Expiring download links: why they exist and how to stop them costing sales
Short-lived download links protect files but confuse buyers who open the email a day later. Why they exist, and the copy and backup that stop support tickets.
Our payment provider delivers files as links that expire after about fifteen minutes. That is sensible security and a support problem waiting to happen: a buyer who opens the receipt the next morning clicks a dead link and concludes they have been robbed.
Why the links are short
A download link is typically a presigned URL: a normal file address with a signature and an expiry time in the query string. Anyone with the URL can download until it expires. A short expiry means a leaked link is useless soon after, without asking buyers to create accounts.
The three fixes that matter
- Say it where the link is. In the delivery email and on the order page: the link expires, here is how to get a new one. One sentence prevents most tickets.
- A way to reissue without you. A customer portal, or a download page that accepts the licence key and serves the file. Ours is a page that takes the key, covered in licence key gated downloads.
- Show the key on the thank-you page. A buyer who mistyped their email still leaves with the one thing that gets them the file.
Copy that works
Your download link works for about 15 minutes. If it has expired, enter your licence key at /download for a fresh one.
Plain, specific, with the fix in the same sentence as the problem. Put it on the product page too, under what the buyer receives, so it is not a surprise.
Do not make the links longer to avoid the problem
A link that works for a month is a link that works for whoever it is forwarded to. The key-based reissue is better: the key is tied to the purchase, has a limited number of activations and is revoked on refund. The rest of the setup is in one Worker route on a static site.
The order page and download page on this site are built in Warm Storefront UI, the same design as the rest of the store, so the key and the expiry note are shown clearly rather than in a footnote.
Questions
Why do download links expire?
They are usually presigned URLs to cloud storage. A short life means a link pasted into a forum stops working quickly, which protects the file without needing accounts or logins.
What should a buyer do if their link expired?
Get a new one: from the seller's customer portal, from a download page that accepts their licence key, or by contacting support. The purchase is not lost, only the link.
How long should a download link last?
Long enough to finish the download from the page or email where it appears. Platforms often use minutes to days. Whatever the length, tell the buyer and give them a way to get a fresh one.