FTP or File Transfer Protocol is a commonly used protocol for exchanging files over any network that supports the TCP/IP protocol (such as the Internet or an intranet).
Your website has webfiles and directories. These directories are the folders which hold your webfiles, or "www" directory file. These files and directories together are what make your website. Think of it as your website's DNA. The DNA for your site are the files that are stored on your hosted account or the server box where you site data is stored. If you need to add data or files to your website, this can be quickly and easily done via FTP. It will allow you to connect your PC with these online files, such as your products or images.
There are two computers involved in an FTP transfer: a server and a client. The FTP server, running FTP server software, listens on the network for connection requests from other computers. The client computer, running FTP client software, initiates a connection to the server. Once connected, the client can do a number of file manipulation operations such as uploading files to the server, download files from the server, rename or delete files on the server and so on. Any software company or individual programmer is able to create FTP server or client software because the protocol is an open standard. Virtually every computer platform supports the FTP protocol. This allows any computer connected to a TCP/IP based network to manipulate files on another computer on that network regardless of which operating systems are involved (if the computers permit FTP access). There are many existing FTP client and server programs, and many of these are free.
If you are looking for an FTP program here are some suggestions.
FTP Commander is a common FTP program used by Inventory Source staff:
http://www.ftpcommander.com/
Filezilla is another FTP program used by our team: http://sourceforge.net/projects/filezilla/
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