All you have to do to put a download on your site is upload the file to your server, and put a link in to it... Or is it?

We explain what kinds of things can make it go wrong, why you might need to do it differently, and server issues that get in the way.

Downloads can be as simple as uploading a file, and providing a link. They are just like the pages in your site, in that you need to put them in the same place in your site folder on your hard drive as they will be in on the server. Linking to a downloadable file is no different than linking to a page or image.

Problems often crop up though, and the download becomes inaccessible for a variety of reasons. Here are some of the most common, and what to do about them:

1. Linux/Unix Servers. If you are using a Windows or Mac server, you can upload a file and it will download to the remote computer uncorrupted. If you are using a Linux or Unix server though, the file will not come out in the same shape it went in! They handle information differently than Windows or Mac servers do.

Mac servers are extremely rare. Windows servers are more common, but the majority of servers that contract out webspace are Linux or Unix. It is a simple matter of cost. It is less expensive to set up and maintain a Linux or Unix server.

Your web server company determines what kind of server it is. Sometimes they will offer a choice, and usually the lowest cost webspace is Linux (sometimes Unix). If they offer a server running Windows, it is usually going to cost you about 25-30% more.

The problems occur when you upload files such as PDF, exe, or other non-text based files. They get corrupted in the process, and they are not usable on the other end. There is a simple solution to this problem, and you will find that you have most likely already encountered it.

Simply use a program like WinZip to compress your files before you upload them. This adds an extra step to your file maintenance, and it means you have to keep multiple copies of it on your hard drive (compressed and uncompressed copies), and it means that if you change the original you have to go back and make another compressed copy to upload again.

2. Limited Server space. Most downloadable files take up a lot more space than a simple page file. If your server has limited space, you may not have room to upload more than a small number of files. This means that if you want to set up a download site for software or graphics, you better make sure you have adequate space first.

You can put all your downloads into your website folder on your hard drive. Then right click on the folder, and choose Properties. A box will pop up which will tell you how much space the folder is using on your hard drive. That will be pretty close to the amount that it uses on your server so you can estimate whether or not you have enough webspace to hold it all.

3. Limited Download File Size. This one is tricky, because some servers don't let people download a file larger than a certain size, and sometimes the size can be as small as 500k or so - about half a megabyte. That will allow a large JPG image, but won't allow the average smallish program to be downloaded. And often this limitation is not published. You can upload your file just fine, but when you try to download it, you get either an error message, or the download link just fails to work. Test your download to make sure it works.

4. Prohibiting of third party links to downloads (hot linking). When someone downloads a file from your site, they may want to link to it from their site. If you are using free webspace, the server company may not allow that because that bypasses their advertising system, which is the means of making that web space pay for itself. So anyone linking from another website will get an error message. The solution to that is to put a notice on your downloads page that anyone linking to your downloads must link to the download page, not directly to the files. You may want to block hot linking anyway if you have items that you support by advertising, so that people will have to come to your site to download them. Otherwise webmasters can link to your items and use them to promote their site, without having to provide their own download space and bandwidth. This effectively lets them build their business around your resources instead of their own, while it may not benefit you at all.

5. Bandwidth limits. Ok, bandwidth is just a techie term for information traffic. How much information is sent back and forth through the computer each minute for your website. The more visitors you get, the more bandwidth is required to handle the traffic, just like a freeway at rush hour, when all four lanes get filled up and traffic slows to a crawl. ALL web servers have a limit as to how much traffic they will allow your site to have before they bump you into a higher service fee bracket. The cheaper the webspace, generally the lower the limit.

This is not a problem for new sites. I mean, you generally have to be getting more than 100 visitors a day for a even the most limited free sites to kick up a fuss, and you have to be getting thousands of visitors a day to have problems with basic paid services.

The reason this can be a problem for a site with downloads on it is that if your download becomes popular, it can demand a whole lot more bandwidth than simple page files do. It takes only seconds of intense traffic to download a page for viewing. It takes anywhere from several minutes to an hour or more to download a file of significant size, so your traffic requirements can explode with an increase in popularity of your download. Just make sure you are aware that your server company may eventually inform you that you will need to either change plans with them, or move your site.

If you need a reliable web server host that does not have significant limitations, and provides you with room to grow, we cannot recommend iPowerWeb highly enough. They are extremely reliable, very helpful, and keep improving their packages with more and more services that small businesses need to grow. We speak from experience, as they host our site.

Downloads can be a good way of increasing traffic to your site though, if you have the ability to make them work well, and the necessary server capacity to keep them going. There is a whole world of free software downloads out there, and people are always looking for more. If you want to sell electronic goods - eBooks, software downloads, music downloads, graphics, etc, you will need to make sure that your ability to deliver via an instant download is troublefree.

If you decide to host a download for someone else, then ask them to link to a page on your site, and not directly to the download. This gives you the option of promoting your business to people who come for the download.

Make sure you test your downloads on different computers before you just ignore them and assume they are working right. Usually it is a simple thing to get right, but occasionally odd problems pop up. If you cannot get it to work right after troubleshooting the issues outlined here, then contact your webspace company and see what they recommend.

http://www.adventuretech.us/ - Affordable Website Design and Small Business graphic design services. Adventure Tech-Web offers website assessment services for one low fee of $25. We also have webspace available for hosting downloads free of charge if your item meets our quality criteria and if you link to our page, and not direct to the download.