UPLOAD YOUR SITE

Upload your site: guides by host

The site you own is one flat zip: index.html at the top, one CSS file, your photos. These are the screens of each host; your account shows the same steps with your own file names.

IONOS

ionos.com → Menu → Hosting → Webspace → Use Webspace (or SFTP & SSH); the web folder is the domain's Target

  1. 1. Find your site's folder, then open the Webspace

    Go to ionos.com and sign in. Click Menu → Domains & SSL, click yourbusiness.com and read Target: that is your web folder (usually /; WordPress sites often a folder inside clickandbuilds). Then Menu → Hosting, and in the Webspace area click Use Webspace. (Windows hosting: Hosting → Webfiles → Open.)
    IONOS · Hosting › WebspaceHosting › Webspaceyourbusiness.comUse Webspaceanother-domain.comUse Webspaceexample-store.netUse Webspaceclick Use Webspace on your domainSchematic of IONOS's screen — labels may differ slightly.
  2. 2. Back up first

    In the Webspace Explorer, open the Target folder and download the old files (select them → Download). If downloading folders is not offered, do this step over SFTP (step 7): drag the whole folder to your computer.
    IONOS · Webspace Explorer › the Target folder (usually /)Webspace Explorer › the Target folder (usually /)/the Target folder (usually /)UploadExtractMoveCompressDownloadSettings📁old-site📁photos📄index.html📄site.css📄about.htmlCompress, then Download the zipSchematic of IONOS's file manager — the buttons may sit elsewhere; the names are the usual ones.
  3. 3. Move the old site out of the web folder

    In the Target folder create a folder named old-site and move every old file and folder into it (three dots under Actions → Move). If you cannot find a way to create a folder here, use the SFTP steps below.
    IONOS · Webspace Explorer › the Target folder (usually /)Webspace Explorer › the Target folder (usually /)/the Target folder (usually /)UploadExtractMoveCompressDownloadSettings📁wp-admin📁wp-content📄.htaccess📄index.php📄wp-config.phpMove everything to //old-siteSchematic of IONOS's file manager — the buttons may sit elsewhere; the names are the usual ones.
  4. 4. Upload the zip and extract it

    Unzip yourbusiness-remo.zip on your computer. In the Webspace Explorer click Upload, select the files at the top level (index.html, site.css, the other .html pages, .htaccess, the two README files), click Upload again. For each photo folder: create a folder with the same name, open it, Upload its files. Folders and zip files cannot be uploaded as a whole here.
    IONOS · Webspace Explorer › the Target folder (usually /)Webspace Explorer › the Target folder (usually /)/the Target folder (usually /)UploadExtractMoveCompressDownloadSettings🗜yourbusiness-remo.zip📁old-siteUpload yourbusiness-remo.zip, then Extract hereSchematic of IONOS's file manager — the buttons may sit elsewhere; the names are the usual ones.
  5. 5. Make sure index.html is the front page

    Look in the Target folder (usually /) for an old index.php, index.htm, default.html or default.php. If one is still there, move it into old-site: a server shows those before index.html. the Target folder (usually /)/index.html must sit directly in the Target folder (usually /), not inside a folder.
    IONOS · Webspace Explorer › the Target folder (usually /)Webspace Explorer › the Target folder (usually /)/the Target folder (usually /)UploadExtractMoveCompressDownloadSettings📄index.html📄site.css📄about.html📄contact.html📁photosindex.html at the root, no index.php leftSchematic of IONOS's file manager — the buttons may sit elsewhere; the names are the usual ones.
  6. 6. SFTP, if you prefer to move whole folders

    Hosting → SFTP & SSH → Set up (or Manage) → Create new account: a password, Directory /, Save; wait 1–2 minutes and click the user name to see the Server (accessNNN.webspace-data.io) and port 22. In FileZilla: Host, Username, Password, Port 22 → Quickconnect. Open the Target folder, drag the old files into a new old-site, then drag the unzipped Remo files in.
    IONOS · SFTP & SSHSFTP & SSHServer: accessNNN.webspace-data.ioPort: 22Directory: /Schematic of IONOS's screen.
  7. 7. Open your site

    Open https://yourbusiness.com in a private window and click a few menu links. If the old site still shows, press Ctrl+F5; if it still does, an old index.php or index.htm is left in the Target folder (usually /) (previous step).
    Open your siteA private browser window🔒 https://yourbusiness.com/Your new home pageindex.html, served from your own hostingpadlock + the new site = doneThis is what you are aiming for: your domain, the padlock, the new site.
  8. 8. Keep the padlock (HTTPS)

    The free DigiCert certificate comes with the domain. To force https, upload a .htaccess with IONOS's rule (ask me for it). If the site opens as http:// without the padlock, ask me in the chat for the three-line .htaccess redirect, or turn on your host's Force HTTPS switch.
    IONOS · HTTPSHTTPShttps://yourbusiness.com 🔒Certificate: valid(http:// should forward to https://)Schematic of IONOS's screen.

Watch out

My site is MyWebsite / the AI Website Builder

Those products take no files. The hosted plan works as is, or a Web Hosting contract (this webspace) with your domain's Target pointed at it.

The provider's own help article

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