Hosting Glossary
What is FTP?
FTP in plain English — the definition, the analogy, and why it matters to anyone who runs a website.
The short answer
FTP is the veteran file-transfer protocol for moving files between your computer and a server — now properly used only in its encrypted successors.
The sections below unpack it properly — how it works, why a site owner should care, and a concrete example of it in the wild.
Written by the HostingAlly team · Last revised 27 July 2026
0
Jargon left unexplained
100+
Linked definitions
Real
Platform examples
Free
To read, obviously
Classic FTP transmits credentials and data unencrypted — historically tolerated, currently negligent. FTPS wraps it in TLS; SFTP (a different protocol riding SSH) is the modern default with the same client workflows.
The workflow endures because it's simple: connect with a client like FileZilla, drag files between panes, done — bulk transfers that panel file managers make tedious.
The analogy version
The removal van of hosting — not glamorous, occasionally indispensable, and these days you hire the one with locks on the doors (SFTP) rather than the open flatbed (plain FTP).
Hold onto that picture and most of the documentation you'll ever read about it becomes considerably less mysterious.
What this means for your site
You'll reach for it during migrations, bulk uploads and recovery work — and the plain-versus-encrypted choice is a genuine security decision hiding inside a mundane tool.
You don't need to operate this layer daily — you need to recognise it when it's the explanation for something, which is exactly when this page pays for itself.
FTP in the wild
Restoring a site from local backup, an owner SFTPs the wp-content folder up in one drag — four thousand files queued, transferred and verified by the client.
Ordinary, once seen — which is the point: most hosting concepts are simple machinery wearing intimidating names.
How this shows up in your hosting
On our hosting this mostly takes care of itself — the platform applies the sensible defaults, and the panel exposes the controls when you want them. The concepts worth knowing next: SFTP, Document Root, SSH and Backup.
Every plan includes free SSL that renews itself, so the padlock is never your job.
A glossary from people who answer tickets
We think unexplained jargon is a service failure — this glossary is the support desk's accumulated translations, published where the search engines can hand them out.
Business email on your own domain is included, not sold back as an add-on.
- 100+ terms, plain English
- Analogies and real examples
- Cross-linked related concepts
- Written by the support desk
Why HostingAlly
Every plan includes this, whatever you pay
Grounded in a real platform
Examples reference the hosting you'd actually use, not abstract diagrams.
The next reads, mapped
This entry connects to SFTP and Document Root — concepts travel in packs, and the pack is linked.
Plain English first
Every term defined for site owners, not for other sysadmins — jargon translated, not restated.
Honest about what you can skip
Most terms are recognise-level, not operate-level — the glossary says which is which.
The practical stakes named
Not just what it is — when it's the answer to a problem you're having.
One term, fully landed
FTP defined, pictured by analogy and placed in your own control panel — recognise-level in a single read.
Getting Started
How to get going
- 1
Spot it in your own setup
The fastest way to learn a hosting term is to find it in your own panel — five minutes of looking beats an hour of reading.
- 2
Check the defaults
Our platform ships sane defaults for this — verify rather than assume, and you'll know your setup instead of hoping about it.
- 3
Follow the related terms
Concepts travel in packs — SFTP, Document Root and SSH complete this one's picture, and each is a two-minute read away.
Included
What's covered on our plans
- Free website migration handled by our team
- NVMe SSD storage as standard
- Softaculous one-click app installer
- Webmail plus IMAP, POP and SMTP access
- SSH, Git and Composer access on developer-friendly plans
- Free SSL certificate on every plan, renewed automatically
- 99.9% uptime commitment, monitored around the clock
- Upgrades apply in place — no migrations between plans
- Free domain for the first year on annual plans
- DDoS protection at the network level
FAQ
Your questions, answered
FTP, FTPS, SFTP — which should I actually use?
SFTP wherever offered (ours: all plans) — encrypted, firewall-friendly, same clients. FTPS if a legacy system requires it; plain FTP for nothing, since it broadcasts your password to every network segment en route.
Is FTP obsolete now that panels have file managers?
For single files, largely — for bulk work (hundreds of files, whole trees, automated syncs), transfer protocols still win comfortably. The tool survives because the job survives.
Are backups included, and can I restore them myself?
Daily automatic backups are standard, restorable from the panel in minutes — files, databases or both, at 3am without a ticket if that's when you need it. For extra cover, you're welcome to run your own offsite copies alongside.
How long does it take to get started?
Minutes — hosting activates on payment, the domain (free for year one on annual plans) connects immediately, and one-click installers put WordPress or 400+ other apps live the same sitting. If you have an existing site, our team migrates it free, usually within 24 hours.
Which control panel do you provide?
cPanel — the industry standard, which means every tutorial on the internet matches your screen, your backups restore anywhere cPanel runs, and skills learned here transfer for life. Plesk and DirectAdmin options exist on specific plans for those who prefer them.
Do you monitor uptime, and what do you commit to?
We commit to 99.9% uptime and monitor continuously — not a marketing number but an operational one, with alerting that usually has us fixing issues before customers notice them.
How do I pay, and is billing recurring?
Plans are billed by credit or debit card through our secure checkout, with the renewal price matching the signup price. You can see every invoice in the client area, and cancelling auto-renewal is a setting, not a phone call.
Keep exploring
Document Root
The document root is the folder on the server that a domain's URLs map into.
SSH (Secure Shell)
SSH is the encrypted protocol for operating a server through a terminal.
Domain Names
Search, register and transfer domains — first year free on annual hosting.
WordPress Hosting
Managed WordPress with LiteSpeed caching, staging and automatic backups.
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The steps that keep a site migration dull rather than dramatic: what to back up first, how to shift email across without losing a single message, when to touch DNS, and the two mistakes behind nearly every hour of downtime we come across.
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