ZIP for Website Upload

This tool builds a single ZIP from the files or folder 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 Vercel or shared-hosting upload form.

It also fits the WordPress workflow, where wp-admin expects a theme or plugin as a ZIP, and the school or client portal case, where a web project has to arrive as one tidy file with no stray Mac or Windows metadata. The common thread is that the destination wants a clean ZIP whose first level is the right level — not a project full of editor cruft and operating-system junk.

If your goal is long-term storage, splitting a large archive, or password protection, a different archive tool is the better fit. This one is narrowly about producing an upload-ready package.

The flow is direct: drop files into the dropzone or use "Add folder" to pull in a whole directory, set an output filename, then create and download the ZIP. Everything runs in your browser — files are read locally, the ZIP is built locally, and nothing is uploaded or kept after the tab closes.

Three controls do the real work. Compression offers Smaller, Balanced, or Best, trading speed against file size. "Preserve folder structure" keeps your original paths; unchecking it flattens everything to the ZIP root, which is how you avoid the nested-root (theme/theme/...) problem that some hosts and WordPress reject. "Remove system files" is on by default and strips .DS_Store, __MACOSX, Thumbs.db, and desktop.ini.

Be clear on the boundaries: it packages and cleans, it does not deploy, and it does not auto-detect a hosting provider, inject a missing index.html, or validate that a WordPress theme contains style.css and the required PHP files. Those checks remain yours to make.

The most common mistake is leaving "Preserve folder structure" on when your host expects index.html at the top level, then uploading a ZIP whose root is a single wrapper folder. If your entry file needs to sit at the root, flatten the structure or select the contents of the folder rather than the folder itself.

Watch the size ceiling: input is capped at 300MB, so a project carrying node_modules, a .git directory, or large media will hit the limit and is rarely what a host wants anyway. Remove development-only directories before packaging — the tool strips OS metadata but does not exclude node_modules or .git for you. Also remember that already-compressed assets (images, video, fonts) will not shrink much regardless of compression level.

Finally, the output filename is yours to set sensibly; some portals and WordPress are particular about names, so avoid spaces and odd characters, and keep the .zip extension intact.

Before uploading, reopen the finished ZIP and confirm the top level is what the destination expects — entry file at the root for a static host, or the correctly named theme/plugin folder for WordPress. Spot-check that the file count and key assets (index.html, stylesheets, scripts, images) are present, that paths look right, and that no .DS_Store or __MACOSX entries slipped through.

Confirm the total size is within your host's upload limit and that no development directories rode along. For a static deploy, a quick local preview of the unzipped contents is the surest test that links and asset paths resolve.

For an official, financial, or legal submission — a graded coursework portal, a client deliverable, or a regulated upload — verify the package manually and, where possible, test the actual upload into a staging or draft target before the final one. This tool prepares the ZIP; it cannot confirm the receiving system will accept or render it.