Setup and Use SFTP to Connect to Your WordPress Site

SFTP or Secure File Transfer Protocol is a network protocol for file transfers. It is a more secure method than the standard FTP and Pressable only supports SFTP to ensure data security.

In this guide, we share steps to set up and use SFTP to connect to your Pressable sites.

Getting your SFTP details

You’ll find your SFTP details in your site’s MyPressable Control Panel. To get started log in at https://my.pressable.com and select the site for which you would like the SFTP details, then navigate to the Connections -> SFTP | SSH:

In this area, if you are the account owner you will see all of the users who have access to your website. This is also where you’ll find your SFTP username and password. Please keep in mind, that the username and password will not be the same as your MyPressable login information.

To connect via SFTP, you will use the following login details:

• Host: sftp.pressable.com
• Port: 22
• Username: Found in your control panel
• Password: Found in your control panel

Resetting Your Password

The first time you log in you will need to reset your password. Do this by clicking the circular arrow icon. You can also do this at any time to reset your password. These credentials may take a few minutes to start working. It is recommended that you save these credentials for future use.

If you ever need to change the SFTP password, you can do so by clicking on the circular arrow icon:

Setting up your SFTP Client

In order to build a website with WordPress you may sometimes need to upload files to your website securely. You can upload files to your Pressable websites via SFTP (Secure Transfer Protocol). In order to get started you will need an SFTP client.

Pressable recommends using FileZilla (Windows/Mac/Linux) or Cyberduck (Windows/Mac) to connect to your site. These programs allow you to securely upload and download files between the Pressable servers and your computer.

Using Filezilla SFTP to Securely Transfer Files

FileZilla is a free and open source Secure File Transfer ( SFTP ) program for Linux,  MacOS and Windows. To get started visit the FileZilla website and download the FileZilla Client by selecting the version of the software for your platform.

Now that you’ve downloaded FileZilla and have your SFTP Credentials, open up the program. Click the Open Site Manager button in the top left or select File > Site Manager from the menu.

With the Site Manager open click on New Site to give your site a name. Next, from the protocol dropdown select SFTP – SSH File Transfer Protocol.

Now that you have created a site and selected the correct protocol, the next thing we’ll need to do is enter the SFTP details with the Logon Type chosen as Normal. Once you’ve entered your details, click Connect.

Accept the SSL Certificate by clicking OK. Make sure you have Always trust this host, add this key to the cache checked so you will only have to accept the certificate once.

Once you’re connected you’ll see a list of files on the server on the right side. You can upload/download files to/from the server by dragging files to/from your computer using Finder (macOS) or File Explorer (Windows).

Using Cyberduck SFTP to Securely Transfer Files

Cyberduck is a free and open source Secure File Transfer ( SFTP ) program for MacOS and Windows. To get started visit the Cyberduck website and download the version of the software for your platform.

Now that you’ve downloaded Cyberduck and have your SFTP Credentials open up the program and click the Open Connection button in the top left.

For connection type dropdown, select SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol).

Enter your SFTP details and click Connect.

Accept the SSL certificate by clicking Allow. Make sure you have Always checked so you will only have to accept the certificate once.

Once you’re connected you’ll see a list of files on the server. You can upload/download files to/from the server by dragging files to/from your computer using Finder (macOS) or File Explorer (Windows).

Troubleshooting SFTP Connections

If you are experiencing trouble trying to connect to your website using SFTP, we have found that the following troubleshooting steps are helpful. In almost all cases one of these actions will help resolve the problem.

Step One
Verify that you are using the correct SFTP login details. Please note that this login is different from your My Pressable Control Panel login and from your WordPress login. You can find the SFTP details under the “Collaborators | SFTP | SSH” tab for the site.

Step Two
If you are using the correct SFTP login details, the next step is to try resetting your password by pressing on the “Reset Password” link. Make sure that you copy/paste it exactly as provided.

Step Three
If the new password still does not get you through, then the next step is to restart your SFTP program. Don’t just close the connection window – completely shut down and restart the program.

Advanced Troubleshooting

If, for some reason, the above steps do not work for you double-check that you are connecting to the server with an SFTP connection. For example, FileZilla has a Quick Connect bar that looks like this:

That Quick Connect bar makes connections via FTP by default. You will need to enter 22 into the Port field to try to connect via SFTP. However, if that does not work, you can establish an SFTP connection by clicking on “File –> Site Manager” and then you can create a new SFTP connection from there:

Using SFTP Commands for Secure File Transfer

If you wish to use the terminal to transfer files between servers, you can use either the lftp or sftp command line programs. For more information about lftp and sftp, please see their respective manuals by running man lftp or man ssh from your terminal.

The LFTP Command
$ lftp sftp://USERNAME@sftp.pressable.com -e ‘set sftp:connect-program “ssh -o PubkeyAuthentication=false”‘

The SFTP Command
$ sftp -o PubkeyAuthentication=false USERNAME@sftp.pressable.com

What is the SFTP path to the Pressable site root?
When you connect to any Pressable site over SFTP, you will be dropped into the site root or one directory above that, immediately.

However, if you must specify a path to the site root – for example, when using command line programs like lftp – the path to the site root is: /htdocs