File Manager, FTP, SFTP or Git: which way to upload your site

For a small change, use the cPanel File Manager. To upload a whole site or many files, use SFTP (or FTP over TLS) with a program such as FileZilla. For frequent updates made by someone who programs, use Git. All four put the files in the same place: what differs is the effort, the security and what gets recorded.

The four, side by side

Route Good for Worth knowing
File Manager (cPanel) Changing one line, creating a folder, uploading a file or a zip and extracting it. Works in the browser, nothing to install. For thousands of files it is slow: compress first.
FTP / FTPS Uploading a whole site, or giving someone access to a single folder. Plain FTP encrypts nothing: use FTP over TLS. See FTP accounts and connecting with FileZilla.
SFTP The same as FTP, with everything encrypted and a single connection. Uses the SSH port and depends on the account having shell access. It signs in as the cPanel user and sees the whole account. See SFTP instead of FTP.
Git Sites with code, updated often, or by several people. Needs a repository and an instructions file. See Git in cPanel.

Choosing in three questions

1 How many files are you touching? One or two: File Manager. Dozens or thousands: SFTP/FTP, or a zip uploaded through the File Manager and extracted there.
2 How many times a week? Once a month: FTP or File Manager. Every day: Git saves you the risk of forgetting a file, because it sends what changed.
3 Who else needs access? If only you, SFTP with a key is best. If an outsider needs a single folder, an FTP account restricted to that folder gives them only what they need.

Care that applies to all of them

Upload the contents of the site’s folder into the domain’s folder (the one cPanel shows for that domain), not the folder above it. The entry file (index.html or index.php) must sit right at the root of that folder. See uploading your site with FileZilla. Connecting cPanel to your computer as if it were a folder is another option, described in Web Disk.

Never leave the password on an unencrypted FTP connection. Plain FTP sends the password in clear, visible to anyone on the same network. If the program gives you the choice, pick SFTP, or explicit FTP over TLS. And if errors such as “530” appear, or files do not show up, see common FTP errors.
With Git, keep the repository outside the public folder. That way only what the deployment copies is visible on the internet. The article on Git in cPanel explains how.

Cannot connect, or not sure your account has SFTP? Tell us the domain and the error you see.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

Uploading your website to the hosting with FileZilla

SFTP instead of FTP: when you can, and why it is better

Git in cPanel: publishing your site from a repository

Hosting plans and what each includes

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT

Web hosting with cPanel

Domain and SSL included, daily backups and the panel you already know. from ₦9.900,00/mo (3-year plan, with coupon)

See plans
  • 0 Users Found This Useful
Was this answer helpful?

Related Articles

Hostinger in Mozambique: what it offers, what it leaves out, and alternatives Hostinger is one of the largest hosting companies in the world, and it reaches Mozambique the way it reaches everywhere:...
Hostinger or MozOut: which to choose for a website in Mozambique The right question is not which is better in the world - it is which serves a site built for customers in Mozambique bet...
Can you register a .mz domain with an international provider? How to check before paying It is a fair question: you found cheap international hosting and want to know whether you can register your .co.mz there...
Google Workspace or Professional E-mail: what changes for a Mozambican company Google Workspace is a good product - saying otherwise would be dishonest. The real question is different: are you buying...
Hosting providers in Mozambique: what to compare before deciding Mozambique has few hosting providers, and almost all of them say the same thing on the front page: fast, secure, with su...
KVM or container VPS: what the virtualisation type changes A KVM VPS is a complete virtual machine, with its own operating system kernel; a container VPS shares the physical serve...