error: Xara connection to ftp host has been lost and could not be re established

[Egg Bramhill]

Are you sure you're placing public_html in the subfolder section in Xara's other Web Host Settings? This is the normal root folder on most web servers these days.

When you create a variant you need to resize all the page content down to fit the smaller size. It can be made to auto fit the page if you use Scale to Fit Width option in Web Properties / Export.