This is all very new to me and I am now looking to set up my first web site online (well the start I have made on it). I have got my hosting sorted and had a look at the cPanel. I was trying to decide which FTP to use and figure out how I to use it when I noticed the cPanel tutorial mentioned Webdisk which sounds great. Only thing is that I have never seen anything mentioned that is like this when trying to investigate how I should go about getting my files to the host.
Anyway what I would like to know is are there any reasons why I shouldn’t use the Webdisk function rather than FTP.
I don’t see any problem with doing that in principle, but in practice I much prefer FTP. Firstly, it’s more convenient to have all the files on your desktop. I find them much easier to work with there, using a code editor like Dreamweaver/TextMate etc. You get all sorts of tools available to you, including line numbers etc. And of course you then have a backup copy on your computer, in case the server crashes, and you can work on your files offline.
FTP is really easy to set up, too. (It takes about 1-2 minutes.) You can download free FTP programs like FileZilla.
I probably need to give that a good read and will only know if suits my needs if I try it. I think I am just wanting to know if it will do everything I need to do and is it secure.
I don’t want to invest a load of time working out how to use it to find there are functions that I need that are missing and then I need to spend more time learning how to use an FTP programme.
Basically the whole FTP vs. WebDisk vs. File Manager in cPanel debate boils down to personal preference; some prefer FTP, some can’t wrap their head around drag and drop and so forth.
By default, WebDisk uses an encrypted connection so your login credentials and files cannot be intercepted. This is especially useful if you use a laptop and wi-fi connections.
In contrast, FTP broadcasts your username and password for everyone to see and use unless you tell your FTP program to use FTP over SSL/TLS. While many experienced web designers know to use FTP over SSL/TLS or SSH File Transfer Protocol (both supported by cPanel/WHM), these recommended security precautions are not obvious to those new to FTP.
Huh, be darned, I’ve used CPanel for years and not heard of webdisk. Sorry! I should have investigated that before blabbing.
Well, from a quick look here, it still seems to me that you might want to use a code editor along with that, but I’ll have to look at it more to be sure. But certainly this replaces the need for an FTP program.
Now that I am accustomed to using a code editor/ftp program, I doubt I’d prefer working with webdisk, but you never know…
I am not sure whether my limited understanding of webdisk is correct, I thought you added it as an extra folder to your desktop and saved to it like you would any other folder but you would actually be saving to the host. I thought it would work like dropbox where the folder on your dektop and that at the host would sync every time you made a change.
Have I got the wrong end of the stick?
I guess trying both ways (FTP and Webdisk) may be the best solution as I can then see how they work but I was just worried that there may be more serious problem using webdisk.
