FTP is an abbreviation for the term “File Transfer Protocol”
which is a method used to transfer files from one computer to
another over the internet. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is
used to display web pages and related files, but not to transfer
them. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is used to transfer
email via the internet, but not files. While there are other ways
to transfer files from one computer to another via the internet,
FTP is the simplest method for transferring electronic files as
it uses the TCP/IP protocols of the internet to complete the
transmission. FTP functions are actually complementary to HTTP
functions due to the fact that web pages that are uploaded to the
internet to be displayed using HTTP are generally uploaded via an
FTP process. So, is FTP web hosting necessary for your internet
business?

Well, the importance of FTP web hosting to your business is
largely dependent upon whether or not you will be transferring
files via the internet. If your internet business involves the
sharing of files – if you provide customers with large documents
or graphic files, or if you receive large documents or graphic
files from other sources, FTP web hosting can be pretty useful.

Of course, you can email large files back and forth between two
computers; however, if you’ve used email for very long, you are
probably aware of the limitations of some email accounts and
email service providers. More often than not, email servers have
a limit on the size of file that can be received via email. FTP
web hosting is an alternative to having to deal with email
limitations.

With FTP web hosting capabilities, you can actually develop
directories of files that are stored on your web hosts servers
allowing for easy access to the files through the internet.
Others can access and download the files via the internet. With
FTP web hosting, others can also upload files to you via the FTP
technology. You may be thinking that you wouldn’t want just
anybody to have access to your files. This is certainly something
to consider when reviewing, evaluating and choosing a FTP web
hosting provider.

With FTP web hosting, security is essential. When your website
has FTP web hosting, and relatively, FTP download and upload
capabilities, you have the ability to organize your files on your
FTP site and to determine which files will be publicly accessible
and which ones will remain locked. User names and passwords can
be set to limit access to files on your FTP website that you do
not want to be publicly accessible. For public FTP websites, it
is standard for the user id to be “anonymous” and for the
password to be the email address of the individual attempting to
access and download from, or upload to, the FTP website.

With FTP web hosting for your site, your site visitors will be
able to access the FTP connection using common web browsers like
Netscape or Internet Explorer; however, downloading files through
FTP access is more efficient and more secure if a software
application called FTP Client is used. FTP web hosting that uses
FTP Client is best because of the security potential it provides
along with other features like resume capabilities which are
rather crucial if an interruption in the internet connection
occurs during a download.

Most web hosting companies offer FTP web hosting with the
capability of transferring files from your computer to your web
server as a standard feature, but sometimes you have to ask to
have the capabilities enabled. For FTP web hosting with public
access capabilities, some web hosts charge extra for it. When
selecting a web host for your website, whether or not you foresee
the need for FTP web hosting, it is a good idea to select a web
host that provides FTP web hosting with both uploading and public
access capabilities without added fees.

Copyright Christopher J. Enders. Are you at the end of your rope,
fed up and confused by all the scrambled internet marketing
advice you’re getting? Whether you are new to internet marketing,
or a website owner who wants to make more money from your
website, learn the proven strategies that will sky-rocket your
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Do you oftentimes feel confused what to use for your web images– GIFs or JPEGs? And more importantly why?

Great. You deserve kudos as confusion leads to comprehension. Here is what you have been looking for all the way!

Essentially, they are formats in which web images are created in. Any file with a .jpeg or .gif extension is recognized, by a browser, as an image file.

A good web site is partly one that will load quickly into a browser. Agreed? Well, for this to happen, your web page has to be small in file size. The GIF and JPEG file formats compresses images so that it is web worthy.

This is vital for you that you don’t mess around when it comes to decide what to use when. Here’s what you need to know (a subtle reminder and congrats for tech guys who know it)

GIF ( Graphics Interchange Format)

- Pronounced as “jiff” . Thought you got to know it.

- GIF was the first-ever image format created for use on the web. This implies that all browsers of all versions can read images in the GIF format.

- GIF can icorporate transparency . This is great. Isn’t this ? Especially so when you wish your graphic to blend in with your background.

- GIF compresses an image using LZW compression . Confused? Simply put, this means that the quality of your image does not degrade when it is compressed. Deterioration in image begins to crop up only when it is having more than 256 colors.

- Good results can be had using GIF when there is a large area of flat color in the image. And when it uses fewer colors. The fewer colors, the better.

- GIF can be animated . All animations, barring the more advanced Flash movies, are GIF files.

JPEG ( Joint Photographic Experts Group)

- Pronounced as “jay-peg” . Okay, as of now you know how both are pronounced.

- JPEG uses a lossy compression scheme . This means that you will, in fact, lose some data during compression. The more you compress, the more quality you lose. You will, therefore, have to strike a right balance between image file size and quality.

- JPEG compression rate can well be controlled . The higher the compression rate, the lower the size of the image. And as you have guessed, eh? The lower the quality.

- JPEG is optimally used for photographic images . The more colors and subtle gradients an image has, the better.

- Browsers take a longer time to display JPEGs.

Demarcating features of JPEG and GIF

One of the worst mistakes (hopefully you won’t make any longer) a web designer can make is to opt the wrong format for a particular type of image. As a thumb rule, for images with few flat colors, choose GIF. Images with lots of colors and gradients, you may go for JPEG.

Simple enough. Here is your turn to appreciate a couple of somewhat tricky tech understanding with regard to JPEG and JIFF…

Pertaining to JPEG, if the horizontal rows of pixels undergo change frequently without patterns, then a JPEG may allow for a smaller file even if it is having few colors only.

For designers if they can save a few kilobytes on each image, it can drastically improve the loading time of image-loaded pages intended for users with slow connections.

Further, though you can have animated GIFs, this is rarely a good idea in terms of design.

There are a few things you can do with GIFs that you can’t do with JPGs. The best way to get the smartest web images and graphics is up to you: technology is at your disposal only to be selectively used for spectacular results. So get going to harness tech understanding!

Deepak Sharma is a Web Designer at BlueApple, a Web Design and Development Company with a well connected development infrastructure in India having a strong portfolio with global clientele and offering superior web services and solutions at competitive costs.