16 min read•Checklist

Shopify Digital Products Checklist

Sell ebooks, templates, courses, and more with zero shipping costs. Use this 80-point checklist to set up your digital product store.

80 items10 sections

Why Digital Products?

Digital products offer exceptional profit margins with no inventory, no shipping, and unlimited scalability. Create once, sell infinitely. Turn your expertise into recurring revenue streams that grow without proportional increases in effort.

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Product Planning

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Define your digital product type (ebooks, templates, courses, etc.)

Research market demand

Identify target audience

Analyse competitor offerings and pricing

Define your unique value proposition

Plan product format and delivery

Consider bundle opportunities

Plan content update strategy

Product Creation

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Create high-quality content

Use professional formatting

Include branding consistently

Optimise file sizes for download

Choose appropriate file formats

Test files on multiple devices

Create multiple format versions if needed

Include clear instructions for use

Delivery App Setup

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Choose digital delivery app (Digital Downloads, Sky Pilot, etc.)

Install and configure app

Upload product files

Set up automatic delivery on purchase

Configure download limits if needed

Set up link expiration if required

Test download process thoroughly

Configure email delivery templates

Product Listing

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Pricing & Licensing

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Research competitor pricing

Consider value-based pricing

Define license terms (personal, commercial, etc.)

Create different license tiers if applicable

Plan promotional pricing strategy

Consider subscription or membership model

Set up bundle discounts

Document licensing terms clearly

Checkout Configuration

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Disable shipping for digital products

Remove shipping address requirement

Configure instant delivery notification

Set up order confirmation with download links

Test checkout flow completely

Ensure mobile checkout works

Configure payment methods

Set up abandoned cart recovery

Legal & Protection

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Create clear terms of service

Define refund policy for digital goods

Include copyright notice on products

Add watermarks if appropriate

Consider DRM for high-value content

Create license agreement

Handle VAT/tax for digital goods

Understand GDPR implications

Customer Support

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Create download instructions

Set up FAQ for common issues

Prepare responses for access problems

Configure support email/chat

Plan for manual redelivery requests

Document troubleshooting steps

Set expectations for response times

Create knowledge base or help centre

Marketing & Sales

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Automation & Scaling

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Automate delivery completely

Set up post-purchase email sequence

Automate review requests

Create upsell/cross-sell automation

Set up analytics tracking

Monitor download success rates

Plan content updates schedule

Build systems for new product creation

The Economics of Digital Products

Digital products fundamentally differ from physical goods. Once created, replication and delivery cost nearly nothing. This changes everything about margins and scalability.

Margin Comparison

For a product selling at £50:

•Physical product: £15-25 profit (30-50% margin)
•Digital product: £40-47 profit (80-95% margin)
•No inventory costs, no shipping, no returns
•Unlimited sales without restocking

A single well-crafted digital product can generate revenue for years with minimal ongoing effort.

What Makes Digital Products Succeed

1.Solve specific problems. The best digital products save time, teach skills, or deliver clear transformations. Surface-level content gets lost.
2.Provide genuine value. Unlike physical products with logistics barriers, anyone can list a digital product. Quality and depth win.
3.Build trust through free content. Content marketing and email lists typically drive more sales than paid advertising.
4.Automate everything. Orders fulfil automatically at any hour. Focus on creation, not operations.

Popular Digital Product Types

Templates

Canva, Notion, Spreadsheets

Education

Courses, Ebooks, Guides

Creative

Presets, Fonts, Graphics

Quick Wins for Digital Sellers

Focus on these high-impact actions when setting up your digital store:

1. Offer a free sample

Give away a portion of your product to demonstrate quality. This builds trust and grows your email list simultaneously.

2. Test delivery thoroughly

Place test orders on every device type. Delivery problems create support headaches and refund requests. Verify links work and files download correctly.

3. Create professional mockups

Digital products need visual representation. Show your ebook as a book cover, templates as screenshots, courses as module lists.

4. Price on value, not effort

A template that saves someone 10 hours is worth far more than your time to create it. Price based on the outcome delivered.

Related Checklists

Digital product success requires these complementary skills:

Email Marketing Checklist

Build the audience that buys digital products

SEO Checklist

Drive organic traffic to your products

Print-on-Demand Checklist

Add physical products without inventory

B2B Wholesale Checklist

Sell licenses to businesses

Frequently Asked Questions

Popular digital products include ebooks and guides, online courses, templates (Canva, Notion, spreadsheets), printable planners and artwork, music and audio files, software and plugins, photography presets, and design assets. The best products solve specific problems for defined audiences. Success comes from understanding your target customer deeply rather than chasing generic product categories.

Shopify does not handle digital delivery natively. Use apps like Digital Downloads (free from Shopify), Sky Pilot, or SendOwl. These apps automatically send download links after purchase and can manage download limits, link expiration, and PDF stamping. Test the entire process with a test order before launching. Ensure emails reach customers and download links work across devices.

Since digital products can be copied instantly after download, many sellers offer limited or no refunds. However, consumer protection laws in the UK and EU give customers cancellation rights unless they explicitly waive them before purchase. Common approaches include offering refunds only for technical issues, providing a money-back guarantee within a short window, or offering store credit instead of refunds. Be clear about your policy before purchase.

Digital product pricing should reflect value delivered rather than production cost. Research competitor pricing as a starting point, then consider your unique positioning. Premium pricing works for products with demonstrated results or exclusive content. Testing different price points reveals what your audience will pay. Bundle products to increase average order value. Consider tiered pricing for different license types or access levels.

Yes, digital products sold to consumers in the UK and EU are subject to VAT. For UK customers, you charge UK VAT. For EU customers, you must charge VAT at the rate of their country if you exceed certain thresholds. Shopify can collect VAT automatically, and services like Quaderno or TaxJar help with compliance. Consult a tax professional for your specific situation as rules are complex and penalties apply for non-compliance.

Complete protection is impossible, but you can discourage casual sharing. Use PDF stamping to embed customer information in downloads. Limit download attempts per purchase. Set expiring download links. For courses, host content on platforms requiring login. Watermark visual content. Ultimately, focus more on serving paying customers well than preventing all theft. Customers who would pirate likely would not have paid anyway.

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