Guides

How to host a website with FTP

Uploading your site with an FTP program is still one of the simplest ways to publish: keep the files on your computer, edit them in any editor, and copy them up when they're ready.

FTP or SFTP?

Classic FTP sends your password and files unencrypted, so most hosts now use SFTP instead. It works the same way (connect, drag files across) but runs over an encrypted SSH connection. FileZilla, Cyberduck, WinSCP and Transmit all support it: choose SFTP as the protocol when you connect.

What you need

• A host that accepts SFTP uploads. Many hosts built for developers don't: GitHub Pages and Netlify publish from Git or a dashboard instead.
• An SFTP program: FileZilla (free, Windows, Mac and Linux), Cyberduck (free, Mac and Windows), WinSCP (free, Windows), or the sftp command that comes with your computer.
• Your connection details: host, port, username and password.

Step by step on Pagehaus

1. Create a free site. Your site's name is also your SFTP username.
2. In your SFTP program, connect with:

   Protocol

   SFTP

   Host

   sftp.pagehaus.app

   Port

   2022

   Username

   yoursite

   Password

   your Pagehaus password

3. Drag your files (at least an index.html) into the top folder on the server side.
4. Open https://yoursite.pagehaus.site/: your site is live. Upload again whenever you change something.

There are step-by-step guides with screenshots for FileZilla, Cyberduck, WinSCP, Visual Studio Code (upload every time you save) and the command line.

If it won't connect

• "Cannot establish FTP connection to an SFTP server": FileZilla tried plain FTP. Choose SFTP as the protocol, or type sftp:// in front of the host.
• Connection timed out: check the port. SFTP here is on port 2022, not 21 or 22.
• More in SFTP troubleshooting.

Working with others

On paid plans you can give a designer or co-author their own SFTP login, limited to one folder if you like, and switch it off when they're done, without sharing your password.