In this article we'll be going over the capability to sell a digital product or file on the Website Builder platform. There are a few different ways to do this and we will touch on a few examples and also demonstrate how to do so using PayPal as the payment processor.
First, please checkout the demonstration video below:
In order to set up your digital files for purchase, in summary, you will need to have a:
1. Landing or Frontend offer page: this is where you are essentially selling the digital product. A ‘buy now’ payment button of sorts from the payment processor of your choice can be placed on this page.
In my demo, I am using a custom page I built with the page designer:
2. Thank you page/Place where customers are able to retrieve the file: this is where the customer will be able to actually download the file. This can be an additional custom page, such as a Thank You page, OR you can get creative here, maybe you want your customers to land in a Google drive folder where they can access the digital file(s). This place is where the user needs to be taken AFTER purchase to retrieve their download.
3. The digital file: If you are going the Thank You page route (as in this demonstration), you must upload your digital file (that you are selling) into the website builder’s source hosting. Once you do that, you can copy the URL of that file, and add it into the “download now” button or link from your Thank You page.
*If you are going another route, like a digital folder (dropbox, google drive, etc.) the digital file does not need to be uploaded to Dashnex source hosting as the file(s) will be present in your digital folder of choice)
4. Payment Processor button (& URL redirect): this may vary from processor to processor, but essentially the important thing here, is that you need to eventually add in the URL of WHERE you want your customer to be redirected to AFTER they make their payment (rather that’s a Thank You page with a link to download the file, OR maybe a Google Drive folder where they can access files, etc.) We have an additional tutorial on how to setup a PayPal button here.
*It’s highly recommended to have a Business PayPal account, that way for each button you set up (if you are selling multiple digital products), you can take the customer to different “Thank You pages” (or Google drive folders) to retrieve the appropriate digital file.
4A. Recommended Route/Necessary Route if you are selling more than one digital file (Business PayPal Account) -- Customize the URL of where your customer will go in step 3 of the button customization (Youtube video reference here at time marker 7:20):
4B. If you do not have a business PayPal account, you can add in ONE auto-URL to redirect the customer after purchase (so this route would only work if you are selling 1 digital file). You can find more information on that here.
So, now that you understand the necessary pieces a bit, let’s get into the steps that I demonstrate in the video:
STEP 1:
Create LANDING PAGE/FRONT END OFFER PAGE (website builder custom page)
*this is where we add the PayPal ‘buy now’ button
STEP 2:
Create THANK YOU PAGE (website builder custom page)
*this is where we add a button or link that allows the user to download the file. You will copy the URL of the file from your source hosting and link it to this button or text.
STEP 3:
UPLOAD DIGITAL FILE (website builder source hosting)
*Copy the URL of the uploaded file from here that will be linked to the ‘download file’ link or button on the Thank You Page
STEP 4:
CREATE PAYMENT BUTTON (TO BE PLACED ON LANDING/FE OFFER PAGE (payment processor, in this example we are using PayPal). You will configure WHERE exactly you want your customers to go after purchase either here in step 3 of the button customization or in the auto-return URL feature. Please see next steps.
STEP 4A:
If you do have a Business PayPal account and are selling more than 1 digital file, you will want to set up different buttons for each digital item. You can customize each button’s after purchase return URL within Step 3 of while creating your button.
(This is where you would put the URL of your Thank You page or perhaps the URL of a digital folder (like Google drive or Dropbox, for example)
STEP 4B:
If you do not have a Business PayPal account and are ONLY selling 1 digital file, you can set up the Auto-Return feature through PayPal settings that will redirect your customer to where you want them to go (such as the Thank You page, Google Drive folder, etc.)
Now you should be all set to sell and provide the download of your digital file(s).
Technical tip from our developers: it's recommended to set a more secure URL for 'Thank You' pages by adding random characters, etc. (as this link could easily be shared with other people) and also to exclude this page from the sitemap.
Please contact our customer support at [email protected] or by simply clicking the chat icon in the bottom right corner of the screen if you have any questions or issues