FTP: How to Connect Using an Offline Website Builder

How Do I Connect with My Offline Website Builder

Offline website builders usually require you to enter your FTP settings once. Here are a few offline website builders you might consider. Use these links along with our generic settings to publish your website.

• Coffee Cup
• Rapid Weaver
• Expression Web 3
• File Transfers with Adobe Dreamweaver
• NetObjects Fusion

Why Does It Ask For a Directory Path When Publishing

A directory path tells the website builder where to publish your website. This is also helpful if your website builder is capable of building multiple websites because having a designated directory path allows the builder to publish each website to its appropriate location. Having a directory also allows the website builder to complete the entire publishing process at the click of a button (once the initial setup is complete).

Here is a list of things to keep in mind when choosing a directory path to publish to:

• Is a subfolder created when publishing? Your website builder will either publish your website files directly into the designated directory, or it will create a subfolder within the designated directory and publish your website files into the subfolder instead. You can test by publishing a small website to figure out which method your website builder uses.
• What is the base directory when publishing? The base directory refers to the starting point from where your website builder will decide to publish its website files and subfolders.
  • If you are connecting with the Generic settings, the base directory will be the same as your hosting account's home directory (shown with a globe icon next to the folder inside of File Manager tool).
  • If you are connecting with a secondary FTP user, the base directory will match the subdirectory that the secondary FTP user is limited to.
  • If you are using a different FTP server setting (such as ftp.your-domain.com), the base directory will match whichever subdirectory that your domain is pointing to.
• Where is your domain pointing? Your domain pointer will not affect the upload process unless your domain is used as the FTP server setting (example: ftp.your-domain.com). However, your domain will not display your website unless your domain is pointing to the same location that your website builder ultimately publishes too. Use our Domain Central tool to double-check and ensure that these two things match up.