Overview: How to Create an FTP Account in cPanel
This guide explains How to Create an FTP Account in cPanel step‑by‑step and why it matters for security, uptime, and performance. It’s written for small and medium businesses that rely on Blackhawk MSP for proactive, managed IT support in the Bay Area and beyond.
- ✅ Clear, actionable steps
- ✅ Best‑practice notes from our MSP engineers
- ✅ Links to related services and help
Tip: If you’re short on time, contact us — we’ll handle this for you and verify everything is working.
You can access the FTP account using the cPanel login details, which gives you full access to the home directory. However, if you want to create an FTP user account for a specific directory, you can create a separate FTP account.
1. Log in to your cPanel account.
2. In the Files section, click on FTP Accounts.![]()
3. Under Add FTP Account, fill in the following details:
- Log in: Enter an FTP Username such as new-user (without space).
- Password: Enter your new password or use a password generator.
- Directory: For granting access to the entire directory of /public_html, enter
public_htmlor change the directory path to a sub-directory such aspublic_html/new-user. An FTP user doesn't have access outside the specified directory. - Quota: Specify the quota in numerical words or choose unlimited.

4. Click on Create FTP Account.
You can now access your new FTP account from the FTP client. The details are given below.
- Host: The IP address or the name of your website, such as ftp.example.com (replace example.com with your website address).
- Username: NewFTPUser@example.com.
- FTP Port: 21 (Default port is 21).
- FTP Password: Your FTP Password.
Video tutorial temporarily unavailable while we refresh links. If you need more help, please call us at 1-925-218-4000.
Need help? Blackhawk MSP can do this for you, verify success, and document the change. Call 1‑925‑218‑4000 or open a ticket.