Software package
A store for digital goods with signed download links that expire, licence keys per purchase, versioned files that notify past buyers of updates, preview samples, tiered and pay-what-you-want pricing and configurable tax rules by buyer location, ready to configure around your catalogue of files.
Who it is for
A good fit
Creators and small vendors selling files rather than parcels: software and plugin developers, template and theme designers, font foundries, sample pack and preset producers, course note and e-book authors, and photographers selling licensed images. It suits store owners who publish products and releases themselves, support staff who answer licence and download questions, and customers who want to find every file they have ever bought in one library and get the latest version without asking.
Also worth knowing
It is less suited to sellers of physical goods, which the online shop package covers, to video courses with lessons and progress tracking, which the online learning package covers, and to recurring content memberships, which sit with subscription commerce. Vendors whose software validates keys against the store, who bill renewals automatically or who host other creators with payouts should look at the custom service first.
The operational problem it solves
A designer finishes version three of a presentation template pack on Tuesday evening.
She opens the product in the store, uploads the new file as a version with release notes, and publishes it.
Every customer holding a licence for the pack receives an update email, and the file in their library changes to version three with the previous version still available underneath.
A customer who bought the pack a year ago logs in, downloads it without contacting anyone and leaves a review.
On Wednesday a new customer buys the studio tier.
Checkout takes the country from the billing address and the card, applies the tax rule configured for that location to a digital product, and records the evidence against the order.
The receipt carries a licence key generated for the studio tier, the download link in the email is signed and expires in a week with a download limit, and the file is also in the customer's library for later.
On Thursday support receives a refund request from a customer who has not downloaded the file; the refund rule allows it, the licence is revoked and the refund is sent through the payment provider.
Another customer who downloaded three times and then asked for a refund is shown the download log, and the owner decides.
At month end the owner exports sales by buyer location for the accountant and checks which products sold best on pay-what-you-want pricing.
Features
The package is organised as modules that follow a file from upload to the customer's library: catalogue and previews, pricing and checkout, licences and delivery, versions and updates, and customer library and support. Each module below lists what it does; the comparison table shows which package variant includes it.
| Feature | Website | Business Software |
|---|---|---|
| Catalogue with previews, bundles and reviews | Included | Included |
| Fixed, tiered and pay-what-you-want pricing | Included | Included |
| Checkout with tax by buyer location | Included | Included |
| Signed download links with limits | Included | Included |
| Licence keys per purchase and tier | Not in this variant | Included |
| Versioned files and update notifications | Not in this variant | Included |
| Customer library with re-download | Included | Included |
| Refund rules based on download activity | Not in this variant | Included |
| Creator accounts with payouts | Not in this variant | Optional |
| Mailing list segments | Optional | Optional |
| Large file delivery through a CDN | Optional | Optional |
Roles and permissions
Store owner
Creator
Support
Customer
Concept demo of the digital downloads customer library showing purchased products, licence keys, current and previous versions and download allowances.
Scope and options
In the base package
Common add-ons
Needs custom work
Ownership, maintenance and pricing
Deployment and ownership
The package runs on your own hosting or on hosting we manage; the choice is made in the proposal and can change later. In both cases you own the code, the files and your data. Products, customers, orders, licence records and download logs can be exported at any time in standard formats, and nothing in the package stops you moving it to another provider. Card details are handled by the connected payment provider and never stored by the store.
Maintenance
Maintenance is optional and scoped separately from the build. When taken, it covers security updates to the platform and its dependencies, monitoring of payment provider callbacks, download delivery and notification sends, backups of files and records, and a monthly window for small configuration changes such as a new tier, a tax rule or a download limit. Larger changes are quoted as change requests against the original scope.
Pricing model
Priced per proposal.
The package is sold as a one-off setup and customisation, with optional monthly maintenance and hosting as separate recurring lines. The setup figure depends on the number of products, the size of the files and where they are stored, the licence and pricing models, the add-ons selected, the payment provider, how many customers and keys are migrated and whether you host it yourself. Payment provider, storage and delivery network fees are charged by those providers directly. Your proposal states each line separately.
FAQ
Links are signed and expire after a period you set, with a download limit you set, and every download is logged. After that the file is only available from the customer's library behind a login, so a shared link stops working on its own.
A key is generated per purchase in a format you choose, tied to the product and tier, and shown on the receipt and in the library. Support can revoke, extend or reissue a key. Checking the key from inside your own software is custom work.
You upload the new file against the product with release notes and publish. Customers holding a licence are emailed, their library shows the new version as current, and previous versions stay available unless you retire them.
Through rules you configure per product type and location. Checkout records the location evidence you choose to collect against the order and exports sales by location for your reports. The package applies the rules and does not decide which regime applies; that remains with you and your adviser.
Yes, if you choose to. The refund rule can allow refunds automatically before any download and route requests after a download to you for a decision, with the download log shown alongside.
Not yet. The readiness badge shows the real state: the package is a custom build assembled from our catalogue, orders and file delivery modules for each vendor, and the example on this page is a labelled concept demo rather than a live store.
The package issues and manages keys but does not expose a validation endpoint for your software to call. That, along with automatic renewals and prorated upgrades, is custom work handled through the custom digital products store service.
Tell us about your locations, the people who will use it and the add-ons you need. We reply with a clear, competitive proposal.