Deliver downloads through links tied to each order, shown on the confirmation page as well as by email. Keep sharing limits gentle, ask an accountant which sales taxes apply, and plan for failed downloads.

A product with no shipping

Sewing and knitting patterns, woodworking plans, embroidery designs, printable planners, training guides and templates: a business with know-how can sell it as a file.

There is no stock to count, nothing to pack and no postage. A sale can happen at three in the morning, from another continent.

It is not effortless. The file has to reach the right person, stay reasonably within their hands, carry the right taxes, and somebody has to answer the customer who paid and cannot find what they bought.

How a download reaches the buyer

After payment, the store gives the customer a link to the file, both on the confirmation page and in an email. WooCommerce and Shopify can both sell downloadable products, the latter through an app.

The link should belong to that order and expire after a while, and the file itself should sit where nobody can reach it without a valid link.

Avoid attaching files to emails, which bounce when large and can be forwarded forever. And never leave files in an ordinary public folder, where the address can be guessed or found by search engines.

Where downloads go wrong

The fourth is the one sellers rarely see coming. People buy on their phones in the evening, then cannot get the file onto the computer, the printer or the machine that needs it.

Settings that prevent most failures

Show the download link on the order confirmation page, not only in the email, so a message lost to spam is not a lost purchase.

Give customers an account with a downloads page listing everything they have bought.

Set the expiry and download limit generously: several attempts over a few weeks, not one attempt within a day.

Before purchase, say exactly what the file is: its format, its size, how many pages, and what software, paper or machine it needs.

Where a product comes in several formats, let customers choose theirs at checkout rather than sending a bundle of every format with no explanation.

Limiting sharing sensibly

Some buyers share files; most do not. Measures that punish honest buyers, such as single downloads or locked files, create support email and refunds while barely slowing anybody determined to share.

Reasonable measures are quieter: links tied to the order, the buyer's name and order number stamped into a PDF where your tools allow it, and a plain licence statement on the product page.

The licence should answer the question buyers actually ask: whether they may sell what they make from your file.

If a copy turns up publicly, a polite request to remove it usually comes first. Most sites also have a process for copyright complaints.

Taxes, in general terms

Digital products are not exempt by default. Sales taxes can apply to downloads just as they do to goods, depending on the business and where the customer lives.

Selling abroad can bring other countries' rules into play, since some tax digital products bought by their residents and expect foreign sellers to account for it.

Store platforms can calculate taxes by the customer's location, but only if the settings match your situation. An accountant should confirm what applies before the first sale, not after the first year.

Keep a record of where each customer is, from their billing address. This is general information, not tax advice.

A worked example

A machine embroidery designer sells design files from her own site: flowers, lettering and seasonal motifs, each in the formats different home embroidery machines read.

Her store sent one zip file containing every format, by email, through a link that worked once and expired after a day.

Most of her email came from customers: links expired, downloads failed halfway on a phone, zips would not open on a tablet, and machines ignored files copied onto a memory stick still zipped.

The confirmation page now shows the links at once, and customers have an account listing every purchase. Links last longer and allow several attempts.

Customers pick their machine's format at checkout, and a help page shows, with photographs, how to unzip a file on a computer and copy it to a memory stick.

The support email that remains is mostly about the designs themselves.

The customer whose download failed

Answer quickly. A customer who has paid and has nothing to show for it feels cheated within hours, whatever the reason.

Ask first which device they are using and what they need the file for, since that usually points straight to the problem.

Make sure whoever answers knows how to resend a link or reset a download count in the store's admin. It takes a minute, and it should not wait for the owner.

State the refund policy before purchase. Many sellers refuse refunds once a file is downloaded, which is fair only if they always provide a working file.

Showing what the file makes

A file is invisible, so the product page has to show what it produces: the finished garment, the built shelf, the stitched design, the printed page.

Add a sample page or a table of contents, finished dimensions, difficulty, and exactly what is included and what is not, such as materials or fabric.

The counter-case

A business with one or two files and occasional sales may not need a full store yet. A simple payment page whose confirmation provides a protected link can do the job for now.

Professional plans or high-value templates may justify stronger measures, such as a signed licence or a copy stamped with each buyer's details.

For most small sellers, though: protected links on the confirmation page, generous limits, taxes checked, and a quick answer when a download fails.

Before selling the first file

  1. Store files where only valid links reach them.
  2. Show the link on the confirmation page.
  3. Give customers an account listing their downloads.
  4. Set generous expiry and download limits.
  5. State format, size and requirements before purchase.
  6. Ask an accountant which taxes apply.
  7. Write a help page for failed downloads.

Step two is the one that prevents the most common failure. An email can land in spam or be deleted by mistake, but a link shown the moment payment clears reaches every buyer.

Showing what a file produces once it is made follows the same logic as product photos on white and photos in use.

Frequently asked questions

How should digital downloads be delivered?

Through a link tied to the order, shown on the confirmation page and sent by email, with the file stored where nobody can reach it without a valid link.

Should I email the file as an attachment?

No. Large attachments bounce or land in spam, and an attached file can be forwarded endlessly. A link tied to the order is more reliable and easier to manage.

How strict should download limits be?

Gentle. Several attempts over a few weeks suits honest buyers, who are most of them. Very strict limits mostly create support email without stopping anyone determined to share.

Do sales taxes apply to downloads?

They can, in Canada and in other countries where customers live. Which taxes apply depends on your business and your customers, so have an accountant confirm before the first sale.

Why do downloads fail most often?

The email goes to spam, the link expires or runs out of attempts, the file was bought on a phone but is needed on a computer, or a zip file was never unpacked.

What should a download product page show?

What the file makes, photographed finished, plus a sample, the format and size, what software, paper or machine it needs, and exactly what is included.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Customers emailing about failed downloads?

Point us to your online store. We will look at how files reach buyers and what they see after paying.

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