Easy Digital Downloads Guide for WordPress (In-Depth)

The reason why you should choose Simple Digital Downloads?

This is an example of an EDD shop running on hosting. It loads the site in less than 600 milliseconds! The greatest benefit of the downloading process and services offered via digital means is that most of the time it doesn't have large catalogs of items that choke down the website. The majority of them sell a few items or a single product with different licensing fees.

Another benefit of Easy Digital Downloads from a standpoint from the perspective of the user is the fact that it's quite simple to utilize. The site can be in operation within just a few minutes. Just add your payment details and then design your digital products and you're good to go. Similar to WooCommerce There are also hundreds of integrations and extensions which allow you to take credit card payments, handle regular transactions, benefit from affiliates, and more. It's extremely versatile and provides users with an easy method to track and analyze your sales. It also has an great team behind it who are committed to WordPress codes and will ensure that making adjustments to the codebase will be simple and straightforward.

EDD is currently home to more than 1 million users active and an overall 5/5 score from the WordPress repository. It's a great score for a WordPress plugin! It is loved by developers due to it's easy-to-use and well documented hooks.

We're using EDD as a way to offer support. We have a downloadable plugin that every customer that requires support should be able to activate once they've registered to us. EDD lets us change the name of this Slug (products) as well as to name the plugin whatever we like. It's a great catchy name! EDD allows us to modify the templates in order to satisfy our needs. I am awestruck that EDD can be updated easily. Nothing really to worry about. We do, however, make sure to update our staging to make sure that we are safe.

Aaron

Assistance

EDD offers a range of support resources accessible.

• There is no need to ask for help on WordPress support forums. WordPress support forums. Pippin himself is very engaged in the forums. In the last update thirty-three of the 39 tickets were as solved in the past two months.
• The videos are informative, helpful, tutorials, and the most extensive and vast knowledge base which is meticulously documented.
• Assistance for the most basic requirements is free. But, you can choose prioritization support, which costs $39 per month, or $129 per year.

Easy Digital Downloads Features

EDD provides three payment options as the default (Paypal, Amazon, and manual) but many others are offered as extensions. One of the most impressive advantages EDD can offer is the fact that they are determined to assist provide a superior customer satisfaction. The software comes with a built-in user-access section, so customers can quickly get access to the files they've purchased and track the progress of their purchases. If they ever accidentally lose/delete an downloaded file the user will be able to login to their account and download the file.

EDD offers a complete report of every sale along with exact sales and earnings graphs. One particularly cool metric is the forecasted sales report giving you an estimate of expected sales in the coming years based on your past performance. It is possible to identify which products are most popular as well as determine what products are not selling helps business owners to find and apply those that are the most lucrative. This allows you to concentrate on areas within your business which have the potential to grow and redesign the rest.

The plugin will be compatible with almost every WordPress themes. The experience we have had suggests that this just isn't an issue for WooCommerce. Most of the time, WooCommerce theme developers require extra work in order to integrate all the support needed. EDD is built a bit differently. This is the reason why it's a great supplement to the theme you have already installed.

It's easy to download Digital Downloads Extensions

There are many EDD plugins available for purchase to further extend the functionality of the platform. Many of them were created by EDD creators, while some are provided by third-party sellers.

Here are some of the more popular examples:

• Social Discounts from EDD The extension allows users to offer their customers a discount if they share links to the product pages on social media. It also gives users the possibility of eliminating discounts and can be utilized as a sharing tool.
• Cross-Sell and Upsell The extension that is used for marketing offers additional items to shoppers at checkout. They can also offer customers an opportunity to buy an item that offers a similar, but higher priced product they are currently shopping for to their wish list. For example, products could be put together into an assortment that includes products as well as other things. This can be a fantastic way to enhance the value of the product for each customer.
• EDD Variable Price Descriptions Free extension permits users to put the "Option Description" input field for each download that has the option of a variable price. The user can also create the full description. This will automatically display the description at the top end on the product page.
• It is the WP Menu Cart The straightforward and no-cost plugin can add an icon for shopping carts in the navigation bar of a site's. It offers a wide range of options, including the capability to display the cart's image or price for things. It also comes with the premium version, which comes with some additional functions.
• EDD Downloads as a Service The plugin is cost-free and allows you to easily sell services rather than downloads. This plugin is perfect for WordPress developers and freelancers. This removes "no download file" on the purchase confirmation page.
• EDD Software License If you are selling digital items, for example, WordPress plugins, you'll need license keys. This extension takes charge of all licensing requirements for you.
• EDD Recurring payments This extension allows you to offer and develop products that have automatic recurring subscriptions.

Easy Digital Downloads Tutorial Index

•       Installation
•       Configuring EDD
•       Add digital downloadable files
•       Expanding EDD Even More With AffiliateWP
•       Controlling Taxes and VAT

Easy Digital Downloads Installation

Step 1

The first step you have to do is install first the Easy Digital Downloads plugin. It is available for download completely free from the WordPress repository or read the directions in the following article on how to install it from your dashboard.

Step 2

Hit "Activate."

It's over! Your all done. The process is really simple. It doesn't require a long trek through wizards. It's extremely simple to operate. There are however several additional settings which you may need to set up further down.

Configuring EDD

Step 1.

First thing you'll have to set up is the choices for your checkout, payments, redirects, etc. For this, you need to visit the settings tab under "Downloads" which is now on the left side on the WordPress dashboard.

EDD automatically creates websites in your WordPress site for purchases and payment confirmations, as well as other things. If you are a typical retailer, you don't need to change any of these. The only thing you need to do on this page is to identify your place of residence and the province or state of your country. Then click on "Save Changes."

Step 2.

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3.

Then, you can click on the subheader "PayPal Standard." If you are paying with PayPal it is suggested to enter your PayPal email. It is default PayPal page design  will be used, unless you opt for one. Learn more about how to design custom-made page designs to be used for your checkout. If you are using the free version of PayPal, you can customize all of your customers' experience by using your company's logo.

Step 4.

After that, click the "Emails" Tab. The default settings are set. However, you should at a minimum, create the logo of your business or product. Automated emails are sent to administrators and customers.

Here is an illustration of the default EDD email template. It is sent out to customers with the logo. The email includes a link to download the document. In the event you're using an extensions like EDD Software Licensing it will automatically insert their specific license code.

Additionally, it is possible to create styles, taxes as well as other settings. For many stores, none of these actually need to be changed. The great thing about EDD is that it works straight out of the box. Here are a few alternatives are available to you:

• Immediately redirect to checkout following the addition of an item in the cart.
• Allow the quantity of each item to be altered.
• Require that users be logged in to the system before purchasing the files.
• Customers can avail several discounts with an identical purchase.
• Limits to download of files Limits on downloads, expiration of download links Disable the possibility of downloading files once more.
• The option to select conditions of the agreement at checkout.

Uploading Digital Downloadable Files

The next step is upload the files that you download into your WordPress EDD Store. Remember that, depending on which extension you choose it could provide services in place of physical file downloads.

Step 1.

Click "Add new" under Downloads. Then, you can identify the digital file. You can add the description (which is displayed on the download's webpage for the user) the category, download tag, and so on.

It is then possible to give your download a price. It is also possible to select an option to set a price that is variable by clicking the button. Upload the digital file you want to upload, regardless of whether it is an .zip, .pdf, .mp3 or other format.

Step 2. (NGINX only)

For security of your directory, you can add the following to the NGINX configuration. The following example is intended for .zip files. You can make adjustments to other types of files. If you're a registered client is capable of creating a Support ticket to our Support team. We will include this information for you.

rewrite ^/wp-content/uploads/edd/(. *)\.zip$ / permanent;

Once you have added the code above, after which users who attempt to access directly your download will be directed to your main page.

Step 3.

The following step is to include a way for users to buy digital downloads on your WordPress site. In default, every download will have an own WordPress page with a buy button. However, a large portion of you may be selling licenses in that you'll need just one price page. It is recommended to use this software Simple Pricing Tables.

Once you have installed the plugin, you will be able to create an "Pricing" page for your WordPress site. You can then utilize the shortcode included in the plugin to display the pricing tables. You can use custom Add to Cart hyperlinks along with the pricing tables to give customers with the most optimal shopping experience. Here is an example of one which uses the download ID along with different pricing. https://wp.dev/checkout?edd_action=add_to_cart&download_id=4444&edd_options[price_id]=1

Here is an example of EDD price pages for shops, along with the individual Add to Cart price links as well as price ranges that can be changed.

Then it's done! The EDD store will guide customers through the checkout procedure by using the webpages it made when it was installed. The store will also send an email to customers as well as to you which includes the download file (and the license key, in the event that it is required) as well as create a WordPress account, so that customers will be able to log back into their account and view previous purchase.

Other Alternatives

Be sure to verify the report data and also the payment history information. Another positive aspect is that PayPal is also able to connect to EDD. If you are selling products , and buyers pay using PayPal the product is identified as being paid through EDD. In the event you refund an item the system will change EDD to reflect that it was reimbursed, in addition to updating your earnings total during the month.

Are you looking to create discount coupons to redeem on Black Friday? That's no problem. Go to "Discount Codes" under Downloads and make coupons and discount coupons that you would like. It is possible to choose the percentage of discount on your item or a flat rate amount. You may set the expiry date, and restrict the number of times you can make use of it for each client. Every once in time to promote your business is a breeze with EDD.

Expanding EDD By AffiliateWP

You can further extend EDD by adding AffiliateWP as it's a fantastic product developed by the same group. The two products are in such a way that you will not even notice the two products are different.

Controlling Taxes and VAT

Taxes can be a bit difficult when it comes down with Easy Digital Downloads. However, the solutions listed below will make the process somewhat easier. This includes things such as automatic invoicing, charging VAT to those countries who require the service, etc.

•       Quaderno
•       Freemius
•       ProteusPay
•       WP Route
• Paddle with OmnipayWP

Picking the best plugin to meet your E-commerce needs

When creating a new digital business, it's essential to choose the right online storefront. Even though the use of a third-party marketplace like Etsy may be the best choice, creating your own site is always an option wanting to take their business to the next step. In this way, you will own and manage the entire company and can earn much more profit in the long run. At the same time it is crucial not to waste many hours dealing with support from customers or problems in payments. This is why you should choose a shopping cart that is simple to use and is reliable.

We'd like to hear your thoughts. Would you rather use WooCommerce over EDD?

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