The following below is a past answer in response to a former site user RiceGirl, concerning how to use the free FTP (file transfer protocol) program to manage your dedicated server and maintain your WordPress installation. She wanted to know how to use FTP to manually install WordPress on either a cloud web server, dedicated server, economy web server, or small business web hosting package.
RiceGirl. Thank you for posting your question, about how to self-install WordPress on your web server. DrewryNewsNetwork will be more than happy to assist you in accomplishing your online publishing ambitions. First, what you'll want to do is , if you haven't done so yet, download a free copy of FileZilla FTP.
Download FileZilla FTP: https://filezilla-project.org/download.php
Download the FileZilla Program for your desktop. Download the link on the left that says all platforms and save it to your desktop for instant access in unzipping and configuring the FTP program. If you get confused along the way about how to unzip and configure FileZilla, please refer searching Bing.com, Google.com, or YaHoO.com for more information. And search for related video content on YouTube.com.
Before FileZilla is completely unzipped and loaded to your desktop during the installation process, be sure to check the box that says "show icon on desktop." This way, you know where the FTP FileZilla program is on your desktop for easy access with no confusion. Once FileZilla is configured and now unzipped to your desktop, double click the "Filezilla Client" icon.
In the upper left hand corner under the word file, you'll see an icon that looks like a small computer screen. Click that, as it'll bring up another small box that says "site manager." After the "site manager" shows up, click the tab below that says "new site," so you can create a nickname for each domain you install WordPress onto, as this will help you easily identify which site is which you're accessing for future reference in FTP FileZilla. After "new site" is clicked, enter a nickname for each WordPress site.
Once that's accomplished, enter the hostname which is the flush right side over, inside the "site-manager" section. The "host name" is the domain name in which you are installing WordPress on, so the FTP program will know what's what. Enter the domain name like this [mydomainame.com]. The FTP program doesn't need the www part of the URL address in order for it to access it. Just the "mydomainname.com" will suffice.
When that part is accomplished, skip down to the drop down box where is says "logon type." Select normal. After that, enter the username and password this part gets a little confusing for some folk that you have specifically created in your control panel only for FTP, not your web hosting username and password.
If you get confused on that part, please send an e-mail to the address in which you received your DrewryNewsNetwork registration link from, and you will be gladly assisted. If you get through this part ok, then please proceed with further instructions below.
Enter the username and password in the: User: Password: Area of FileZilla FTP. When that is done, click the "connect tab," and you should be good to go and officially logged into your web server via FileZilla FTP. If you are logged in successfully, you should see a yellow folder that says [public_html]. If you do, click that folder, [double click] that folder that says "public_html," and it'll bring you to another area on your server. That's the part where you will install all of your WordPress files manually.
If you haven't unzipped WordPress onto your desktop and if it is still in the compressed zip file on your desktop, unzip the WordPress file on your desktop by double clicking it. After [double clicking] the compressed WordPress file, you'll see a file inside that says WordPress. This is the easy part. Now, all you need to do is highlight that file by clicking it one time until you see the blue, then drag and drop the WordPress yellow folder onto your desktop.
When that is complete, you'll need to refresh your FTP FileZilla, so that you see the yellow WordPress folder in the FTP program, so it'll be accessible for you to upload files to your server. To refresh your FileZilla is simple. Simply to go the tab in your very top of your FTP where it says "View," then you'll see the word "Refresh." Click [Refresh] and you should see the yellow Word Press folder in the left side of your File Zilla program.
Now, double-click the yellow WordPress folder. After you've done that, you'll see a list of files inside the WordPress folder. Highlight all of those files with your mouse, then right click with your mouse afterwards, and you'll see a small drop down box that says [upload]. Upload all of the highlighted files to your server, and you'll see everything working in motion in seeing the WordPress files being uploaded to your domain and server root file. It may take a few minutes, but not that long.
Hopefully this thread helped you to have some know how to managing your own WordPress and server files using FileZilla for your online business.