To maintain a smooth and professional working relationship, we make sure all our clients are kept up-to-date throughout the design process and we welcome any feedback or adjustments they would like made to the artwork.
To keep this flow of communication going, it often requires us sending over numerous drafts that could potentially clog up email inboxes, or may contain artwork that is too large to send as email attachments.
Our solution is to use File Transfer Protocol (known commonly by its acronymn FTP) in order to transfer files between computers on a network.
Getting Started
To establish an FTP connection you have two options. You can download an FTP client or you can use your web browser (such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) and their associated plugin.
We find that the quickest and most flexible way is the first option – using an FTP client. There are many available to download on the internet such as Fetch (www.fetchsoftworks.com) or Filezilla (www.filezilla-project.org).
After downloading the application to your computer you then log in using a private username and password which we supply you with. Once you have logged in you can navigate the server’s folder structure, and exchange files. You view the files as if you are browsing on your own computer – it’s extremely simple and user friendly. To upload files you usually just need to drag and drop the files you want to upload into the correct folders. Most FTP clients are very easy to get to grips with and allow for you to upload multiple files at once.
Increased Security
We host all the files on our dedicated Creative Storm server. This might be considered safer than using third party applications such as Dropbox or Yousendit where we would be unable to guarantee the copyright, security, service or speed. Our server is a VPS (Virtual Private Server) which means that we have full control if things go wrong and we will be able to rectify problems as quickly as possible.
Note – It is good practise to always set up SFTP sites. The “S” stands for secure and adds a layer of encryption which again increases security.
Versatile for various tasks
If a client doesn’t need to see multiple browsable folders then we are able to simplify the process even further by creating a unique URL link for the client to access a specific file or folder. We send this web link via email and all the client has to do is click on it and the file will instantly start downloading to their computer – this could take a few seconds or possibly minutes to download, depending on Internet speed. The file will then open automatically – It’s as simple as that!
FTP is a great versatile tool and is also used during web development in order to edit and transfer files within a specified website.
We’ve been using FTP for many years now and have found it to be the most efficient way of sending files both large and small. Downloading and installing an FTP Client isn’t difficult and it grants you more power and control over the process.
We hope you have found this blog useful and if there is anything you are unsure of please let us know in the comments section below or email us at hello@creative-storm.co.uk.