What is FTP?
Which FTP program should I use?
How do I log into my account using FTP?
How do I upload my files using FTP?
What transfer type should I choose?
Does all free web hosting provider offer FTP?
What is CGI?

 

What is FTP?
FTP or File Transfer Protocol is a method used to copy files from your computer to a server. Most FTP programs will ask for the server name, user name, and password.
 
    Server Name - This is generally the domain name of the service provider
                    otherwise should be mentioned in the faq of the free web space provider.
    User Name - This is generally the login name you specified on your sign-up form.
    Password - the password you chose during signup or
                    some provider may give a password later after you signup.
 
Which FTP program should I use?
You can use any FTP program however CuteFTP is one of the most popular FTP programs.
 
You can download CuteFTP for free by clicking one of the following links:
 
CuteFTP - Windows 95/98/NT4
CuteFTP - Windows 3.x or AOL users
 
For Apple Macintosh users we recommend the Fetch program, which operates similarly to CuteFTP.
With Fetch make sure your images are send as raw binary data and html files in ascii mode.
 
Fetch - Apple Macintosh
 
How do I log into my account using FTP?
If you are using CuteFTP. To log in to your account, click on the 'create a new host' button and enter the domain name as provided by the free web site provider in the host address and your login username and password and click OK. The other fields are optional.You can leave them as it is.
 
How do I upload my files using FTP?
Once connected you will see a listing of files within your site. On the left-hand side will be files on your computer and on the right-hand side will be files on our server. Change to the directory in which you want to upload by double clicking it. When you are ready to upload your files to our server, drag the files you wished to be copied from the left-hand side to the right-hand side.
 
What transfer type should I choose?
Most FTP programs have a feature called 'auto-detect' that will send the files in the correct format. To transfer html files, cgi scripts or text files, you must choose 'ascii' mode. To transfer images (eg. gif or jpg photos and images) you must choose 'binary'.
 
Note: If you transfer images as ascii format they will not show on your web page. Most other files need to be transfered in ascii format.
 
Does all free web hosting provider offer FTP?
No many free web space provider require you to upload files only through browser. However most of the time it is more convenient to use FTP.
 
What are CGI ?
CGI stands for 'common gateway interface'. It is a method used by programs to send and receive information via a web browser. To expand the capabilities of your website, you will need to use CGI scripts that can handle counters, guestbooks, form processing, shopping carts, etc. CGI scripts written in perl in most popular.
 
Most of the free webspace providers do not allow users to use there own CGI scripts because of security problems. But, most of them have pre-installed scripts that can be used by the users.