3.0 File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
File Transfer Protocol or FTP is the simplest and most secure way of exchanging files from one computer to another, regardless of the types of computer used, especially over the Internet. In fact people use FTP unknowingly every day when they download music or movie files from the Internet. FTP is how you would upload your web pages to your web hosting company's server. To do this you need to download a simple piece of software called an FTP Client onto your computer.
FTP Software
There are many FTP Clients (software) to choose from and you can find these simply by performing an online search. Again, don't pay for it, especially when just starting out. There is plenty of FREE FTP software available for download on the Internet. Personally I would recommend Filezilla, a no-nonsense FTP client for Windows, Mac OS X and GNU/Linux.
Below is a screensot of Filezilla in action. Notice how the screen is split into two sections: on the left is the computer hard drive where the web pages were written and stored (a simple home desktop PC), and on the right is the web hosting company's remote server. Uploading the files is simply a matter of right-clicking on the original files and selecting "upload". In a matter of seconds, copies of these files are displayed on the remote server and the website is live!
As you develop and improve your website(s) you can upload updated or additional files (web pages, images etc.) as often as you wish. In fact it is a good idea to do so as this helps with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), because search engines such as Google see this as website development (although try to avoid re-uploading minor changes all the time).