Digital Products
Sell files that deliver automatically after purchase, such as eBooks, music, templates and software, with secure, limited download links.
A digital product is a file your buyer downloads after paying. When the payment is confirmed, E2C emails the buyer a private download link automatically. You don't need to do anything.
You can sell physical and digital products in the same store. A cart with only digital items skips the shipping step at checkout.
Setting up a digital product
Choose Digital Product
On the add/edit product form, under Product Type, select Digital Product (Instant download).
The form hides Condition, In Stock/Inventory Qty, Variants, Shipping and Brand, and shows a Digital File section.
Upload the file
Drag your file into the Digital File dropzone or click to browse.
- One file per product, up to 25 MB
- Accepted types: PDF, ZIP, MP3, WAV, OGG, MP4, MPEG, PNG, JPG/JPEG, SVG, TXT, EPUB, MOBI, DOCX, XLSX
- E2C checks the file's contents as well as its extension, so a file that's been renamed to a different type is rejected.
- To deliver several files, or a type that isn't on the list, put them in a single ZIP.
A new digital product can't be saved without a file. On an existing product, you can't remove the file without uploading a replacement.
Describe what the buyer gets
All of these are optional and appear on the product page before purchase:
| Field | Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| File Formats / What's Included | 200 characters | Shown as "What's Included", for example "PDF, EPUB, MOBI" |
| License Type | — | Personal Use Only (default), Commercial Use, Extended Commercial License, or Custom License |
| Custom License Text | 500 characters | Appears when you pick Custom License, and is shown next to the license on the product page |
| Version / Edition | 20 characters | For example "v2.1" or "2024 Edition" |
Set the download limits
| Field | Default | Options |
|---|---|---|
| Max Downloads per Link | 5 | 1–100 |
| Download Link Expiry | 7 days | 7, 14, 30, 60 or 90 days |
These settings apply to links created after you save. Links already sent keep the limits they were created with.
Finish and save
Fill in the rest of the product (name, images, description, price, and optionally custom fields), then click Add Product or Save. Digital products don't need shipping, so they go live as soon as you save (unless Display on store is off).
How delivery works
- The buyer checks out. Digital products can be paid for online (card or PayPal, whichever you've connected), or through a free checkout if the order total is 0. Cash, Interac e-Transfer and Zelle aren't available for carts containing digital products.
- Once the payment is confirmed, E2C creates a private download link for each digital item in the order and emails it to the buyer.
- The link opens a Ready to Download page on your store. Each click on Download File counts as one download. Just opening the page doesn't count.
- The link stops working once it reaches its download limit or its expiry date (counted from when the payment was confirmed). After that, the buyer sees "Download Limit Reached" or "Download Link Expired" and is asked to contact you.
Buying a quantity of 2 or more still produces one link for that item. The download limit applies to that one link.
Tracking and resending downloads
Open the order from Orders. The Downloads table shows each file with its status (Active or Expired), downloads used (for example 2 / 5) and expiry date.
Click Resend Download Email to Customer to email the buyer their links again. Keep in mind:
- It resends the same links. It doesn't reset the download count or extend the expiry.
- You can resend once every 10 minutes per order.
- Links on refunded or cancelled orders aren't resent.