Free PDF upload for customers (not an order)

English Shopify Shopify Discussion
1

Hello,

I’m new to shopify and I also don’t know coding etc. I was previously with Godaddy and had a page on my website where people could download a PDF printable for free (I sell kids toys so these would be activity sheets for kids).

I’ve been told by shopify that their web builder doesn’t offer this but that I can put this up as a product and make it free and customers can access it this way. My concern is that if lots of people access it as an “order” my orders feed will get clogged with these and I’ll have to trawl through these to find customer orders for physical products.

I’m hoping to get a page where people can access it immediately without having to add their info and order it etc.

if someone could please help that would be great.

Thank you,

Mel

2

To add a button on your Shopify store that allows customers to download a free PDF file without having to go through the checkout process, you can follow these steps:

  1. Upload your PDF file to a file hosting service like Google Drive or Dropbox.
  2. Copy the link to the PDF file.
  3. Open the “Edit HTML/CSS” page in your Shopify dashboard by going to “Online Store” > “Themes” > “Actions” > “Edit Code”.
  4. From the list of theme files on the left, click on “theme.liquid” to open it.
  5. Scroll down to the bottom of the code and add the following code just above the closing </body> tag:

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To add a button on your Shopify store that allows customers to download a free PDF file without having to go through the checkout process, you can follow these steps:

  1. Upload your PDF file to a file hosting service like Google Drive or Dropbox.
  2. Copy the link to the PDF file.
  3. Open the “Edit HTML/CSS” page in your Shopify dashboard by going to “Online Store” > “Themes” > “Actions” > “Edit Code”.
  4. From the list of theme files on the left, click on “theme.liquid” to open it.
  5. Scroll down to the bottom of the code and add the following code just above the closing </body> tag:

phpCopy code
<script>function downloadPDF() { window.location.href = 'YOUR_PDF_LINK'; } </script> <button onclick="downloadPDF()">Download PDF</button>

 
  1. Replace ‘YOUR_PDF_LINK’ with the link to your PDF file that you copied in step 2.
  2. Click the “Save” button to save the changes.

This will add a button to your Shopify store that, when clicked, will immediately download the PDF file for the customer without adding it to the cart or requiring any customer information.

3

Hi @Leopardandroo ,

Thanks for reaching out! That’s a great question and a wonderful idea to offer freebies to your customers!

You can easily create a Shopify Page dedicated to that downloadable file which can be hyperlinked to a button, image, or text on the page. This will allow the instant download to the recipient’s device without the checkout process or your Orders section getting clogged.

To do that, simply upload the PDF to the Shopify admin File section. Then create a page that can look any way you’d like. You will insert your file link following this guide here. By default, page templates are simple. However, you can add images, videos, links, tables, and format text. If you’d like more customization and have the page look more aligned with your brand, you can use one of the apps that create beautiful landing pages, such as PageFly and Shogun.

Finally, once the page is done, you’d probably want to connect it to some part of your website. If you’d like to add it to your header and footer navigation as a menu item, here’s a tutorial article.

Let me know how this goes, and if there is anything else I can help you with, I’m happy to help!

1 Like
4

Hi @Leopardandroo ,

I’ve got an idea that I think could really help your brand :blush: .

Have you ever thought about adding your downloadable PDF file to each of your product pages? It’s a great way to increase engagement with your products, while still keeping the focus on what you’re selling.

Instead of creating a separate free product for the PDF file, I suggest incorporating it into each product page. That way, you can offer an extra value to your customers without distracting them from your main offerings.

And don’t worry, it’s super easy to add PDF files to your product pages with the Free Ease Product Attachments App.

You can upload various PDF files and assign them to related products or collections (or all products). Plus, you can even use different activity sheets for different product types to add some variety to your website.

Compared to adding a text link into your product description, the app also offers a more effective way to showcase your activity sheets and catch your customers’ attention.

Hope you find this suggestion helpful and consider implementing it on your store. It’s a simple but effective way to improve customer engagement and experience.

5

@Leopardandroo ,

If you want to create a page where customers can view or download a PDF, EmbedAny makes it super easy!

You can embed a PDF directly onto your Shopify page using Google Drive, Dropbox, or any cloud storage link, so customers can view it without downloading. Want them to download it? They will be able to download it as well if you either add the download link right under the file or use GoogleDrive/DropBox.

No need for complicated setups—just use EmbedAny to drop in your PDF, whether it’s a product guide, an ebook, or any important document. Simple, clean, and hassle-free!