Where are my site files stored?

Publishing help Hosting
1

I have a hosting plan at GoDaddy where I now have 2 domains. I’ve had many more there in the past.
I decided to use the Webflow ‘custom domain’ feature and followed the instructions from Webflow U.
I assumed (wrongfully I guess) that my site files would be stored at GoDaddy in my domain file structure. They are not.
Before Dreamweaver we used FTP to upload to a host. Dreamweaver, Muse, and others have built-in FTP clients now that upload to the folders on the host.
I assumed WF did likewise.
I guess I need an explanation of the system that web flow uses when they say I can use a custom domain.
Thanks

2

All that means is your can have a custom domain resolve to a paid Webflow project. Since Webflow does not support importing an existing site off of Webflow, you have to manually create your pages and upload your assets via the designer or leverage the API and what it supports. CSV’s can be imported and during the import process, you can also import image assets into that collection item depending on how you process and configure your import.

There is extensive documentation on most if not all features in the University. Great place to start your journey if you haven’t.

3

Thanks for the reply. I have, and do, use WF U quite regularly.
The first sentence of your reply - “All that means is your can have a custom domain resolve to a paid Webflow project.” - seems to be what I’m confused about.
It may be the word “resolve” that I’m not understanding.

4

Your domain will point to your webflow site but all of the site files that you’re used to managing are hosted on a CDN. There’s no way to go in to an FTP to access files, it’s all done through the designer. You’ll notice that all of your images are hosted at “https://assets.website-files.com/some-encrypted-string.jpg” As they’ve been delivered to your site by this CDN rather than hosted locally

5

@Jim_Forbes - What do I mean by resolve? When you search for a resource online you typically reference a URL that includes the a subdomain like www and a domain like yourdomain.com. When you type an address into your browser destination URL address, your operating system makes a request to a DNS server that can resolve this into an IP address associated to that record. In order for you to have your custom domain active on a Webflow project it needs to be configured to do so. The documentation to follow is available here. Quick connect a custom domain - Webflow University Documentation

Note: You can only have custom domains configured on paid hosted projects.

6

Thanks David: That clears nearly all my confusion.
I guess I’m still thinking old school where a site was hosted (files stored/accessed) at my hosting company (I’ve had many).
1997 Macromedia Dreamweaver
1997 Microsoft FrontPage
2005 Adobe Dreamweaver
2013 - 2020 Adobe Muse
. . . all used FTP clients uploading files to folders AT the hosting company.

I still use Dreamweaver and Muse occasionally.
I’ll just accept WF uses a different system.

7

@Jim_Forbes - I would add that is is possible (if your plan supports custom code) to add img tags in code embeds that point to externally hosted assets for example. I often do this with media CDN’s that allow manipulation of assets like Cloudinary. It’s painful since Webflow decided not to allow you to reference external assets in IMG elements directly.

8

Thanks Jeff: That IS a pain since I seem to use a lot if images.
FYI - I don’t do this for a job anymore.
I’m 81yo and just design sites for a hobby and to keep my mind busy.
I can spend a week designing a site just to delete it and start over.
I’ll most likely keep the plan I have so I can have more than 2 pages but NOT use a custom domain.
I don’t mind using < my domain.webflow.io >