I think best way using rsync. It’s better then ‘classic’ FTP.
I’m a Jekyll newbie, so searching for solutions what is best workflow.
I test rsync in my own LAN and works great.
I’m not testing yet all the Rsync options, but i read there are options for compressing files while transfer, als only transfer the latest edited posts. So Rsync is your best friend for this.
In a next step, you want automatic deploying to the hosting every day, you van use a cronjob.