There are two easy ways to upload web files to your hosting server: via FTP (which I discussed in a previous post) and via cpanel. From personal experience, FTP is still the most efficient way but there are times when FTP fails (such as when the internet servers where you are at have blocked FTP). This leaves us with one alternative … CPANEL.
Note: With both FTP and cPanel you need to be online to be able to access your hosting server.
Here are the steps to uploading web files via cpanel
Go to your File Explorer (on Windows) or Finder (on Mac) and make sure you are at the folder containing your web files.
Select the files you want to upload and compress them into a zip file.
If you are only uploading one file then there is no need to compress.
If you are uploading a folder then you need to compress the entire folder, not just its content.
Open your web browser.
Go to yourdomain/cpanel (ex. www.slvrdlphn.com/cpanel) or, alternately you can go to yourdomain:2083 (ex. www.slvrdlphn.com:2083). This may lead you to a page that will ask you if you are behind a firewall or not. In most cases you can just wait and it will bring you to the login page.
In the boxes provided input your username and password. These credentials should have been emailed to you by your hosting provider.
Click on Log In. If your credentials are correct you will see LOGIN SUCCESSFUL appear on top of the cPanel word in the screen and it will open your cPanel.
Click on File Manager.
Once File Manager is open double click on public_html. This is where ALL web files are supposed to go.
If you are opening this for the first time it will look like this:
Click on UPLOAD on the menu bar on top. Select the file you want to upload to “/home/name of server/public_html” (ex. /home/slvrdlphn/public_html).
Once the upload reaches 100% you can click on GO BACK located at the bottom and public_html will look like this:
Click ONCE on the zipped file. Note, you are just want to select the file, not open it. Once selected the file will turn blue to indicate it is selected.
Click on EXTRACT on the toolbar. In the box, make sure that the path says public_html. If you extract your files here it will place the web files in the root folder. If your web content is supposed to be in a subfolder then type that path. For example, if your project is called “hotel” and it is supposed to be in a subfolder then your path should be public_html/hotel. Click on EXTRACT FILE.
Once successful it will display the extraction results. Click on CLOSE.
All that is left is to delete the zipped file and you’re done!
Filezilla is a very useful web tool that I have found is often taken for granted. Filezilla is an FTP software used generally for uploading and downloading web files. It uses the same credentials as cPanel to login and, in my personal opinion, is easier to use and just takes a moment to set up.
When you are on a public terminal such as at an internet cafe it is always best to just use the QUICKCONNECT option. Quickconnect does not save usernames and passwords which makes it ideal in this scenario.
Fill it in as follows:
HOST: ftp.yourdomain.extension (type FTP followed by your domain)
USERNAME: type in the username provided by your hosting provider.
PASSWORD: type in the password provided by your hosting provider
Your username and password are the same as those you use to login to your hosting site’s cPanel. Now Click CONNECT.
Look at the transfer window and wait for it to say STATUS: DIRECTORY LISTING SUCCESSFUL.
Setting up Filezilla on a private computer
If you are working from your own computer it is advisable to just set it up so that you don’t have to type everything again each time you need to access your server. What do you need to do?
Click on the SITE MANAGER icon on the toolbar or go to File > Site Manager or … just press CTRL+S. This will open the Site Manager.
Once there click on NEW SITE and customize it.
In the GENERAL tab:
input your host
change logon type to normal
type in your username
type in your password.
Go to he ADVANCED tab:
In default local directory point it to the folder of your website
In the default remote directory point it to public_html
CONNECT.
Look at the transfer window and wait for it to say STATUS: DIRECTORY LISTING SUCCESSFUL.
Uploading your site or part of your site to your server
On the left you will see the window for the local site, clickthrough until you reach the folder that contains your web project.
Click on the file/s or folder/s you want to upload.
On the right go to PUBLIC_HTML … this is where you will upload your website.
When uploading for the first time simply right-click the folder of your website then click on UPLOAD SITE.
And you’re done!
Downloading your site or part of your site to your server
When downloading from your server do it in reverse.
On the remote server on your right make sure you are in PUBLIC_HTML.
On the left (the local site) make sure you are in the folder containing the folder of your website (if you want to download the entire site) or within the website folder (if you want to download parts of the site only).
And that’s it! It’s that easy! The only thing left to do is monitor the transfers window in case there are any failed transfers so you could process them again.
Setting up a website before actually starting one is a step that many people not familiar with Adobe Dreamweaver forget to do. This is also called site management.
Because I am using a Mac the screenshots I will be showing you hear are all for a Mac but, trust me, there is very little difference between the interface for Windows or Mac OS. When you open Dreamweaver for the first time it will look something like this.
If you haven’t set up your site yet then you need to set it up now. Note the Manage Sites link at the right side of the dropdown in the Files tab. This will only appear if the dropdown is in Computer or Desktop.
If you don’t see it there, no to worry, you can also click on the link found within the dropdown. Let’s click it now. This will open the Manage Sites window.
Click on NEW SITE. This will open the SITE SETUP window.
In this window you will be required to enter your sitename and the local site folder (where you will save your website on your computer).
For the purpose of this exercise let us call your site web and set your local site folder to match your sitename. By default Dreamweaver will try to save your website in your Documents folder. You should allow it to save there. At this point, you can just click on SAVE. This will bring you back to the manage sites window and will display the site you just set up. Technically your site is already ready to be used.
choose your site
But let’s go back and double click on web. This will open the site setup window again.
Setting up FTP via Adobe Dreamweaver CC
In the site setup window go to the servers tab. Click on the + sign to add a new server. This will open the BASIC SERVER SETTINGS.
How do you know what settings to put in? Check the email that your web host sent you.
SERVER NAME – this is usually the name of your site
FTP address – for most servers it is ftp.yourdomain.com(meaning ftp followed by your domain name) but you still need to check the email your web host sent you. Zoom.ph, for example, has a different FTP address
USERNAME – again, check the email your web host sent. It will be there and usually labeled cpanel/FTP username
PASSWORD – same as with the username
ROOT DIRECTORY – for most it will be public_html. For some it will be just /. Just as I mentioned above, please check the email your web host sent.
WEB URL – you can just ignore this, it doesn’t really matter.
To check if you put in the right settings click on TEST. If successful you will see this window. Only thing left is just to click on SAVE.
On the SERVER window you will now see your server. Click on SAVE again.
This will bring us back to the Manage Sites window and the cache for your site will be created.
Make sure the name of your site is highlighted in the list and just click on DONE. We’re now ready to start on the website itself using Adobe Dreamweaver CC.
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