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Using FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

This article discusses FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

What is FTP?

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a protocol that enables you to transfer files between your A2 Hosting account and another computer. FTP establishes a connection between a server (in this case, your account on an A2 Hosting server) and a client (your local computer). To make your website files accessible to the public, you use an FTP client to upload them to your A2 Hosting account on the server. You can also download files from your A2 Hosting account to your local computer.

The original FTP protocol does not encrypt data sent between the server and the client. We strongly recommend you use an encrypted FTP connection to transfer files whenever possible:

  • SFTP (Secure Shell File Transfer Protocol) is available for all our Linux hosting accounts.
  • FTPS (FTP over SSL) is available for all our Windows hosting accounts.
For security reasons, anonymous FTP is disabled on all A2 Hosting shared servers.

Using an FTP client

The procedures for configuring an FTP client depend on the type of hosting account you have.

Linux hosting accounts

If you have an account that is hosted on a Linux server, please see this article for information about how to connect using FTP.

Linux hosting products include:

  • Shared hosting: Startup, Drive, Turbo Boost, and Turbo Max packages.
  • Reseller hosting: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum packages.
  • Managed VPS: Power, Prestige, and Pinnacle packages.
  • Managed Flex dedicated servers: Sprint, Exceed, and Mach packages.
  • Unmanaged VPS: Entry, Mid, and Elite packages.
  • Unmanaged Flex dedicated servers: Sprint, Exceed, and Mach packages.
Windows hosting accounts

If you have an account that is hosted on a Windows server, please see this article for information about how to connect using FTP.

Windows hosting products include:

  • Shared hosting: Startup, Drive, Turbo Boost, and Turbo Max packages.
  • Reseller hosting: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum packages.

More Information

For more information about FTP, please visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Transfer_Protocol.


  • Managing FTP accounts and sessions

    Learn how to manage FTP accounts and sessions by using cPanel.

  • Using SSH (Secure Shell)

    Secure Shell (SSH) provides a secure way for you to access your account from the command line. Read this article to learn how to set up and use an SSH client on a variety of operating systems.