FTP stands for the File Transfer Protocol. It is a convenient way to transfer big files from one location to another, far better than uploading them through a HTML form. There are a number of good, free FTP clients out there. This tutorial will focus on SmartFTP due to its convenient interface.
1. Browse your way to http://www.smartftp.com/download/ and select the Full Setup (Auto Platform Selection) option. Download and install the program.
2. Once installed, start the program. You do not need to configure anything if prompted to do so, just close any prompts. You should come up with the following view:
3. Enter the necessary details, namely the address of the FTP server, your username and your password in the three empty fields on top of the screen, as seen below:
Generally you do not need to change the port from the default #21 to anything.
4. Once the details are input, either just click return in one of those fields you just filled in or select FTP > Connect from the menu on the top right of the screen. If you are successfully connected, a view resembling the following should appear:
5. The public_html folder seen in the picture is the folder where you should place whatever it is that you are uploading. The name may vary in different environments, and if no folders are shown, chances are you are already where you're supposed to be. Once logged in, you may want to add this to your favorites (Favorites > Add to Favorites) to make logging in a matter of a single click in the future.
6. The left view shows you the folder structure. You can navigate between folders by clicking them once. The right side is where you do the file transfers. To upload a file, open the folder where your files are, and drag and drop files to where they should go, as below.
You can see the progress of the upload both in time and in percents completed in the bottom of the view.
Downloading files works the same way, just drag and drop them from the FTP folder into your local folder. You can rename and delete files and create folders by right clicking the FTP folder view where the files reside. You can also upload and download by right clicking on the folder view and selecting the appropriate action to be taken, such as Upload > Direct > Select Files or Download > Download as, etc.
This should cover the basics you need to know for successfully moving files around.