more common ones include WS_FTP, CuteFTP and Fetch. But you can get your site uploaded without paying extra money for an FTP client by using Microsoft Windows Explorer. You would typically enter a URL in the format like: ftp://Username:Password@FTP_Host/directory/ into the address bar. It's then possible to drag and drop any files you want to upload into to the web hosting server.
Most FTP clients offer drag-n-drop functionality. You don't have to type commands from your keyboard to upload files. You just need to select the file using mouse and then drag and drop it to upload/ download your files. In order to upload files via FTP, you need to know the FTP address (usually domain name or IP address), FTP username and FTP password.
Once you have connected, you will see a directory called 'public_html' or 'mainwebsite_html'. Some FTP clients may show this as a file which should be double-clicked or opened. This is where your web pages will be served from and where you should put all your pages. Having a separate directory or folder for this is more secure.
In order for your site to show up when you type in your domain name or IP address into a web browser, the first page or the home page must be named as index.html, index.htm, index.php, index.asp, index.shtml, default.html, default.htm, default.php, default.asp, or default.shtml.
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