Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

How to Hide Digital Download Files in WordPress

If you run an online business and offer digital downloads to your customers, you might have faced the problem of people sharing your download links with others who haven't paid for your products. This can result in lost sales and revenue for your business.

To solve this problem, you can hide your digital download files in WordPress so that only customers who have purchased your products can access them. Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Install the Easy Digital Downloads plugin

Easy Digital Downloads is a popular plugin for WordPress that allows you to sell digital products. You can install it by going to Plugins > Add New and searching for "Easy Digital Downloads." Once you've installed and activated the plugin, you'll be taken to the setup wizard, which will guide you through the process of setting up your digital store.

Step 2: Create a download product

To hide your digital download files, you need to create a download product in Easy Digital Downloads. You can do this by going to Downloads > Add New. Give your product a name, description, and price. Then, in the Download Files section, upload the files you want to sell.

Step 3: Enable Software Licensing

Easy Digital Downloads has a Software Licensing extension that allows you to license your software and keep track of who has purchased it. You can enable this extension by going to Downloads > Extensions and finding the "Software Licensing" extension. Install and activate it, then go to Downloads > Settings > Licenses to configure it.

Step 4: Configure file access restrictions

Now that you have a download product and have enabled Software Licensing, you can set access restrictions for your files. Go to Downloads > Settings > Misc and find the "Access Restriction Rules" section. Here, you can choose which files can be accessed by customers who have purchased your products.

Step 5: Add download links to your thank you page

Finally, you need to add download links to your thank you page, which customers will see after they've purchased your products. You can do this by going to Downloads > Settings > Misc and finding the "Thank You Page" section. Here, you can customize the message and add the download links for your products.

By following these steps, you can hide your digital download files in WordPress and ensure that only paying customers can access them. This will help protect your revenue and keep your customers happy.