So just what is FTP?

FTP stands for something (like everything in website speak), in this case it stands for File Transfer Protocol. It's a way of accessing the files that actually live on the server where your website is hosted. When you log into your Wordpress site, behind the scenes there are a bunch of files that are all working together to provide you with the experience of creating a website.

When you upload a file with Wordpress it actually creates a folder on the web server and sticks your file into it - a simple form of FTP.

With FTP we can access all of the files of our website, the technical ones that relate to Wordpress (we'll be leaving those alone) as well as our files.

Why would you want to access your website via FTP?

There are a lot of reasons. Perhaps you want to upload a PDF, or something else that you might want your visitors to download. You might want to edit your theme. You might want to manually reinstall Wordpress, delete a stubborn plugin. I use FTP a lot when I create websites. While it is possible to go without ever needing to use FTP (especially with Wordpress Express) there might be the odd occasion when you do. This is what this tutorial is going to show you how to accomplish.