ZIP for Website Upload

This tool builds a single ZIP from the site folder or files you select, with the structure and contents shaped for an upload step rather than for archival. It suits the moment just before you hand a build to a host: packaging a static HTML site (index.html, CSS, JS, assets) for a drag-and-drop deploy such as Netlify Drop, or zipping a folder of exported files before pushing them to a shared-hosting upload form.

It also fits WordPress, where wp-admin expects a theme or plugin as a ZIP, and client or school portals that want one tidy file. The common thread: a clean ZIP whose first level is the right level, without editor cruft, repository history or system junk.

Drop your site folder or choose it (a button also adds single files), check the output name, then create and download the ZIP. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded or kept after the tab closes.

Three switches, all on by default, do the shaping. "Put the site's files at the top of the ZIP" drops the single folder everything sits in, so index.html ends up at the root of the upload rather than inside my-site/. "Leave out hidden files and folders" skips anything whose name starts with a dot, such as .git, .env or .vscode; turn it off if the host needs a file like .htaccess. "Leave out node_modules" skips node_modules, bower_components and __pycache__ folders. System files (.DS_Store, __MACOSX, ._ files, Thumbs.db, desktop.ini) are always left out.

After building, the tool lists its checks: whether an index.html, index.htm or index.php sits at the top level; whether everything is still inside one folder; if style.css carries a WordPress Theme Name header, whether index.php is present and functions.php is included; and how many hidden or development files were left out. It does not deploy, add a missing index file, or check the HTML, CSS or PHP inside your files.

The most common mistake is choosing the wrong folder. If your build output lives one level down, for example my-project/dist/index.html, choose dist itself rather than the project folder, or the index-file check will warn that nothing sits at the top. The same applies to a folder that holds two things side by side, such as site/ and docs/: the top-level option only removes a single wrapping folder.

The tool warns above about 300 MB, since everything is held in browser memory; a site that large usually still carries media or build leftovers. Images, video and fonts will not shrink much. And turning off the hidden-files switch to keep .htaccess brings .git and .env back too.

Before uploading, read the checks and reopen the ZIP: confirm the top level is what the host expects (the entry file at the root for a static host), key assets are present, and no .DS_Store or __MACOSX entries slipped through.

Confirm the size fits your host's upload limit; for a static deploy, previewing the unzipped files locally is the surest test of links and paths.

For a graded or client submission, test the upload on a staging or draft target first; the tool prepares the ZIP, it cannot confirm the host will accept it.