Top Five FTP Clients for Web Designers

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is one of the most efficient network protocols for transferring files between two computers or hosting servers. Just about anyone involved in maintaining a website or a blog is probably familiar with this technology.
Web designers and developers use FTP for a number of reasons. Primarily, it is convenient to use such software when transferring massive files either from desktop’s local files or hosting servers.
FTP clients are compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. Some of them are free and others require an additional cost. Here are five we think may be useful to you:

1. FileZilla (Windows, Mac, and Linux)

FileZilla is one of the most widely used FTP clients by users who manage files on Midphase shared Linux servers. It is an open-source cross-platform under GNU General Public License designed for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux with tons of features.
FileZilla is highly recommended for beginners. It’s easy to use, and can be installed it in just a few minutes.

2. SmartFTP (Windows)

SmartFTP is another FTP client commonly used by intermediate web designers and developers. Its features are quite overwhelming for beginners. However, they can learn and adapt the interface over time.
SmartFTP is highly recommended for website publishing and maintenance. It’s functional for file uploads and downloads of images, documents, compressed files, and many more.

3. Cyberduck (Windows and Mac)

Cyberduck is one of the easy to use open-source FTP clients for Windows and Mac OS X.  Handling FTP, SFP, WebDAV, and Amazon S3 is possible in a few mouse clicks.
Cyberduck allows users to edit any file with their preferred editor and convert files to Google Drive documents format for easy management.

4. WinSCP (Windows)

WinSCP is a free SFTP and FTP client for Windows that uses SSH (Secure Shell) technology and SCP (Secure Copy Protocol). It enables safe transfer of files between two computers or servers. It also provides basic file managing and scripting.

5. Transmit (Mac)

Last but not least, Transmit is a sleek and fast FTP client designed for Mac OS X only.  It allows users to transfer large files using FTP, SFTP, Amazon S3, and WebDAV servers. The professional interface makes it more inviting for web designers to try it for free and uploads 25 times faster powered by the new Transmit Twin-Turbo engine feature.
By the way, a copy of Transmit 4 costs $34. While budgets are tight for many of us, this particular client may be worth the expense.

Overall, FileZilla is still the champion when it comes to open-source FTP clients for Windows and Mac. But if you prefer a faster and sleeker client, Transmit is highly recommended for Mac users.