Manage website files with File Manager, FTP and SFTP

Before you start

• An active Cloud Hosting, WordPress Cloud or Managed WordPress service
• For SFTP: an FTP program such as FileZilla, Cyberduck or WinSCP

Applies to: Cloud Hosting, WordPress Cloud, Managed WordPress.

Where your files are

• public_html holds the files visitors see. The home page is usually index.php or index.html there.
• On WordPress plans, a staging copy lives in staging_html when you create a staging site.
• Basic Email services have no website files, so File Manager and FTP are not available on them.

Steps

1. Open File Manager

   Open the control panel from your account (how) and select File Manager.

2. Work with files

   Drag files into the window to upload them. Right-click a file to edit, rename, download, compress, change permissions or delete it. Deleting asks for confirmation and cannot be undone, so take a backup first for anything important.

3. Unlock FTP for an FTP program

   On the service overview, find the FTP panel and unlock FTP, either for a limited time or for your current IP address. Connections are refused while FTP is locked.

4. Copy the connection details

   The FTP Details section shows the server (host), username and password for the main FTP account. Copy the host exactly as shown rather than guessing it.

5. Connect with SFTP

   In your FTP program, choose the SFTP protocol, enter the host, username and password, set the port to 22, and connect. Plain FTP is unencrypted; use SFTP whenever your program supports it.

6. Use SSH if you need it

   If your plan shows SSH Access, you can add a public key there (or set up a password with an authenticator code). A new key can take up to about 30 minutes to start working. The page shows the host and port to use.

7. Lock FTP again

   When you finish, lock FTP or let the time-limited unlock expire.

Troubleshooting and common mistakes

The FTP program cannot connect or times out.

Check that FTP is unlocked for your current IP address (it changes if you move networks), that you chose SFTP on port 22, and that the host was copied from FTP Details.

You do not know the FTP password.

Stored passwords cannot be displayed except the main FTP account’s password in FTP Details. Reset the password in the control panel instead.

An SSH connection closes immediately.

Wait 30 minutes after adding a new key, and check you are using the host, port and username shown on the SSH Access page. If it still closes at once, open a ticket.

Files upload but the site still shows the old page.

Make sure you uploaded into public_html, not a folder beside it, then clear caches.

Related guides

• Open your hosting control panelSign in to your FoxFolio Cloud account at account.foxfolio.cloud, open Services → My Services, choose the hosting service, and select Log in to Control Panel. The control panel opens at panel.foxfolio.cloud already signed in to that one service, so you do not need a separate control-panel password.
• Create an on-demand backup of your websiteOpen Backup/Restore in your control panel, tick Files and Databases, and choose Create Backup. When it finishes, download the ZIP straight away: completed backups stay available in the control panel for 12 hours only. Keep the file somewhere safe outside FoxFolio Cloud, because this included tool makes a copy when you ask and does not keep a recurring off-site history.
• Keep your website, FTP and WordPress access secureUse a unique, strong password for every tool, prefer SFTP or SSH keys to plain FTP, give each person their own WordPress login with only the role they need, and remove access as soon as someone no longer needs it. Keep WordPress and its plugins updated. Passwords stored in the control panel cannot be viewed later, so keep them in a password manager.
• Create and manage MySQL databasesOpen the control panel, select MySQL Databases, enter a name and create the database; a short suffix is added automatically and a user is created with it. Use phpMyAdmin to import a .sql file or export a copy. Each database can hold up to 1 GB. WordPress plans are designed for one WordPress site and its single database.