Uploading files to your hosting

Three ways to get files onto your hosting account. All work; pick whichever fits the tool you're using.

Portal File Manager

For occasional uploads or quick edits, the portal's file manager is the easiest path.

1. Go to Services → click your hosting service → Files tile.
2. Navigate to where you want the files (typically public_html/ for the main website).
3. Drag and drop files into the browser, or click Upload and pick files.
4. They appear in the file list as they upload.

The file manager handles single files up to ~100MB comfortably. For larger files or many files, FTP is faster.

FTP / SFTP

For bulk uploads, batch syncing, or anything tool-driven, FTP/SFTP is the right tool.

Connection details:

• Host: your domain (or your-server.flashcloud.com)
• Port: 22 (SFTP) or 21 (FTP)
• Username: your hosting account username
• Password: your hosting account password

For details and recommended clients (FileZilla, Cyberduck, Transmit), see FTP and SFTP accounts.

We strongly recommend SFTP over FTP — same speed, encrypted on the wire.

Git deployment

If your site is in a git repository, you can deploy directly.

1. Services → click hosting → Git tile.
2. Connect a repository (we support GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and any git server you can reach via SSH).
3. Configure deploy paths and branch.
4. Push to the configured branch — we pull and deploy automatically.

Good for: developers who treat their site as code, CI/CD pipelines, anything where "the source of truth is git, the live site is a deployment artifact."

Where to put files

Your hosting account's home directory looks roughly like:

/home/your-username/
  public_html/          ← website files go here
  mail/                 ← email storage
  logs/                 ← server logs
  ...

For your main website: put files in /home/your-username/public_html/. The portal's file manager and FTP both default to this location.

For a subdomain or addon domain: each has its own document root, typically public_html// or a folder you specified when creating the addon.

File size limits

Different paths have different limits:

• Portal file manager: ~100MB per file, comfortably. Larger files may time out.
• FTP/SFTP: no per-file limit; constrained only by total disk quota.
• PHP file upload (e.g., WordPress media uploads): configurable via upload_max_filesize. Default 64MB; raise it via the PHP version page if you need more.

For uploading files much larger than 100MB, use FTP/SFTP.

Common issues

• Upload finishes but file isn't visible — check you're looking at the right directory. The file manager and FTP both default to the home directory; make sure you've navigated into public_html/.
• "Permission denied" — the destination folder's permissions are restrictive, or your FTP account is restricted to a different folder. See File permissions.
• WordPress upload fails — file is bigger than upload_max_filesize. Raise the limit on the PHP version page, or upload via FTP and reference the file from inside WordPress.
• Slow uploads — FTP is generally fastest. The portal file manager has more overhead. If FTP is also slow, it's likely your local internet connection — try uploading from a different network to confirm.

After uploading

Files are available at your hosting's URL the moment they finish uploading — there's no caching layer between the file system and the web server for new files. The first request might be slow as caches warm up, but the file is live immediately.