Want to drive conversions? Try offering exclusive members-only downloads or accepting submission uploads. Transform your WordPress site with these five WordPress file sharing plugins.
As a quick review, file sharing is the ability to both accept and give digital content to users through a WordPress website. And there are a lot of benefits to adding file sharing to your website.
For instance, you can offer membership users exclusive content or accept file upload submissions. Unfortunately, WordPress doesn’t support this kind of downloadable media without plugins or add-ons.
Fortunately, that’s where a WordPress file share tool can be a life-saver. With the right plugin, you can trade files with your visitors and encourage conversions by offering free downloadable content.
In this post, we’ll cover five of the best WordPress file sharing plugins. And to accommodate every budget, we’ve included a mix of premium software and free tools. Let’s get started!
1. Formidable Forms
First up, we have Formidable Forms. This form builder plugin has a powerful drag-and-drop interface that also gives you the power to display form data with Views.
The View feature allows you to easily create a form that displays a list of media from real-time submissions. Luckily, this includes all of the different file types that visitors download:
Formidable Forms allow you to upload your files to WordPress. Formidable Views lets you easily display the results of user feedback on your website with a few simple clicks. You can even use the permissions-based rules system to share multiple files as gated content.
This makes Formidable Forms perfect for membership website forms or for offering downloadable content as part of a lead generation strategy.
And the best thing about Formidable is that the features that come with the plugin go far beyond managing gated content. With this drag-and-drop plugin, you can build countless forms and landing pages that store their data all in one place.
Features:
- Upload documents, files, music, and photos for avatars, galleries, or email attachments.
- Password-protect your files.
- Display downloaded files after a successful form submission.
- Monetize your gated content by placing it behind a payment form.
Pricing: An annual Formidable Forms license starts at $39.50 per year.
2. Download Monitor
Next is Download Monitor. This file sharing plugin provides a user-friendly interface where you can share and manage all of your content. It's also easy to insert a download link for uploaded files on any of your website's pages or posts:
Additionally, this plugin can log your total number of successful downloads and download attempts. This allows you to identify your best-performing content. You can then adjust your strategy to deliver better results.
In addition, if you want to monetize your content, Download Monitor has everything you need to sell access to your downloadable files. For example, if you’re running a membership site, you might restrict downloads to logged-in users only.
Features:
- Add, edit, or remove downloadable files using the familiar WordPress user interface.
- Offer multiple versions of each file.
- Provide alternative ‘mirror’ links for each version.
Pricing: You can download the core plugin for free. There are also a number of paid extensions available.
3. WordPress File Upload
Third on our list, is WordPress File Upload. This WordPress file share plugin lets users submit any supported file to a WordPress website. You can simply add an automatically-generated shortcode to any page, post, or widget. Then, your visitors will be able to upload files from that location:
On the back end, this plugin displays your uploaded files in a separate menu in your WordPress dashboard. It also provides a file browser that you can use to access and manage all of these submitted files.
Features:
- This plugin is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant.
- It supports additional form fields, including checkboxes and dropdowns.
- Following a successful upload, you can automatically redirect to another URL.
Pricing: WordPress File Upload starts with a free version.
4. Easy Digital Downloads
Fourth on our list is Easy Digital Downloads. If you want to monetize your content, you may want to check out this file share plugin. This e-commerce plugin enables you to sell a wide range of files. These file types include PDFs, music, software, and e-books:
The free Easy Digital Downloads plugin supports Stripe and Amazon Payments. You can also add a range of extra payment gateways with free and premium extensions. This includes some more unusual payment methods, such as BitPay and Coinbase.
Even when you’re monetizing your files, it may make sense to offer some content for free. For instance, you may want to provide teaser content or a complimentary gift.
However, if you want to bypass standard checkout forms with this plugin, you'll need the Free Downloads extension.
Features:
- Take advantage of a complete e-commerce system.
- Prevent unauthorized visitors from accessing your files without paying.
- Track your downloads, sales, and refunds with detailed e-commerce reports.
Pricing: You can download this plugin for free. A pro version is also available, starting at $99.50 per year.
5. Download Manager
Download Manager is fifth on the list. This simple file management plugin is highly useful for digital content. For example, this plugin lets you restrict access to your files based on user roles:
Download Manager also enables you to control the download speed and limit the number of downloads per user.
Even better, you can use this plugin's CAPTCHA lock and IP blocking features. This prevents malicious third parties and bots from accessing your content or uploading some of their own.
When it comes to hosting your content, Download Manager also supports many popular file share services. This includes Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive.
A downside to this plugin is that it is limited to downloading and managing content. It doesn't come with the ability to build extensive forms like some of the other plugins.
Features:
- Leverage the user-friendly, integrated document viewer.
- Attach files directly from your server, using the file browser.
- Use an easy drag-and-drop file upload.
- View your total download count at a glance, thanks to the built-in counter.
Pricing: You can download this plugin for free from the official WordPress Repository.
WordPress File Sharing Plugins Conclusion
As you can see, there are countless reasons to provide your visitors with a WordPress file share option. You may want to offer gated content on your membership site, or accept resumes on your job board. Either way, a file-sharing plugin is a fantastic choice for offering digital content and digital downloads on WordPress!
No matter the circumstance, you'll need a dependable tool.
Let's recap the five best WordPress file sharing plugins:
- Formidable Forms: Use our powerful plugin to display downloaded files after a successful form submission.
- Download Monitor: Manage your shared files and insert the download buttons and links anywhere on your site.
- WordPress File Upload: Enable your users to upload files using simple shortcodes.
- Easy Digital Downloads: Sell a variety of media files, including PDFs, music, and e-books.
- Download Manager: Limit downloads, add security features, and use popular tools to store your files.
Are you ready to create gated content forms with file sharing abilities? Try out Formidable Forms today!
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