Ready to add some low-effort digital products to your consulting business’ product ladder?
Many of our clients—especially consultants—are, as these can be great self-liquidating offers from ads, or what function as paid lead magnets. Essentially, digital products can help get your audience invested in your universe more deeply than a quick freebie—and you’re often more likely to see people take action on a digital product versus something they accessed for free. There’s typically more intention and more commitment from those customers as well.
For our clients who are on Squarespace (affiliate link), they wonder if they can use the existing infrastructure of their websites for delivery of those downloads. They want to know if they can leverage Squarespace commerce and what the feasibility is of selling digital products right from their websites.
Note: Digital downloads can include all sorts of things, from PDF workbooks from consultants, whitepapers from experts, MP3s from bands, ebooks, videos, craft patterns, even photography.
While Squarespace does offer this capability, there are a few critical things that anyone considering such an endeavor should understand before committing to the Squarespace Commerce system as their product delivery tool. (Member Areas offer different features—read all about that here.)
Squarespace Digital Downloads: Pros and Cons
Digital Product Variants Aren’t Possible in Squarespace
While it’s easy-peasy to set up product variants (for example: size or color) for physical products and services, it’s not doable with digital downloads—the system simply does not allow it and there’s not a way to “hack” the system to make it perform in a different manner than Squarespace allows. So, if you’re a photographer wanting to sell stock imagery, for example, you’d need to create a different individual product for each size of download you’re selling. This can be annoying, as you can imagine.
There’s No On-Page Delivery of Your Digital Product
This may or may not be a big deal, depending on your audience or product. But, what happens when someone purchases a digital product from you in Squarespace commerce is that they receive an email with a download link. In some commerce systems, the item is instantly downloaded to the buyer’s computer.
This can be a bit confusing for some people, depending on how used to purchasing digital items they are. In some industries, folks are very accustomed to instant availability (music is a biggie), so that’s something you’ll need to make a decision about for your individual case and do some competitor research about what the norm is in your field.
An alternative would be creating a one-time purchase “member area” instead, where folks could access their downloads. However, there are higher fees associated with this option.
Downloads Expire in 24 Hours But Can Be Set to Auto-Resend
Update 10/22/2021: After a digital product is purchased, the file is available for download on the order confirmation page and emailed to your customer. The link will expire after 24 hours, however, if the customer clicks the link after it has expired, Squarespace will generate a new email with another link. You can also manually resend the link in the Orders Panel.
The only security in Squarespace’s commerce downloads is that the link your customers are delivered expires in 24 hours. What does that mean? The reality is that your customers won’t all download their product immediately, so it’s likely you’ll have to do some support to make sure their item is delivered.
To make your life easier, I’d recommend setting up a canned email (which is super easy in GSuite with the canned responses feature in labs) so you can just insert a canned email once you’ve verified the purchase in your Commerce dashboard. And, you can resend and refresh the digital download through the dashboard in Squarespace as well.
Digital Download Files Aren’t Associated with Customer Accounts
While Squarespace introduced customer accounts last year, downloads are not available in the account management system. Buyers can just see their purchase record and that’s it. Bummer, I know.
Again, the workaround is using member areas instead, which adds complexity.
DRM is not Possible with Squarespace Digital Downloads
Don’t know what DRM is? That’s okay! It may not be relevant to you. DRM, or digital rights management, is a way to encode digital files with a fingerprint. There are varying levels of DRM, ranging from very lightweight to complex DRM with the purchaser’s data embedded in the files (book publishers frequently use this method when sending review copies of ebooks to reviewers). It’s why the iTunes music you bought won’t play unless you log into your iTunes account.
The DRM debate is a complex one, and I can see the merits of both sides of the discussion, but if DRM is part of your digital downloads’ distribution plan, you’ll need to look elsewhere for a solution. More on that in a second.
If you need DRM, we recommend thinking about PDF stamping using SendOwl (we’re affiliates, but love the product regardless).
You Cannot Generate License Keys In Squarespace Commerce
Believe it or not, I’ve received this question. The short story is, if you’re selling software, you should not be doing so on Squarespace for a number of reasons, one of which being that you cannot create unique license keys. But really, you shouldn’t even be getting to that point—it’s not the right tool for the job.
Again, SendOwl is a much better solution for this use case.
You can set the pricing of the download to zero and give away a download
Arguably, this is not the more effective way to give away a download in a list building effort—I would always recommend using your email marketing service (ConvertKit in particular makes this automation crazy easy)—but I’ve known people to do this who don’t want to pay for an email marketing system. What the system does is require address information but not payment information for these items. Then, customers check out like normal and are emailed your freebie.
Again, not my first choice, but it does work and there have been some specific instances where I’ve had people make good arguments for this setup, particularly when they have shops already and the freebies are a bonus and not a lead generator.
You can’t have per-product email triggers in Squarespace Commerce—including with digital downloads
This can be a dealbreaker for some people. Oftentimes, you’ll need to include specific instructions with your download. Certainly, you can do that with the file if it’s a PDF, but otherwise, it can be challenging. Perhaps some of your products require a specific application to open or you have specific instructions for how you can use some items but not others? You cannot customize that experience. This can be doubly annoying given Squarespace’s relatively rudimentary integration with MailChimp, and only MailChimp, for ecommerce.
Again, for many people, this may very well be a non-issue, but if it’s an important detail for you, something else may work better and it’s best to know that before you invest too much time into trying to make the system work for your needs when there are plenty of alternatives out there.
What are the alternatives to Squarespace digital downloads?
PDF stamping tool Send Owl which is less DRM and more personalization to passively prevent file sharing. Send Owl also allows you to generate license keys, which is great if you’re selling software. Shopify has a number of apps you can add to your Shopify site to customize your downloads, so that’s another option. And, if you love all the other elements of Squarespace, you can embed or link out to all these services on a sub-domain.
If your longterm plans are for a variety of formats for your “downloads” (say an ebook with an accompanying video on how to use it), Podia would likely be an ideal choice, given that it allows for downloads, courses and memberships at an appealing price point.
Update 09/30/2021: If you want to offer other digital products, a checkout for services, payment plans and more, you may want to think about Thrive Cart (Aff link) as an all in one tool.
Update 06/06/2020: IMPORTANT – We no longer recommend Gumroad, as they have actively worked to silence their critics.
Update 06/05/2020: SamCart is a very interesting option if you’re planning on creating many digital products. I’ll write more in a future post, but I do think it’s a great solution for someone exclusively selling digital products. The instant delivery, flexibility to expire content, and ease of use make it very appealing. Anyone looking at focusing on digital products would be wise to give them a look.
Update: 5/14/2019 – MoonClerk now offers subscription digital downloads with their service, which could be appealing if you’re already using that service.
Who are Squarespace digital downloads good for?
Now, I realize that I sometimes get a rep for being a crankypants regarding Squarespace and sometimes it’s perceived as my being the Squarespace Specialist who dislikes the platform, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I truly believe that website owners need to use the proper platform for the job. Like I often say, make a list of your “have to haves” and “nice to haves” and find the delivery system that will best meet those needs within your budget and technical capabilities.
I think that the digital downloads system could be amazing for a digital workbook for an indie musician who wants to test the waters of distribution, or someone who’s just selling one or two items but it’s not their main business.
And, I particularly love Squarespace digital downloads for consultants who are selling whitepapers, since it’s such a simple setup and their clients will appreciate the clean interface.
It’s easy as pie to set up, and if it does well, you can shift to something more robust.
What I hate seeing, however, are clients who’ve invested heavily in the Squarespace (or other) platform and discover deep into their process that the system won’t work for them. That just sucks, and I always feel like a jerk when I deliver that news.
Have questions about digital downloads or building your product ladder? Schedule a strategy session with Sarah and get clarity about the best next steps in your online marketing.
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39 Responses
This. Is. AWESOME. Thank you!!
Yay! Glad you liked!
Hi Sara, really enjoyed reading your article. I needed some advise from you in regards to digital product downloads. I want to sell my photography video tutorials which are over 300 Mb, I can’t use digital product downloads in this case since they have a limit of 300 Mb.
What is the best way to go about this? Any advise will be great.
Thank you.
Hi Baber! Since you’re selling tutorials, I would recommend using a purpose built course platform. You’re not really selling a download, but instruction. I like Podia for course beginners since it’s so easy, but there are other tools linked in this post that could serve you well.
Hi Sara! Thank you so much for writing! So, is it possible to integrate SendOwl with SquareSpace then? Thanks you!!
It won’t integrate directly with the commerce back end, if that’s what you’re asking. Rather, it will be embedded so it feels like it’s part of your website to site visitors.
Hey Sara,
So i am trying to sell presets & my file is in DNG format. They are not working as far as getting this opened on phones. That is my goal. Any advice?
I would consider uploading them as a zip file. However, they’ll still need an un-stuffing app to access. Downloads and mobile are STILL kind of a pain.
Thanks for this post – it was really helpful!
Hi Sara,
I’m trying to sell activation codes (for my game app) that are single use. I set the 4 games up as service products in SS and am wanting to add custom code to pull in the activation code on the order confirmation page as well as in the order confirmation email. I have a code generator that will send the unique activation codes, on demand via API to SS with the customer checking out being the trigger. Is this possible to do? The activation codes do not have to be assigned at the product level, just at the order level and the generator needs to know how many to send based on how many total items/units are in the order. So, in addition to pulling in the activation codes I need SS to provide total order unit qty and ideally, also the order # and email address to the code generator. What do you think? Can I do this with code injection on the order confirm/thank you page and in the order confirm email set up?
Theoretically you could do this with Squarespace’s new API setup but I actually think their documentation sucks, to be frank. I wonder if something like Gumroad would make more sense for you?
Help Me Please! I am wanting to sell audio meditations on SS – but with the link only lasting for 24hrs and most people not being able to download to IOS without yet another app I’m really unsure what to do. Most people listen to meditations on their phones so this creates a big issue for me 🙁
Hi there! Sadly, Squarespace doesn’t allow that kind of fine control on their platform. 🙁 There’s not a way to hack it or customize it, unfortunately. Have you thought about something like a membership style setup? You could use audio blocks and even have the content streamable! Here’s an article I wrote about that: https://sarahmoon.net/blog/membership-website-options
How do you get PAID through squarespace when someone makes a purchase of your digital item? Do we hook up our bank account or something, and that money goes directly into our accounts? Thanks!
Hi there! You’ll just need to link your Squarespace to either Stripe or PayPal and then magically you’ll have money in your account! (Seriously, it’s that simple!) Here’s the info on that: https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/235161188
Hi, Is there a way to sell a video file through squarespace? I’m trying to sell access (on a donation basis) to videos (preferably embedded video pages). Thank you!
You can sell a video file through Squarespace (you would need to zip it) but problem would be selling a file on a donation basis. Squarespace would just not handle that. You could take a donation via the donation block, then have the email they get direct them to the embed. BUT! This will only work if you have just a single page, since there are not emails on a per product basis in Squarespace. 🙁
Hey Sarah- couple questions. 1. What platform do you recommend for digital downloads i am selling an ebook 2. Is there a way to control the content once it is downloaded like not allowing it to be copied and distributed? 3. If not to the last question what is your suggestion about adding a terms of service click through to the checkout process?
I have answers!
I really really love Podia for digital products—you can set it up like a store, add courses, do other cool stuff! It’s what I use here: shop.sarahmoon.net
It’s very very hard to prevent copying when someone is determined, unfortunately. I know, it sucks a whole lot! 🙁 I definitely recommend having a terms of service page that includes “no copying allowed, you’ll lose your access if you redistribute and we’ll take legal action.
I know it’s a terrible way of thinking about it, but it’s so hard to stop when people are determined to be jerks.
Hi there–Thanks for this. I currently have a Squarespace site and am trying to figure out how to sell memberships wherein members can have access to PDF ebooks that they can download at a maximum of one book per month, similar to Audible. Do you have any thoughts on the combination of tools/plug-ins I would need to do this without using wordpress or complicated programmer software? I’m a designer!
With a setup like this, you’ll very likely be looking at a WordPress solution. At this time, I’m not aware of a SaaS (software as a service) tool that allows this level of customization. The only workaround I can think of is if you allowed one specific download each month, rather than a pick one of many once a month situation…
Thanks, Sarah. Now I’m thinking about if there’s a way to issue unique one-time-use download codes to subscribers once per month manually. What do you think?
You could do that with a membership setup in something like Podia and each month you’d post a single use promo code that each person could use once and then they could use it on downloads in your “store.” Keep in mind that the infrastructure for this could get very complicated! Here’s a piece I wrote: https://sarahmoon.net/membership-website-options/
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for helping us nobodies out. Ive already heavily invested in my Squarespace account and am ready to sell my digital product but was halted by the size capacity. If I want to keep my Squarespace – is there a way where the customer is sent a link and redirected to purchase. Thanks
What if someone buys multiple digital products on one order? Does the automated email combine all those links? Or will their inbox be slammed with multiple emails.
Thanks!
Great question! Unless something has changed recently, it’ll be multiple emails.
Hi Sarah,
I keep putting in questions for squarespace and google keeps bringing me your answers !!
We are looking to sell Mp3’s of sound and spoken meditations and have 3 x 21/2 hour videos we would like to stream online from our about to be published new site
– is squ space the best for this? If so any tips please? (Already committed for 12 months ).
Many thanks,
Phil Canada
Have you looked at adding the Member Areas to your Squarespace? That may be an easier setup that the commerce setup alone. It would be great for limiting the files to streaming rather than downloading.
Thank you Sarah – that’s a great idea.
You are helping so many people – how cool are you!!
We are doing a free Zoom gong bath on Solstice – if you are interested email us and we’ll send you the link – sample the weirdness!! A small ‘thank you’.
Hugs from NS,
Phil & Rita thegongpeople@gmail.com
Hi Sarah, checked again with various enquiries – it would appear you would have to add something like sprout to play the vids within squspce members area as it doesn’t accommodate video – fees for both – while Wix appears to do it all inclusively. https://support.wix.com/en/article/about-selling-and-renting-videos
As ever, a learning curve.
Cheers again,
Phil
You can most definitely add video to member areas. You simply need to host them somewhere unlisted (Vimeo is great, but so is Loom, even unlisted YouTube).
Sigh! I was searching for an answer to see if Squarespace supports variants for digital products, and it looks like they don’t! It’s sad because I can add a form for a digital product, it just doesn’t do anything. I sell digital pdfs of crochet patterns, and recently started to create them in different languages. I can imagine how cluttered my store page would be if I added a new product for each language of every pattern.
One option is you could bundle all the languages as a single zip file. It’s not great, but it does work. Shopify does have variants for digital products and with a Shopify Lite account, you can embed a store into a Squarespace site.
Hi Sarah, Great post! – So, I’m a photographer and I currently have a Squarespace site to sell prints from. I was hoping to start selling stock images with different licenses and sizes. I see now that’s really not possible with Squarespace.
There is other merch that I would like to add to the store in the future as well. What platform would you recommend?
Hi Dennis! Probably a photo specific service would be best. Shootproof is a popular one but there are many to choose from!
Hi Sarah –
Thank you for this! It has been very helpful as we are struggling with the digital commerce section of our SS site. The site is not yet published as we are green and very slow with the digital commerce. This site is for my brother, who is not experienced with software and applications, etc. He wants the site to showcase and sell his photography. He tends to takes thousands of photos per event. Ideally he wants to put that many on the site, but I’ve explained that is going to be a problem as the website can’t be used to store that many photos at the size they currently are, eg. 4-7 Mg. The site is seeming to bog down with the photos that are there. I think we need to reduce the viewing product to a much smaller size. Is that correct?
We are also wondering if we can redirect the secure link to the unwatermarked item for purchase. Any suggestions? Your help is priceless. Thank you.
Hi Claire!
It sounds like the photos are WAY too big! Definitely resize those so they’re nice and lightweight! I think he’d be better served using a tool like Pixiset, which handles the sales of photos specifically. You can link to that in Squarespace.
Hi Sarah , i currently sell my preset on my square space . But now i am looking to add more digital files . However each product needs a custom email sent afterwards with directions etc . how am i able to go about this? creating seperate emails for each file?
This is actually kind of a pain in Squarespace. The best option is to integrate an email marketing tool like Convertkit and set up an automation for each one in that system. Squarespace’s e-commerce system just doesn’t handle this stuff well.