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How to Download Files From Your Website With cPanel File Manager

This guide shows you how to copy a file from your hosting account to your own computer. You do it all in your web browser.

Files and FTP2 min read12 steps

What is File Manager?

cPanel is the control panel for your hosting account. A control panel is a website where you manage your hosting with buttons and menus. File Manager is a tool inside cPanel. It works like the Files app on your computer. It shows all the files and folders of your website.

Downloading means copying a file from the hosting server to your own computer. The server is the powerful computer that keeps your website online.

Before you start

You need to log in to cPanel. Your welcome email from Hostvento has the details. You can also sign in to the client area and open your hosting service from the Services menu.

Download one file

  1. Log in to cPanel.
  2. Find the Files section and click File Manager.
  3. Click a folder name on the left side to open it. Most website files live in a folder called public_html.
  4. Click the file you want once. It turns highlighted.
  5. Click the Download button in the top menu bar.
  6. Your browser saves the file. Look in your Downloads folder on your computer.

You can also right-click the file and choose Download from the small menu.

Download a whole folder

File Manager cannot download a folder directly. You first pack the folder into one file. This packed file is called a zip file. A zip file is like a box that holds many files together and makes them smaller.

  1. Right-click the folder you want.
  2. Click Compress.
  3. Pick Zip Archive and confirm the name and place of the new file.
  4. Click Compress File(s).
  5. Close the window. A new file ending in .zip appears in the list.
  6. Click that zip file and press Download.
Tip: After the download finishes, you can delete the zip file from the server. It takes up space in your account. Only delete the zip file, never the original folder.

If the download does not start

  • Check that your browser did not block the download. Look for a message near the address bar.
  • Large files can take a while. Wait and do not close the tab.
  • If the file is very large, an FTP program may work better. FTP is a way to move files between your computer and your server.

Still stuck? Open a support ticket and Hostvento support will help.

Quick recap

  • Open cPanel, then File Manager.
  • Select the file and click Download.
  • To get a folder, Compress it into a zip file first.
  • Find the saved file in your computer's Downloads folder.
  • Delete the zip file from the server when you are done.