How To Make A File Downloadable In WordPress (2 Steps)

The Objective

In this tutorial, I will guide you on how to make a file downloadable in WordPress. At the end of this guide, you will be able to create a download button or link correctly.

You may continue reading this tutorial or watch the tutorial video below:

Step 1: Upload Your File

At your WordPress dashboard, go to media and click on the select file to browse for the file you want to upload. You can upload any file format that can support by WordPress. If you want to upload multiple files to 1 download link, use a zip format file to zip all the files to 1 zip file.
After the file upload is completed, go to the media library to select the uploaded file and copy the file url.

Step 2: Create The Download Button Or Link

Now go to any page or post that you want the downloadable button to appear and create a button.
You can easily create a button using Gutenberg by select any text field and type “/button” and hit enter. By selecting the button, you can label any call to action text you want on the button.
While still selecting the button, you will see a link icon on top of the button, click on the link and paste the URL link you copied in step 1.
You can also create a downloadable link by selecting any text and click on the link icon and paste the link you copied in step 1.
You can toggle on “Open in new tab”, “Set to nofollow” or “Set to sponsored” as needed to the downloadable button or link.

Conclusion

Currently, the latest version of WordPress also supports direct view on PDF files on your site. So, you may consider skipping the step to create a downloadable link for PDF files, unless you want to collect visitor emails.

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