I am going to begin editing a site that someone else made. I have the FTP password and username...?

You will need an ftp client, which is a program on your computer which will communicate with the web site's server and give you a visual representation on what files and folders (each file is usually one page on the web site) are already on the server. There are a number of free ftp clients available, but the better clients cost something. I used smartFTP (http://www.smartftp.com/) for awhile, but I now use the built in ftp client in Dreamweaver.

Once you have logged into the server you may want to "get" all the files from the server, which means you transfer a copy of them to your computer at home.

You will want to use an html editor (assuming all the files are html), or a plain text editor (such as notepad) to open and edit the files. There are a number of free html editors available on the web (search for "free html editor") Do not use a word processor, because the word processors add characters to the text, which are not displayed to humans, but your web server will see them and get confused.

Depending on the type of files you are editing, I would recommend finding a good beginners book on the subject of html (if your files all end in .html or .htm). If your site uses CSS (cascading style sheets) for formating and appearance (files will have a .css ending), you will need to read up on CSS. It is becoming more popular for html pages to reference a cascading style sheet (CSS) for style and formating. You may want to read a book on javascript (don't confuse with Java, they are two different things) for flashy effects. If the pages you are editing are written in a scripting language, such as php (with a .php ending) or ASP your work is really cut out for you. I started out at my local library.

You can test the appearance of your files by loading them into your browser (you are most likely using your web browser to read this page) on your own machine to see how they will look on the server, unless you are running scripts like php, coldfusion, or asp. You can usually do this by clicking on the file menu on the upper left of your web browser, and then choosing an item that says something to the effect of "Open File." Open the file you just edited.

Once you have edited your files and are ready to upload them, use your ftp client to "put" them on the web site. This loads a copy to the website.

In any case, the best way to learn is to get your files from your server and just start playing with them. Experimentation and problem solving will teach you more than anything. Be sure to save copies of the original pages in a safe place, in case you really mess up a page. That way you will be able to go back to what you started with and begin again.

Are you using Dreamweaver or FrontPage to edit the site? If yes, you can connect to the FTP server using your Dreamweaver and FrontPage. You can edit the pages on your computer and then upload them to the server, or you can open the files on the server and work on them in realtime.

If you are not using Dreamweaver or FrontPage, you will need to get a FTP client (try Filezilla) and using the FTP client, you will connect to the FTP server to download the files to your computer. After you have edited the files, you can then republish them to the server.

Well, to start with, I would NEVER recommend editing the actual live files that live on the web server by FTP'ing into the server - not good practice.

That being said, you need to get an FTP program that will allow you to commnicate with the FTP server. You will also need to know the URL or IP address of the ftp server so you can connect to it.

If you can get into it, I would suggest copying the files down to your local drive, saving an original copy, and then editing them. That way, if you screw something up, you can always "go back."

There are free FTP programs out there - just Google for them. Good luck : )

well, if it's a paid domain name then you first have to create an index.html file and upload it to the public_html folder.
include anything in this index file (I'd suggest a "coming soon" message or something)
all the files of your work need to be uploaded in that folder.
Good luck ;)

You should get FireFTP for Firefox (presuming you already are using Firefox). You should then be able to edit the files just by clicking on them through Firefox.

CuteFTP and Cyberduck (Mac) are much better programs but they cost money.

you need an ftp client, ws_ftp or something.

Download it from download.com or tucows.com

When you install, it will walk you through the settings to enter.