How to sell digital products with Easy Digital Downloads

Package the files customers should receive before you create the product. A ZIP file is often easiest for software, themes, graphics and bundles; use a PDF, MP3, video or other format when customers need to open one file directly.

Decide whether the product is a one-off purchase, a variable-priced product with several options, or a recurring subscription. EDD supports multiple price options for one product, but it does not combine separate files into a bundle automatically, so prepare a bundle archive yourself when needed.

Install Easy Digital Downloads, activate it, then complete its setup flow. Enter your business details and currency, choose the pages used for checkout and purchase confirmation, and configure the store email address.

Open Downloads → Settings → Payments and connect the gateway you intend to use. A gateway connection is not the same as a successful store test, so keep the gateway documentation nearby and confirm that the account is enabled for live payments before launch.

Go to Downloads → Add Download. Add the product name, description, featured image and price, then add the file under the download details. Publish the product when its page and purchase button are ready.

For editions such as Personal, Commercial and Agency, enable variable pricing and add each option with its own price. For a normal single-file sale, leave variable pricing disabled and use one price.

Set a download limit and link expiration under the file-download settings, then override those values for individual products where necessary. EDD-generated links can expire, and the customer can receive a fresh link from the account area or a resent receipt; expiry alone does not permanently revoke the customer’s purchase.

Check the receipt email, purchase confirmation page and customer account page. Make sure the file is delivered only after the payment reaches the appropriate completed status, and check that the uploaded file is not also exposed as an ordinary public media URL.

Run a complete test purchase with the payment gateway’s test mode where available. Check the checkout form, payment confirmation, receipt email, download link, download limit and customer account. Also test a failed payment and an expired link.

A common Friday-night failure is a payment gateway that appears connected but cannot complete checkout because webhooks, account permissions, caching or script optimisation are wrong. If you sell subscriptions, gateway webhooks or equivalent notifications must be configured so renewals recorded by Stripe or PayPal reach EDD.

The manual route is possible, but WordPress alone does not provide a complete digital shop. You would need to build or connect payment processing, order records, protected file delivery, receipts, refunds, customer access and renewal handling yourself. That can suit a developer selling one simple file, but it leaves more security and maintenance work than using EDD.

For a basic one-off download, the standard EDD setup is usually enough. For a store that needs secure delivery, subscriptions, software licensing, variable pricing, discounts and payment integrations in one system, the fast route is Easy Digital Downloads Pro Pro Version. It provides the commerce, delivery and customer-management features in one WordPress workflow, so you configure the product instead of assembling separate systems.