When WordPress When it was first released, it benefited bloggers everywhere. The platform makes it easy for anyone to create posts on any topic and share their thoughts with anyone who will take the time to read them.
As WordPress evolved, it became more than just a blogging platform.
Today, WordPress considered a Content Management System (CMS) that can be used for simple blogging, affiliate stores, booking systems, real estate listings, directory websites, forums, fundraising crowdfunding and e-commerce.
If selling products is what you’re looking for, then WordPress has you covered. If those products are digital… even better because there is a plugin called Easy Digital Downloads that you can install for free to make selling digital products very easy.
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Let me show you how to install and configure Easy Digital Downloads so you can start selling all your digital products.
How to Install and Configure Easy Digital Downloads on WordPress
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To use Easy Digital Downloads, you will need admin access to your WordPress site. I prefer to use self-hosted WordPress sites, so I will demonstrate on a WordPress instance that I deployed as a containerized application in my home network. If you choose the archived version, via wordpress.comThe plugin installation and configuration process is the same.
That’s all you need. Let’s get to work together.
To login to the WordPress admin dashboard, visit http://DOMAIN/wp-admin (where DOMAIN is the domain of your WordPress site). When prompted, log in to your WordPress site using the admin user account.
Once you are logged in, click on Plugins in the left navigation. On the results page, click Add New near the upper left corner.
Adding a new plugin to WordPress is very easy. Photo: Jack Wallen
In the next window, type Easy Digital Downloads in the search field and press Enter on your keyboard.
Looking for a WordPress plugin. Photo: Jack Wallen
Click Install Now, associated with Easy Digital Downloads — Simple eCommerce for selling digital files.
Install Easy Digital Downloads with one click. Photo: Jack Wallen
Once the installation is complete, click Activate to make the plugin available to your site.
Once Easy Digital Downloads has been installed, all you have to do now is activate the plugin. Photo: Jack Wallen
Configure Easy Digital Downloads
With the plugin installed, you should see a new entry in the left navigation, labeled Downloads.
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Hover over that entry to bring up a pop-up menu. From that menu, click Settings. In the Settings window, you’ll want to go through each tab (as well as the sub-tabs) and create all the necessary configurations for your site. In particular, you’ll want to make sure to access the following sections:
- General: At a minimum, make sure your business information is correct in the Store section and configure your currency in the Currency sub-tab.
- Payment: Select your payment gateway(s) in the general section, enforce SSL on Checkout and optional login requirements to purchase files, and even add optional banned emails. In the Refunds section, you can change the default status from refundable to non-refundable and set the refund period. If you use Paypal as your form of payment, you’ll want to connect to PayPal in the PayPal section.
- Email: You can choose a default template, attach a logo, and set the sender name and email in the General section. In the Purchase Receipts section, you can create templates for emails sent after a purchase is made.
- Taxes: This is where you enable taxes for your downloads.
Make sure to navigate through all the tabs and configure any options that apply to your site and products. Photo: Jack Wallen
Those are the four sections you should consider having to configure. Also, I recommend going through each tab to see if there is an option that suits your needs.
Once you’re done configuring Easy Digital Downloads, it’s time to start adding downloads for sale. Luckily, the process of adding a new digital product is as easy as creating a post on WordPress. So, if you are used to adding content to WordPress, you should have no problem adding digital downloads for sale.
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And that, my friends, is all it takes to turn your WordPress blog into a website that can help you start monetizing the digital downloads you’ve created. Enjoy that new revenue stream.
