Where to Find Your FTP or SFTP Details on Any Host
Sooner or later, every site owner gets asked for their "FTP details", by a developer, a support technician, or a tool like ours, and discovers they have no idea where those live. This guide covers what the four fields mean and exactly where to find them on the major hosts.
The four fields, decoded
- Host (or server address). Where to connect. Usually your domain itself, an address like
ftp.yourdomain.com, or a server name your host gives you. - Username and password. Often the same as your hosting-panel login on smaller hosts, or a separate FTP account you create in the panel.
- Port. A number that comes with the protocol: FTP normally uses
21, SFTP normally uses22. If a form pre-fills this, leave it alone. - Protocol: FTP vs SFTP. Same idea, different security. SFTP encrypts everything; classic FTP doesn't. If your host offers both, pick SFTP. Many hosts only offer one, and that's fine, use what they give you.
The two universal places to look first
- Your hosting welcome email. The email your host sent when you bought the plan very often lists FTP host, username, and password. Search your inbox for the host's name plus "FTP" or "welcome".
- Your hosting control panel. Every host puts FTP details somewhere in the panel; the sections below tell you where.
Host by host
cPanel hosts (Bluehost, HostGator, Namecheap, A2, GreenGeeks, and many more)
Log in to cPanel, find the Files section, and open FTP Accounts. Your main account is listed there, and each entry has a Configure FTP Client link that shows the exact server, username, and port. Tip: on most cPanel hosts, your cPanel username and password also work directly as FTP credentials, with your domain as the host.
Hostinger
In hPanel, open your website, then Files → FTP Accounts. The page shows the FTP host (usually an IP address), your username, and a button to change the password if you never set one.
GoDaddy
Two cases. On classic shared hosting with cPanel, follow the cPanel route above. On Managed WordPress, open your site in the dashboard and go to Settings, where SFTP credentials (host, username, password, port 22) are listed; you may need to set the password the first time. One quirk worth knowing: a brand-new SFTP connection to GoDaddy Managed WordPress can take a minute or two before the server starts accepting it. If the first attempt times out, wait a moment and try again before assuming the details are wrong.
SiteGround
In Site Tools, go to Devs → FTP Accounts Manager. Create an account if none exists; the panel then shows host, username, and port for it.
Kinsta
In MyKinsta, open your site and look at the Info tab: the SFTP/SSH section lists host, port (Kinsta uses a custom one, not 22), username, and password. Kinsta is SFTP-only.
WP Engine
In the User Portal, open your site, then SFTP users. Create a user if you don't have one; the host is shown on that page and the port is 2222. WP Engine is SFTP-only.
DreamHost
In the panel, go to Websites → Manage Websites, pick the site, and open its Manage Files section to see the FTP/SFTP user and server; passwords are reset from the same place.
IONOS
In the control panel, open Hosting → SFTP & SSH (or "FTP & SSH" on some plans). The page lists the server address and users, and lets you set a password.
When all else fails: just ask
The fastest route on any host, and the one we recommend to our own customers who are stuck: open your host's live chat and send one sentence: "Please give me the SFTP (or FTP) host, username, port, and a password reset for my site." This is one of the most common questions hosting support answers; it typically takes them two minutes.
Three safety habits
- Prefer SFTP whenever your host offers it; it encrypts your login and files in transit.
- Create a separate FTP account for third parties when your panel allows it, scoped to the site's folder, so it can be deleted afterwards instead of sharing your main login.
- Rotate the password afterwards. When any person or service is done working on your site, change the FTP password. Good services expect this; ours doesn't store your credentials in the first place.
If the reason you needed these details is connecting your site for a malware scan: this is exactly what Kornet's connect step asks for, and if you'd rather not enter credentials at all, the wizard's "Upload it myself" option lets you place one small file on the site by hand instead, using nothing but your host's file manager.
Written by the Kornet team. Host panels change; if a path above has moved on your host, their live chat will know the current one, and we'd appreciate a note at [email protected] so we can update this guide.