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Download products let you package and sell any type of digital file, from ebooks and PDFs to templates, spreadsheets, source files, or bundles of creative assets. Sherpo hosts your files securely, protects them behind checkout, and automatically delivers them after successful payment. It also supports external links for assets hosted elsewhere (e.g., Google Drive, Notion, or private URLs). If you’re looking for a guide on how to create and upload Download products, you can find it here:

Download Creation

Allow users to download digital files or get exclusive links.

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Where Downloads appear

When published, your Download product automatically appears on your homepage alongside other product types, like Courses.
Example of a Download product page in Sherpo
Visitors can view previews, read descriptions, and unlock files instantly after checkout.

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What users see

Each Download page displays your cover media, title, and description, along with a “What you get” section listing every file or link included in the package.

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“What you get” section

On the right-hand side of your product page, customers will see a “What you get” section listing all the files and links included in the purchase. This typically includes:
  • PDFs, PNGs, ZIPs, XLSX, or DOCX files hosted directly by Sherpo.
  • Secure external links (for example, Notion pages or Google Drive folders).
After completing checkout, all listed items become instantly available for download or redirection.
Example of unlocked 'What you get' section in Sherpo Download product
From your dashboard, under the Basic info tab, you can also fill in the “What you get” box: a short description where creators usually summarize what users receive upon purchase.

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Checkout

The Download checkout flow mirrors other Sherpo products: fast, secure, and Stripe-powered.

Checkout

Discover how Checkout works on Sherpo.

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Fulfillment & delivery

Before unlocking the product, the files uploaded will not be available for download:
Download products shown on Sherpo homepage
Once a payment (or free unlock) is verified:
  • Files unlock instantly on the buyer’s confirmation page.
  • Buyers receive a confirmation email with receipt and file links.

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PDF & XLSX security

For PDFs and Excel (.xlsx) files uploaded via Products → Files & links, you can enable Sherpo’s file security toggle to protect shared materials.

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What it does

  • PDF Security — Sherpo automatically watermarks PDFs with the buyer’s name, email, and IP address, discouraging unauthorized sharing. For users, the watermark appears in the bottom-left corner of each page:
Watermarked PDF security example
  • XLSX Security — Sherpo adds a locked LICENSE tab with buyer metadata (name, email, IP, file ID, timestamp) and disables worksheet copying or deletion. Buyers can edit their local cells but cannot redistribute the workbook cleanly.
Excel workbook LICENSE tab with buyer info
All hosted files are already protected behind authenticated sessions: buyers must be logged in and unlock products to download files and visit links.

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Unlock count

Under What you get, buyers may see a small line that says “Product unlocked by N customers.” This is a read-only counter, which you must enable on the product settings. It increases after every successful purchase (or manual access grant) and acts as lightweight social proof for your download.
Social proof line showing how many customers unlocked the product
Notes
  • The count updates automatically when a customer unlocks a product.
  • It appears on the product page beneath the file list.
  • Works for both paid and free downloads (free unlocks are counted too).
  • There can be a brief delay while totals sync after high-volume activity.

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What you get example

Here’s an example of a fully unlocked “What you get” section in a Download product, showing the live delivery view with products available to be downloaded and links to be visited.
Unlocked download example

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Download example

Click here to see how a full Download product appears.

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FAQ

Download products automatically appear on your homepage beside other blocks like Courses. Visitors can access them directly or via their unique link.
Yes. Each Download product can contain multiple files or links. You can upload files and reorder them in your dashboard.
No. Sherpo securely hosts your files, though you can optionally link to external resources if needed.
Yes. Download products support coupon codes that can be applied during checkout.
Buyers are redirected back to the product page, where downloads are instantly unlocked and a confirmation email is sent.
Yes. Setting the price to $0.00 makes your product free to unlock. Users still go through checkout to confirm and receive the email delivery.
No. Once unlocked, downloads remain accessible indefinitely unless you unpublish or update the product.
Yes. You can apply smart access controls to hosted files (like PDFs and spreadsheets) to prevent unauthorized redistribution.
Yes. To unlock a Download product, your users will have to log-in to your site.
All sales and free unlocks appear under Sales, where you can export data or resend access links.
Yes, but Sherpo embeds buyer-specific metadata and watermarks (name, email, IP) to discourage redistribution. For Excel files, the LICENSE tab and worksheet restrictions prevent clean copying or re-use.
Not directly: those remain standard downloads. For sensitive content, export it into a secured PDF/XLSX before uploading.