Selling digital & downloadable products

How to set up and sell digital downloads in WooCommerce — including uploading files, setting download limits, and how customers receive their files.

WooCommerce makes it easy to sell digital files — ebooks, music, templates, printables, software, and more. This guide explains how downloadable products work and walks you through setting one up.

Quick summary

For downloadable products, customers receive a download link by email once their payment is confirmed. You upload the file directly to WooCommerce, set a download limit and expiry if you want, and WooCommerce handles delivery automatically. Tick Virtual as well and the product needs no shipping.

What you'll need

A WooCommerce product already created, or ready to create
The digital file you want to sell (PDF, ZIP, MP3, etc.) ready to upload

How digital downloads work in WooCommerce

When a customer buys a downloadable product:

They pay at checkout.
If every product in the order is both virtual and downloadable, WooCommerce marks the order Completed straight away. Otherwise it waits for you to complete it, but with the default settings the customer can download as soon as the order is paid (the Grant access to downloadable products after payment setting, under WooCommerce → Settings → Products → Downloadable products).
An order confirmation email is sent with a download link.
The customer clicks the link to download the file.
If you set a download limit, the link stops working after that many downloads.
If you set an expiry, the link stops working after that number of days.

If the customer has an account on your store, they can also find their download links under My Account → Downloads at any time (while the links are still active).

Step-by-step: setting up a downloadable product

Create or open a product. Go to Products → Add New (or edit an existing one).

Fill in the basic product details — name, descriptions, image, categories. See How to add a simple product for the full walkthrough.

Set the product type. In the Product data panel, open the product type dropdown. Select Simple product. Then check both Virtual and Downloadable checkboxes that appear.

Checking Virtual removes shipping fields (no physical delivery needed). Checking Downloadable reveals the file upload section.

Upload the file. In the General tab of Product data, scroll to the Downloadable files section. Click Add File. Give the file a clear name and either upload the file by clicking Choose file, or paste the file's full URL if it is hosted elsewhere. Upload from this screen rather than picking a file already in your Media Library: files in the Media Library are publicly reachable by anyone with the address.

Set the price. Enter the Regular price in the price field.

Set download limits (optional). Two fields control access after purchase:

Download limit — how many times the customer can download the file (leave blank for unlimited)
Download expiry — how many days the link stays active (leave blank for no expiry)

Publish the product. Click Publish (or Update).

WooCommerce handles delivery automatically

Once set up, and with the default download settings, WooCommerce emails the download link to customers as soon as their payment is confirmed. You do not need to do anything manually for each sale.

Selling a product with multiple files

You can attach more than one file to a single downloadable product. Click Add File again in the Downloadable files section to add additional items. Customers receive links to all the files in their order email.

This is useful for products like a course bundle (multiple PDFs + an audio file) or a design kit (multiple format files).

Updating a file after purchase

If you update a file (for example, releasing a new version of an ebook), replace it in the existing file row in the product settings. Customers who have already purchased will receive the updated file if they download again, as long as their download limit and expiry have not been reached. Adding a new file row is different: only new buyers get access to it, not past customers.

Granting access manually

If a customer has a problem downloading, or you want to provide access to a product they did not purchase, you can add a download to their order manually.

Go to WooCommerce → Orders and open the customer's order.

Open Screen Options (top right of the order screen) and tick Downloadable product permissions. Since WooCommerce 11.1 this section is hidden by default. Then scroll down to it.

Search for the downloadable product and click Grant access. From the same section you can also revoke access.

Best practices for digital products

Use a meaningful file name — "my-ebook.pdf" is less reassuring to customers than "brand-guide-2026.pdf"
Test the download yourself before publishing — buy a test product using a coupon code to make sure the file downloads correctly
Consider download limits — allowing unlimited downloads is fine for most products. For high-value software or exclusive content, a limit of 3–5 downloads per purchase is a reasonable safeguard
File size matters: WooCommerce sets no maximum file size, but your hosting server probably does, and very large files may time out during download. For very large files, consider hosting them on a dedicated file hosting service and linking to them

Common questions

What file types can I sell?

WooCommerce accepts the same file types WordPress allows, which covers common formats such as PDF, MP3, MP4, ZIP, PNG and PSD. Some formats aren't on WordPress's allowed list by default. If yours is refused, ask us. For very large files or video courses, a dedicated platform or a cloud storage link may work better than uploading directly to WordPress.

Can a customer re-download a file they already purchased?

Yes — they can find their download links under My Account → Downloads, as long as the link has not expired and they have not exceeded the download limit.

By default, download links don't require the customer to log in, so someone who has the link may be able to download the file. Setting a download limit reduces (but does not eliminate) the risk of link-sharing. You can turn on Downloads require login under WooCommerce → Settings → Products → Downloadable products, but it doesn't cover guest purchases, so WooCommerce advises switching guest checkout off for it to work. For high-value content, consider a membership plugin that requires login.

Can I sell a variable downloadable product (e.g., different file formats)?

Yes. Create a variable product, tick Downloadable on each variation, and attach a different file to each one. For example, you could offer a "PDF" variation and an "Audiobook (MP3)" variation with different files.

Need a hand?

If you're stuck, email support@chykalophia.com and we'll help. Include your website address and a screenshot if you can.

Learn more

WooCommerce Digital/Downloadable Product Guide

Selling digital & downloadable products

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