How do I upload my site using FileZilla?

FileZilla can be used to upload website files to your cPanel hosting account using SFTP.

Please use SFTP on port 22. Standard FTP is not enabled on our cPanel hosting.

You can download FileZilla from the official FileZilla website:

https://filezilla-project.org/

Step 1: Get your SFTP details

You can find your hosting username and password from your WebhostingNZ client area.

1. Log in to your client area.
2. Click Manage to the right of your web hosting service on the dashboard.
3. Click Details.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Your hosting username and password shown there can be used for SFTP access.

What if the password says UnknownPass or does not work?

If the password shows as UnknownPass, or the password does not work, you can reset it from the client area.

From the same service management page, click:

Change cPanel Password

This resets your cPanel password and your SFTP password to the same new password.

Step 2: Open FileZilla

Open FileZilla on your computer.

At the top of the window, enter your SFTP connection details.

• Host: sftp://yourdomain.co.nz
• Username: your hosting account username
• Password: your hosting account password
• Port: 22

Replace yourdomain.co.nz with your own domain name.

If your domain name is not yet pointing to WebhostingNZ, use the server IP address from your hosting welcome email instead of your domain name.

Example:

• Host: sftp://123.123.123.123
• Port: 22

Then click Quickconnect.

Step 3: Accept the server key, if prompted

The first time you connect, FileZilla may show a message asking you to trust the server key.

If the hostname or IP address is correct, accept the key to continue.

Step 4: Open the website folder

Once connected, open the public_html folder on the server side.

This is usually shown on the right-hand side of FileZilla.

Your main website files need to be uploaded into this folder.

Step 5: Find your files on your computer

On the left-hand side of FileZilla, browse to the folder on your computer where your website files are stored.

Step 6: Upload the files

Select the files or folders you want to upload.

You can either:

• right-click and choose Upload, or
• drag the files from the left side to the right side

Wait for the upload to finish.

Step 7: Check your website

Once the upload has completed, check your website in a browser.

Your homepage should normally be named one of the following:

• index.html
• index.htm
• index.php

If your homepage is not named correctly, the website may not load as expected.

Common connection settings

Use these settings for cPanel hosting:

• Protocol: SFTP
• Host: sftp://yourdomain.co.nz
• Port: 22
• Username: your hosting account username
• Password: your hosting account password

Standard FTP on port 21 is not enabled for cPanel hosting.

Need help?

If FileZilla shows an error, please contact WebhostingNZ support and include:

• the domain name
• the host entered in FileZilla
• the username entered
• the port number
• the exact error message