

You can work with a server’s contents in a familiar way.This is to say, a client that can connect through FTP can also connect with SFTP in most cases. Clients will often be ‘cross-protocol’ apps.We’ll discuss this in more detail later, but SFTP makes assumptions about security and encryption that mean you have lots of protection against malicious attacks. It provides a high level of encryption.Regardless, there are a number of points we can make about using SFTP over other protocols: Some of the reasons you’d want to use SFTP will be obvious, while others will reveal themselves as you use it. In fact, this is one of the reasons you’ll want to use it. This is especially true if you can’t access the WordPress dashboard, as is the case such as the 500 Internal Server error.Īs such, you can carry out a wider range of actions on files and folders with SFTP, unlike some other connection protocols. Speaking of which, you’ll want to gain access to your server in the case of an error or glitch with your site.
#BASEELEMENTS SFTP HOW TO#
Our post on duplicating a page in WordPress discusses how to work with your functions.php file, for which you’ll need SFTP. There are even some WordPress-related tasks that will need you to access your server as a ‘finishing point’. For example, you can use SFTP to migrate a site, or even back it up. This is true, although some of the use cases can cover lots of ground. The broad generalization is to use SFTP for transferring files and folders. SFTP is the network protocol that allows for this. It should also encrypt the connection in the case of malicious intent.

Of course, you can’t log onto a web server in the way you would a desktop machine your chosen server is likely too far away, and will often contain lots of data relating to other users.Īs such, you’ll want to use a method that lets you access the files and folders that relate to your site. What SFTP Isīecause you’ll find web servers across the world, it’s important to have a reliable and consistent way to access them. We’ll also tell you how it differs from other protocols, such as Secure Shell (SSH) access, and the standard, unsecured File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

Over the course of this post, we’re going to discuss the concept of SFTP. In fact, you can edit and organize those files further, using apps and other software. You’ll access a server using a dedicated client, and work with the files like you would on a local computer. This does what it says on the tin: It lets you transfer (or otherwise work with) files in a secure way over a reliable data connection. The typical way to access a server is to use a network protocol in most cases, you’ll want to use Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). However, almost nobody has the ability to browser a server as you would a desktop computer. Almost every server in existence needs a user to access its contents.
