File Transfer Protocol(FTP)
File transfer protocol, or FTP is the manner in which you send and manage files over the internet. When you develop web documents on your computer with a text editor or other internet document editor you need a way to get those files to your remote web hosting account, whether it be a shared hosting plan, virtual private server or dedicated server. FTP is the protocol that allows you to achieve this.
A FTP client is a program that is designed to make this connection and allow you to view and manage files stored on a remote server. With an FTP client you transfer files between your computer and the server and move, delete and rename files on your server all from your computer.
There are a number of FTP clients available. Internet document editor's (IDE) such as Adobe Dreamweaver or Microsoft FrontPage already have FTP functionality built into them. There are also programs such as cuteFTP(windows only) that you can download for free that are great programs.
If you are already using the Mozilla FireFox browser they have a great free add-on called FireFTP. FireFTP will open in a new browser tab and allow you to connect to a remote server. It displays the files on your local system as well as the files on the remote server and allows you to easily transfer and manage your files.
To make the FTP connection you will need your FTP username and password. These are typically the same as your web hosting accounts username and password. If you have any trouble making the connection your web hosting provider will provide you with all the information you need.