customising website templates and implementing card payment system

smac99 · Nov 2, 2008

Hi Guys,

I've only recently found this forum. Great source of information so far.

I am launching a small business and one of the products is a paid for PDF document. The website does not need to be complicated but needs to look professional. I have therefore decided to puchase one of the many templates out there as they provide a much better design that I can achieve on a low budget. I will need to get it customised with my own content and this isn't much bother.

My problem lies in how I can implement the system for download after purchase. Once payment is taken i want the pdf to download automatically to be saved by the customer. I was looking into a company called e-junkie.com who deal with both payment and download.

Having thought this was the way to go, I discovered the customer problems that people have with paypal (e-junkie use paypal as their payment method).

Therefore i need to look at both how to get the pdf file to the customer and also another payment method.

I'm inexperienced and any assistance would be abosultely great.

Many thanks!

iancushion · Nov 3, 2008

Have a look at the SecureTrading web site - About Us - Shopping Carts (sorry can't post URLs yet!). These are all the shopping carts that we work with and we handle your payment processing needs.

garysumpter · Nov 3, 2008

I love the way everyone jumps on a self promotion race at every chance.

Cant we just offer useful advice instead of trying to sell our own products and services at every chance?

dave_n · Nov 3, 2008

why dont you simply email it to the customer rather than allowing them to download it.
It will save on costs regarding IPN/notifications required to validate a download.

iancushion · Nov 3, 2008

That's all I'm trying to do, but I'm hardly going to promote a competitor's product!

who_me · Nov 4, 2008

Youve said only one PDF.... One PDF is simple... get a great ecommerce platform like ours

and on the email that the customer automatically gets confirming the purchase put the link in... Granted this only works for one PDF and one destination url but it's the cheapest way to do it... any ecommerce shop will be able to do it.

If you need more than one download, then sites, again, such as ours

have a simple plug-in that can do that too.

Scott19 · Nov 4, 2008

who_me said:
Youve said only one PDF.... One PDF is simple... get a great ecommerce platform like ours and on the email that the customer automatically gets confirming the purchase put the link in... Granted this only works for one PDF and one destination url but it's the cheapest way to do it... any ecommerce shop will be able to do it.

If you need more than one download, then sites, again, such as ours have a simple plug-in that can do that too.

Could you of shamelessly promoted your company anymore?

With regards to the question, many of the open source applications such as Magento or osCommerce have plugins available that tag a product as "downloadable" this means that they will be given a unique download area to receive their product.

I have to disagree with what was mentioned earlier, giving all customers one static download location, can lead to a greater chance in piracy. What's to stop that customer from simply copying the address and emailing it to whomever they like. Also, you may want to look into locking the PDF files, if they are high value (1000 GBP+) perhaps with the persons email address as their password etc.

There is a great deal of free tools and applications out there if you look hard enough.

Electro · Nov 4, 2008

Hi Guys,

I've only recently found this forum. Great source of information so far.

I am launching a small business and one of the products is a paid for PDF document. The website does not need to be complicated but needs to look professional. I have therefore decided to puchase one of the many templates out there as they provide a much better design that I can achieve on a low budget. I will need to get it customised with my own content and this isn't much bother.

My problem lies in how I can implement the system for download after purchase. Once payment is taken i want the pdf to download automatically to be saved by the customer. I was looking into a company called e-junkie.com who deal with both payment and download.

Having thought this was the way to go, I discovered the customer problems that people have with paypal (e-junkie use paypal as their payment method).

Therefore i need to look at both how to get the pdf file to the customer and also another payment method.

I'm inexperienced and any assistance would be abosultely great.

Many thanks!

Simply hire some programmer to build you a system that has a file download feature. It shouldnt cost you much as compared to contacting a customer service of a million dollar web developing company.

who_me · Nov 4, 2008

Scott19 said:
I have to disagree with what was mentioned earlier, giving all customers one static download location, can lead to a greater chance in piracy. What's to stop that customer from simply copying the address and emailing it to whomever they like.

as opposed to downloading the PDF and emailing to whomever they like... ?!?

It's fair to say that buying the correct software or plugin is the best way, which i believe i mentioned... however it is 'possible' to do it another way... if you don't want to fork out for the software... just trying to be helpful...

Electro · Nov 4, 2008

giving single download link is horrible... as who_me said.. and i mentioned that as well.. hire some skillful programmer.. ask him/her for any sites if he/she has built in the past featuring file download. That will be very much cost effective.

Calibre Designs · Nov 4, 2008

Your post reminded me of my recent purchase for documents on the ISO site.

First they get you to create an account by registering online. Then you add the documents to the shopping cart and make payment on their site. Once that is done, any documents that you have purchased can be downloaded as a PDF. Each page has a small imprint of a watermark in the name of the account holder (agreeing to T&Cs beforehand for license issues). Download/print, job done.

I was really impressed with how smooth the whole thing went.

Inspired me to develop something similar but thats way down the line when I have caught up with current work.

dave_n · Nov 4, 2008

Calibre Designs said:
Your post reminded me of my recent purchase for documents on the ISO site.

First they get you to create an account by registering online. Then you add the documents to the shopping cart and make payment on their site. Once that is done, any documents that you have purchased can be downloaded as a PDF. Each page has a small imprint of a watermark in the name of the account holder (agreeing to T&Cs beforehand for license issues). Download/print, job done.

I was really impressed with how smooth the whole thing went.

Inspired me to develop something similar but thats way down the line when I have caught up with current work.

lol...u and me both!
I've been looking at the .net api for pdf's...if I make any progress I'll make it available

who_me · Nov 4, 2008

Electro said:
Simply hire some programmer to build you a system that has a file download feature. It shouldnt cost you much as compared to contacting a customer service of a million dollar web developing company.

It will cost even less if it's already written?

Slightly off point but for what its worth in this and other threads you have been quiet outspoken about the prices of websites.

Firstly the currency here is GBP not dollar the value of which is pretty meaningless as it fluctuating daily.

Secondly I think that slagging off UK web developers and their prices is quite disrespectful not to mention misinformed. Whilst prices are reflective of the relative economies of scale people will pay a lot for piece of mind as much as technical ability, after all if their prices are too high then they wouldnt be in business.

This forum brings many different web skills to the table, each of which offers different solutions with different prices, you are just one example of many, but ultimately this diversity means that we all offer the consumer choice and that can only be a good thing.

Electro · Nov 4, 2008

It will cost even less if it's already written?

surely it will

Secondly I think that slagging off UK web developers and their prices is quite disrespectful not to mention misinformed. Whilst prices are reflective of the relative economies of scale people will pay a lot for piece of mind as much as technical ability, after all if their prices are too high then they wouldn't be in business.

nobody is slagging off UK web developers.. running a web developing company in a country which i suppose is got too much saturated in ecommerce market and such a large number of competitors, is something i appreciate too much. You guys have to employ programmers.. designers and pay them 10.. 15 pound per hour (may be more than that.. i don't know)

This forum brings many different web skills to the table, each of which offers different solutions with different prices, you are just one example of many, but ultimately this diversity means that we all offer the consumer choice and that can only be a good thing.

its one of the best ecommerce forum I found and even so i dont belong from UK i joined it (hope thats not against TOS) What I've been trying to mention in the threads is that webdevelopment in your country has become horribly expensive. Yes there are reasons for that. nowhere i said you guys are looting. I've been taking some of the services from UK companies for hosting etc and was very happy to deal with them. By no means Iam competing experienced and senior webdevelopers like you.. there is good guys/ bad guys game in every field

smac99 · Nov 5, 2008

Firstly, thank you to everyone who has replied. Your advice is very useful to a less experienced person.

Having said this, i don't mind admiting that i am fairly confused now.

I am not able purchase expensive software or spend large amounts on development to the site to handle internal card payments as it is a small venture and a 3rd party (such as protx) is much better for my needs.

Therefore, if you could critque the following plan of action i would be grateful.

1) Set up merchant account with Streamline.
2) Set up Protx account and integrate onto site.
3) Protx say that payment authorisation would lead the customer back to a page on my site for download.
4) Hire a developer to implement a download function that will not allow easy piracy.

Does this sound ok? Would something like osCommerce actually do all this for me??

cheers!

Chippie · Nov 5, 2008

who_me said:
It will cost even less if it's already written?

Slightly off point but for what its worth in this and other threads you have been quiet outspoken about the prices of websites.

Firstly the currency here is GBP not dollar the value of which is pretty meaningless as it fluctuating daily.

Secondly I think that slagging off UK web developers and their prices is quite disrespectful not to mention misinformed. Whilst prices are reflective of the relative economies of scale people will pay a lot for piece of mind as much as technical ability, after all if their prices are too high then they wouldnt be in business.

This forum brings many different web skills to the table, each of which offers different solutions with different prices, you are just one example of many, but ultimately this diversity means that we all offer the consumer choice and that can only be a good thing.

Totally agree with everything you say who_me. Some people feel they are qualified to talk about another country's set up with no experience of it. Comments made as such, are often totally without foundation and shouldn't really be taken too seriously. I would have a big problem attributing any credibility to business advice given by such a person, especially when their English is so appalling.

designs2print · Nov 13, 2008

smac99 said:
Hi Guys,

I've only recently found this forum. Great source of information so far.

I am launching a small business and one of the products is a paid for PDF document. The website does not need to be complicated but needs to look professional. I have therefore decided to puchase one of the many templates out there as they provide a much better design that I can achieve on a low budget. I will need to get it customised with my own content and this isn't much bother.

My problem lies in how I can implement the system for download after purchase. Once payment is taken i want the pdf to download automatically to be saved by the customer. I was looking into a company called e-junkie.com who deal with both payment and download.

Having thought this was the way to go, I discovered the customer problems that people have with paypal (e-junkie use paypal as their payment method).

Therefore i need to look at both how to get the pdf file to the customer and also another payment method.

I'm inexperienced and any assistance would be abosultely great.

Many thanks!

Hi there

i believe we have the perfect solution for you, PM with contact details, and i will get an advisor to all you back

Optegris · Nov 13, 2008

Erm before you go spending money on ecommerce systems have you considered how you are actually going to protect the PDF?

Regardless if you use a single download link, encrypted link or email, what is to stop the PDF being sent on to someone else?

You could protect with a password but the password could be shared.

Protecting a downloadable product like a PDF is near impossible I'm afraid.

smac99 · Nov 13, 2008

openmind said:
Erm before you go spending money on ecommerce systems have you considered how you are actually going to protect the PDF?

Regardless if you use a single download link, encrypted link or email, what is to stop the PDF being sent on to someone else?

You could protect with a password but the password could be shared.

Protecting a downloadable product like a PDF is near impossible I'm afraid.

I don't intend on implementing any DRM on the pdf. There will be some strong (but friendly) warnings about distribution. I know there is little i can do about people emailing it on etc.

Going back to my question though, does anyone know of an all in one payment and download provider that does this, other than e-junkie?

Many thanks

Deleted member 27344 · Nov 14, 2008

It's only one product guys, so no big budget so cut the vulture feast!

The easiest way would be to either use something like Zen Cart (a bit of overkill for what you want but might be useful for the future) or you could even use Wordpress with the ecommerce mod.
Another option is simple create a paypal button and add that to your template.

As for 'problems with paypal' I don't understand that bit.
As a buyer you don't need a paypal account plus paypal is used by thousands (millions?) every day so it can't be that bad.

awebapart.com · Nov 14, 2008

smac99 said:
I am launching a small business and one of the products is a paid for PDF document. The website does not need to be complicated but needs to look professional. I have therefore decided to puchase one of the many templates out there as they provide a much better design that I can achieve on a low budget. I will need to get it customised with my own content and this isn't much bother.

Will your website be selling other physical products online too, as well as the digital download product? If so then an ecommerce system with digital download support might be the way to go. If the pdf is the only product you are selling online then an ecommerce system might be overkill, and you should consider external digital download services like www.payloadz.com, external baskets with digital download features like www.romancart.com, or even PayPal buy now buttons can be configured with web addresses the user is sent to on successful payment (directing to a URL is a simple not very secure solution, not as comprehensive an advanced digital download solution where you can specify number of downloads or allocate a period that the download is available for), or maybe just manually email the document after payment (not an instant download).

If you have a PayPal business account, then your clients can pay via credit or debit card, without needing their own or having to sign up for a PayPal account.

You mentioned templates, what type of template are you thinking of? Have a look at my template checklist post, whilst the checklist focuses on the issues of oscommerce templates there are some points applicable to any templates, e.g. does the template have license to use the stock photography in it.

If you have already chosen a template without an ecommerce system in mind, then retrofitting an ecommerce system into that template might be difficult. If you have chosen an ecommerce template, then the ecommerce template has probably been designed with an ecommerce in mind or it might be the ecommerce system, so question is does that ecommerce system support digital downloads. You should really decide on what system you are using for your solution first, before selecting a template. Generally the only systems which are easy to integrate into existing web designs are external ecommerce systems (payloadz, romancart, paypal etc) because you just add links to the external system.

smac99 said:
I am not able purchase expensive software or spend large amounts on development to the site to handle internal card payments as it is a small venture and a 3rd party (such as protx) is much better for my needs.

Therefore, if you could critque the following plan of action i would be grateful.

1) Set up merchant account with Streamline.
2) Set up Protx account and integrate onto site.
3) Protx say that payment authorisation would lead the customer back to a page on my site for download.
4) Hire a developer to implement a download function that will not allow easy piracy.

Does this sound ok?

Your idea about setting up a merchant account (initial expense, 2 or 3 hundred quid if the bank approves it), setting up a Protx account (£20 per month ongoing), and getting a developer to integrate external links to Protx and develop a digital download feature on your site (developer rates £300/day) seems like a very expensive way of doing things for someone on a budget. Be realistic, unless you know for sure how many sales you are going to make or you are charging a high price for the pdf, this route my be overkill, and you should consider testing the water first with a less expensive solution.

Unfortunately piracy is easy, if you can see or hear something, you can copy it.

What is the subject matter of the pdf, and how big is it?

oldeagleeye · Nov 14, 2008

Wouldn't the simplest way be to password protect a directory, With most payments systems you send out an email confirming payment anyway. Just paste the link to the directory and username/password on that template. You can always change the password without any hassle even every day if need be.

Optegris · Nov 14, 2008

But the PDF still wouldn't be protected, a fact that everyone seems to be ignoring...

Justin_B · Nov 14, 2008

smac99 said:
Hi Guys,

I've only recently found this forum. Great source of information so far.

I am launching a small business and one of the products is a paid for PDF document. The website does not need to be complicated but needs to look professional. I have therefore decided to puchase one of the many templates out there as they provide a much better design that I can achieve on a low budget. I will need to get it customised with my own content and this isn't much bother.

My problem lies in how I can implement the system for download after purchase. Once payment is taken i want the pdf to download automatically to be saved by the customer. I was looking into a company called e-junkie.com who deal with both payment and download.

Having thought this was the way to go, I discovered the customer problems that people have with paypal (e-junkie use paypal as their payment method).

Therefore i need to look at both how to get the pdf file to the customer and also another payment method.

I'm inexperienced and any assistance would be abosultely great.

Many thanks!

You're right - website templates are fairly easy to customise once you know what you're doing. I created a website for my business this week using exactly the method you describe.

From my experience you do need Photoshop to edit the graphics - there are some freeware graphics packages available but they don't seem to work on embedded text (you can get Photoshop on a 30 day free trail). As an HTML editor I find Mozilla's Seamonkey to be more than adequate - and it's free.

As for PDF delivery, one way of overcoming this is to have the product downloadable from a 'members only' area within your site - your customer then subscribes to this download area using one of the many merchant count systems - and the page contains a hyper link to the product.

If you get stuck with anything I'm sure that there are plenty of people here who can offer free advice.

Best of luck,

Justin

awebapart.com · Nov 14, 2008

openmind said:
But the PDF still wouldn't be protected, a fact that everyone seems to be ignoring...

In my post I was not ignoring the fact that it wouldn't be protected, I made it quite clear this would be the case...

awebapart.com said:
Unfortunately piracy is easy, if you can see or hear something, you can copy it.

just as you did too...

openmind said:
Protecting a downloadable product like a PDF is near impossible I'm afraid.

You are quite right to highlight this issue, because once somebody does make something available in a format like this (or other formats), the horse has bolted from the stables, so it does need upfront thought.

There are very simple things you can do to deter piracy, e.g. make it clear in the pdf it is for the purchaser's use only, don't help piracy by providing the distribution platform for it (don't provide a download link that anyone can use and share), make the file bigger (e.g. add images - megabytes - to a pdf) to make it more difficult for others to send by email or host, save the pdf with cut/copy options disabled, etc

There are more advanced things you can do too, like generate a unique pdf for each customer with their names in the pdf, to discourage distribution.

And the final step is digital rights management (DRM), which is a can of worms (and I see Adobe is beta tesing such a DRM PDF service).

But in every case, piracy is still possible, and a determined person, if they really want to pirate it, if all else fails, will just get someone to either photograph or retype the content.

Optegris · Nov 14, 2008

Apologies Paul, I missed that line in your post.

Optegris · Nov 14, 2008

I've just been flicking through the Adobe DRM and is does indeed look promising. I didn't see any API to hook into though?

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