--- title: "How to Connect to Your FTP Account Using FileZilla" description: "Connect FileZilla to your Noiz hosting account securely with SFTP or explicit FTP over TLS in the Site Manager, and fix common errors such as 530 login failures." url: "https://docs.noiz.ie/server-administration/how-to-connect-to-your-ftp-account-using-filezilla/" section: "Server Administration" categories: - "Server Administration > File Management > FileZilla Client" last_reviewed: "27 July 2026, against the current FileZilla Client release" --- # How to Connect to Your FTP Account Using FileZilla FileZilla is a free, open source FTP client that lets you move files between your computer and your Noiz hosting account without using a web-based file manager. This guide shows you how to connect it to your hosting account, how to force an encrypted connection instead of plain FTP, and how to read the errors FileZilla gives you when a connection fails. The steps below apply to any Noiz hosting account, whichever control panel your account uses. FTP is a server-level service, so the connection details come from your hosting account rather than from any particular panel screen. **Last reviewed:** 27 July 2026, against the current FileZilla Client release. This guide is written for Noiz hosting and is kept current against FileZilla. It complements, and does not replace, the official FileZilla documentation linked below. ### Official Documentation Reference - [FileZilla Client Tutorial](https://wiki.filezilla-project.org/FileZilla_Client_Tutorial_(en)): the vendor walkthrough of the interface and first connection. - [Using FileZilla](https://wiki.filezilla-project.org/Using): Site Manager, transfer queue, and directory comparison. - [FileZilla Site Manager](https://wiki.filezilla-project.org/Site_Manager): every field on the Site Manager screen, including protocol and encryption. - [FileZilla Network Configuration](https://wiki.filezilla-project.org/Network_Configuration): active versus passive mode, firewalls, and router behaviour. - [FileZilla Client downloads](https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client): official builds only. ## Prerequisites - FileZilla Client installed on your computer. See [How to Install Filezilla Client on Windows](/server-administration/how-to-install-filezilla-on-windows/). - An active FTP account on your hosting service, along with its username and password. - The hostname to connect to, which is either your domain name or the server hostname shown in your Noiz welcome email. ## Gather Your FTP Connection Details Every FTP connection needs four pieces of information. Collect them before you open FileZilla so you are not guessing at the prompt. - **Host**: `ftp.yourdomain.com` or `yourdomain.com`, replacing `yourdomain.com` with your own domain. If your domain is not yet pointed at Noiz nameservers, that hostname will not resolve to the right server, so use the server hostname from your welcome email instead. - **Username**: the FTP username created in your hosting control panel. On most platforms this is either the main hosting account username or a separate FTP user in the form `user@yourdomain.com`. - **Password**: the password set for that FTP user. This is not your Noiz client area password, and it is not your email password. - **Port**: `22` for SFTP, which is a different protocol carried over SSH, and `21` for FTP and FTPS. Leave the Port field empty and FileZilla uses the default for the protocol you choose. If you do not have an FTP user yet, create one in your control panel first. The exact screen differs by platform, so search the Noiz knowledgebase for "create an FTP account" and follow the article that matches the panel your account uses. ## Connect Securely With the Site Manager Always connect with encryption. Plain FTP sends your username and password across the network in clear text, and anyone able to observe the connection can read them, which matters most on shared office networks, hotel networks and public Wi-Fi. The Site Manager lets you save the connection with encryption required, so a failed negotiation produces an error instead of an insecure login. Choose the protocol that matches your account: - **SFTP** (SSH File Transfer Protocol) if your hosting account has SSH access. It is encrypted by default, uses port `22`, and needs no separate TLS setting. It logs in with the hosting account's SSH user, so separate FTP-only users connect with FTPS instead. This is the preferred choice. - **FTP** with **Require explicit FTP over TLS** (FTPS) if your account has FTP access but no SSH access. It uses port `21`. 1. In FileZilla, open **File** then **Site Manager**. 2. Click **New site** and give it a recognisable name, such as your domain. 3. Set **Protocol** to **SFTP**, or to **FTP** (File Transfer Protocol) if your account has no SSH access. 4. For FTP only, set **Encryption** to **Require explicit FTP over TLS**. 5. Enter your **Host** and leave **Port** blank so FileZilla uses the default for the protocol. 6. Set **Logon Type** to **Ask for password** if you would rather not store the password on disk, or **Normal** if you are on a machine only you use. 7. Enter your **User** and, if applicable, your password, then click **Connect**. The first time you connect, FileZilla shows the server's host key (SFTP) or certificate (FTPS) and asks you to confirm it. Tick the option to always trust it and click **OK**. You will not be asked again for that server unless the key or certificate changes. The FileZilla [Site Manager](https://wiki.filezilla-project.org/Site_Manager) page describes every field on this screen. Your local computer files appear in the left pane and your hosting account files appear in the right pane. ![FileZilla connected to a hosting account, showing local files in the left pane and remote website files in the right pane](/img/ftp-connected-filezilla-client.gif) You can now browse, upload, download and delete files by dragging between the two panes. ## Quick Connect as a Fallback The Quick Connect bar across the top of the window is useful for a one-off test, but treat it as a fallback rather than your everyday method. **Warning:** if you type only a hostname, Quick Connect uses plain FTP and tries to upgrade to TLS. If the server or your network cannot negotiate TLS, the session can continue unencrypted and your password crosses the network in clear text. To keep Quick Connect encrypted, start the host with a protocol prefix: `sftp://yourdomain.com` for SFTP, or `ftpes://yourdomain.com` for explicit FTP over TLS. FileZilla's [command-line reference](https://wiki.filezilla-project.org/Command-line_arguments_(Client)) lists the valid prefixes. 1. Enter your host, including the `sftp://` or `ftpes://` prefix, and your username and password in the Quick Connect bar. Leave **Port** blank unless Noiz has given you a specific port. ![FileZilla Quick Connect bar with the Host, Username, Password and Port fields filled in ready to connect](/img/ftp-access-filezilla-connect.gif) 2. Click **Quickconnect** and watch the message log in the top pane. A successful login ends with a directory listing rather than an error. Once the test works, save the connection in the Site Manager as described above. ## Know Where to Put Your Files When you log in, FileZilla usually drops you into the home directory of the FTP user, not into the folder your website is served from. Files placed in the home directory will not appear on your site. Look in the right pane for the web root folder, commonly named `public_html`, `httpdocs` or `web` depending on the platform your account runs on, and open it before uploading. Anything intended to be publicly visible belongs inside that folder. Your homepage, for example, belongs there as `index.html` or `index.php`. If the FTP user was created and scoped to a single site, the web root may already be the folder you land in. In that case the right pane shows your existing site files immediately after login. ## Troubleshooting **Symptom**: `530 Login authentication failed` or `530 Login incorrect`. The username or password is wrong, or you are using client area or email credentials. Reset the FTP user's password in your control panel and try again. Also check for a trailing space if you pasted the password. **Symptom**: `ECONNREFUSED` (Connection refused by server). Nothing is listening on the port you asked for. Confirm you left the Port field blank or set it to the protocol default (`22` for SFTP, `21` for FTP), and confirm you did not select SFTP for an account without SSH access. **Symptom**: `ETIMEDOUT` (Connection attempt timed out). Either the hostname resolves to the wrong place or your network blocks outbound FTP or SFTP. Try the server hostname from your welcome email rather than your domain, and test from a different network such as a mobile hotspot. Corporate and school networks frequently block port 21 outright. **Symptom**: login succeeds but the directory listing never completes, or it fails with `Failed to retrieve directory listing`. This is nearly always a passive mode or firewall issue. In the Site Manager, open the **Transfer Settings** tab and set **Transfer mode** to **Passive**. If it still stalls, check that your local firewall or security software is not filtering FileZilla. **Symptom**: `Connection closed by server` shortly after a period of inactivity. FTP sessions time out by design. Reconnect and, for long transfers, keep the queue running rather than leaving the window idle. **Symptom**: transfers fail partway through with permission errors. Check that you are inside a folder the FTP user owns. An FTP user scoped to one site cannot write outside its own directory tree. ## Related Articles - [How to Install Filezilla Client on Windows](/server-administration/how-to-install-filezilla-on-windows/) - [How to Create or Delete a Directory Using FileZilla](/server-administration/how-to-create-or-delete-a-directory-using-filezilla/) - [How to Upload the Index File to Your Website via FileZilla](/server-administration/how-to-upload-the-index-file-to-your-website-via-filezilla/) - [How to Download Files and Directories to Your Computer via FileZilla](/server-administration/how-to-download-files-and-directories-to-your-computer-via-filezilla/) ## Need a Hand? If the connection still fails after working through the troubleshooting steps, open a ticket from your Noiz client area and include the full FileZilla message log from the top pane. That log names the exact stage the connection failed at, which lets the Noiz support team confirm the server side and point you at the fix quickly. --- Source: https://docs.noiz.ie/server-administration/how-to-connect-to-your-ftp-account-using-filezilla/