Websites · Glossary
What is a digital download product?
A digital download product is a file a customer buys and downloads instead of receiving something physical, such as an ebook, a photo preset pack, a template, a sewing pattern or a music file. After payment the buyer gets a download link, usually limited in time or number of uses, and there is no shipping or stock to manage.
Digital products appeal to small sellers because they are made once and sold many times. The work moves from packing parcels to protecting files and answering download questions.
Nuwan Madhusanka · Co-founder
3 min read · Published
Common digital products
Ebooks and guides, photo and video presets, design and spreadsheet templates, sewing and knitting patterns, printable planners, fonts, stock photos, sample packs and music. Courses with many lessons are often sold as digital products too, though they usually need a course platform rather than a single file.
How delivery works
After a successful payment, the store creates download links tied to that order. The buyer sees them on the thank you page and in the receipt email. Each click checks the link is still valid, then sends the file through a short lived address so the file itself is never public.
Protecting the file
Limits on the number of downloads and on how long the link works stop a single purchase being shared widely. Files are stored privately and never published as part of the website. No system stops a determined buyer copying a file once downloaded, so price and licence terms matter too.
Common mistakes
Hosting the file at a public address anyone can find, offering unlimited downloads forever, sending huge unzipped folders that fail on phones, and forgetting tax rules that can apply to digital sales to buyers in other countries.
Where it shows up in OneCraft
Download is one of four product types in the store. Each variant carries one file of any type up to 500 MB, stored privately. After payment, each item allows 5 downloads within 7 days, from the thank you page and the receipt email, and each click becomes a link that lasts ten minutes. Orders of only digital items need no fulfilment.
Questions people ask
Do I need to charge GST on digital products?
It depends on your registration, your turnover and where buyers are. In Australia, GST applies to digital sales by registered businesses, and sales to overseas buyers follow other rules. Check with the ATO or your accountant before setting the tax in your store, because the rules differ by country.
How do customers get their download?
Usually through a link on the order confirmation page and in the receipt email, available as soon as payment is confirmed. The link checks the order each time it is used, so it works only for the buyer and only within the limits the store sets.
Can I sell digital and physical products in one shop?
Yes. Most stores accept a mix in one cart. Checkout asks for a delivery address only when something needs shipping, and the digital items unlock immediately after payment instead of waiting for the parcel to be packed and sent by you.
What file size can I sell?
Each platform sets a limit; a few hundred megabytes per file is common. For larger sets, zip files together, compress video, or offer parts as separate variants. Buyers on phones and slow connections appreciate smaller files and clear instructions on how to open them.
How do I stop people sharing my files?
Limit downloads per purchase and expire links after a few days, keep files private rather than at public addresses, and state licence terms clearly. Watermarks or personal licences help for some products. Accept that some sharing happens and price for honest buyers.
Make one with websites
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Create a website with OneCraftRelated questions
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Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .