Ability to upload/store files, code, PDF's, images, etc

Regarding attaching a Downloadable PDF or Jpeg file.

I asked this question early on and am hoping that there may be some new options. Do we still have to use Dropbox or Cloud for Downloadable attachments? Why can’t there be a Download folder within the site that holds PDF’s etc. I have used other templates in the past that offered that option. Of course, their webdesigns were not as beautiful as Webflows templates (that is why I switched) but the Download folder worked great instead of Dropbox which is rather time consuming and I have had complaints on how slow the access and download time is. Numerous PDF applications are downloaded from one of my sites so I thought I would check for an update or miracle.

Are there any new options in the works? :hourglass_flowing_sand:


Here is my public share link: LINK
(how to access public share link)

File storage is not currently offered on Webflow but it has been said it will be a feature in the future. No timeline on that. If you want to host with webflow, dropbox or another cloud storage is your only option. If you want to export your site and host it on your own server, you can link directly to a file in your own server by simply adding it to your root and linking to it at yourdomain.com/filename.pdf

Hope that helps.

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Thanks Dfink! Yes, it does help. Appreciate your input. :smiley:

You can use your Dropbox or Box or another cloud service you own (can’t find the name of MS’ one) to get a direct URL of a PDF or any other file.

I created a /cloud folder on my Dropox root and I organize inside anything that Webflow can’t handle: some scripts, video and images files for HTML5 video and bg video, pdfs, zips etc… Organized per project/site.

If you don’t have/don’t want a subscribed could service, you can use Amazon S3: you pay per storage used, it’s extremely reliable (very pro), and for a few PDF files it will cost you a few cents a year.

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That’s very interesting about Amazon Vincent. Thank you! Is Amazon S3 any part of the Prime options with photo and file storage or is this a totally different option?

I have Dropbox and have been using it for a year but it seems to be slow for some people and they don’t seem to like having to download the app on their phones to view the PDFs or PowerPoint files. There is always that in between step of going to the Dropbox screen before you can access the file. I liked it better when all my files just opened immediately for the viewer.

Thanks again for your suggestions!:smiley:

Not at all. It’s a professional product for both archives and CDN/cloud data. Most of the data you own on cloud services such as Dropbox or… Webflow actually is stored on Amazon S3. For the record, Amazon own two extremely popular services: S3 (storage) and EC2 (engine).

Dropbox can be sometimes out of reach, but slow I wouldn’t say that.

Ok, trick time! So if I understand correctly, you generate links from dropbox and people are directed to Dropbox to read the files. That’s because Dropbox doesn’t generate the direct link to the file, but rather a link to watch the file on Dropbox.

But there’s a very easy way to change the link Dropbox gives you into a direct link.

When you right click a file on the Dropbox folder and click on Get a sharing link, the first part of the link is **http://www.dropbox.com/**blablabla

Replace the http://www.dropbox.com/ par by http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/ and let the rest of the URL untouched. You now have a direct link. Use this on a button in Webflow, and users will download the PDF directly or be prompted to read it in their favorite browser. Same for PPTs etc. They will never realize the download has something to do with Dropbox. And my bet is they’ll never complain about the download speed either.

We all do! :slight_smile:

Hope this helps!

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Thank you so much Vincent! I apologize as you had mentioned the dl suggestion to me back in June (along with another forum member) but it was used at the end of the link. The “usercontent” and dl worked great. Now I just have to change a bunch of attachments but it made such a big difference already.

I also signed up for the free Amazon S3 service per your suggestion. Obviously, you can tell, I am not a professional tech person. I just help out some organizations in my community and some of my family. So it all becomes a little overwhelming at times. Plus, I am probably old enough to be a grandma to most of the young folks on this forum.

I greatly appreciate your help and the access to the forum. I just need to find more time to take more classes as I do enjoy the learning process.

One last issue you might be able to suggest some options for is the expense I seem to accrue with the 8 websites I maintain. I pay $24 a month for my host, plus my personal account with Webflow, plus my Dropbox at $90 plus a year. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks so very much for your great suggestions this time around and in the past. :grinning:

I feel you. I am passionate but I lack a lot of tech skills. I’m not a coder nor a system administrator. And using S3, I totally can get lost at times, by the procedure or vocabulary. I put a step after another. And I’m not among the youngest ones too :smiley:

And you know all the above is a reason why they did Webflow for me. I mean it’s really tailored for me. The web, just the web design without the technical hassle. No magic no, HTML and CSS, just what we need. And they make the hosting easy, the domain linking easy, and now the billing easy… This being so good is the reason we’re a bunch sticking on the forum here, because we truly find it fantastic.

Nothing, it just adds up and now we have to be very careful. Everyone wants to be a service. On top of yours I pay Adobe CC, Invision, and a lot of other things. You need to fix your prices depending on that. I chose to work with a high price. I work on less projects but longer on each. It’s easy to say, it’s not easy to maintain. But the way I see things, is that web isn’t a cheap thing. We’re designers but as soon as we handle a file, a server, then we’re webmasters too. And that, you know it, requires a TON of skills, a TON. And it can’t be cheap. And it can’t be a one shot. Never sell a website without selling a package for maintenance, client education etc. Make clients pay for the design itself, then for the rest in a yearly invoice. ry to not sell hosting, but a package with hosting, 2 or 3 intervention tickets (with boundaries well defined), domain etc. And it’s there that you make money, too. If clients says “well I can have a server for 5 a month”, let them do, it’s a hassle, you’re better off giving them the files and do nothing. Consider Webflows hosting fees beiing for US designers, not for clients! Clients should pay more because a site is alive and requires savvy people, even if using a nice tool like WF. That has a price. Making a client pay 10 a month for such a website is waaaay to cheap. I start at a very low 250 a year for a basic package, but it’s more like 500 minimum that I try to reach. Because it will suck avery little portion of time you have left, in the end. The more clients you add, the more little unexpected thing you’ll get. So make them pay for that luxury in advance and make profit out of it. That’s how this business works: web agencies send clients to hosting platforms, and hosting platforms retro pay 30% of what clients pay to them, to the agency. For real, real practices, real numbers.

And you’ll find many people who trust in this: high prices will get you more well paid jobs, low prices will get you only lower paid jobs.

Work how you present your work, the benefits of it, the maintenance, the workflow. Show the big picture and not just a few HTML pages. A site is alive, again, and need a master. A good web project is a mid to long term collaboration between us and clients.

And good for us, we never, ever, had such power to make promises to clients. With WF we can act fact, and good, like never before.

I think a good thing is starting to work on a powerpoint deck. One slide at a time, one feature after another, make prospect understand that it’s not only matter of html pages. It’s a big thing, and it requires a budget.

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So good to hear that S3 was a bit intimidating to you as well. There is always something new to learn and I am a bit slow on the uptake as my brain is rather technically challenged.

I agree WHOLEHEARTEDLY about WEBFLOW. Their software is amazing and the template selection is THE BEST I have ever come across. I just wish I could skip the other hosting dollars.

Your advice was so very helpful but all of the websites I maintain make no money and I absorb all of the costs as I started out volunteering and it got a little out of hand as I have a problem saying “No”. I think that is why I was hoping that an easier and less costly PDF and PowerPoint attachment option would be coming along soon. They say it is still in the works. I enjoy helping my community but it seems to be getting more and more expensive.

Thanks again, you are such a great source of information! :smiley:

3.7 K visits guys!!! This idea still stands
Images but also files in the CMS for our customers!

Any official updates for pdf storage yet?

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i heard Webflow is buzy with this!

Got an idea: Make it direct possible to upload files with the the webform, in a uplod map, for CV’s!!! and other things!

@Koen This has already been requested here: Upload File Button - Product feedback - Forum | Webflow

@uzzer Look at the posting date of this thread.

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@aegnorkeil I was referring to @Koen 's suggestion about uploading files with the webform.

Hi @thesergie

Any update on this? Is it still just ‘in the pipeline’, or should we expect any developments with this in the near future?

Any guidance (at all!) would be appreciated by I am sure, the thousands of users who have viewed and contributed to this thread :grin:

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Pro tip: You can change any dropbox link into an automatic download link via altering the 0 at the end to a 1.

Paste your dropbox link in the Link Settings of a “Download” button (or whatever you wish to call it) and viola - you now have the functionality all of you are demanding (available right now without Webflow Staff needing to release anything).

Cheers,
Christopher

P.S. Works with all files!

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My name is Ben and I help with product research here at Webflow. We’ve been thinking long and hard about how we can improve the Asset Manager, but we’d love to get your input on what you think we should tackle first. Help us decide by filling out this quick survey:

Thank you for your input!

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I got a bit supprised when I wasn’t able to upload pdf to assets. Alwayse assumed it was possible.
Hopefully this feature will come soon

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THIS is one of the best features Webflow has got going!
SELF HOSTING.
Thank you SO much for having this.

*What does it mean for fixing issues with webflow?
a) you can add almost any code missing like php, etc…
b) you can host any files
c) save money!!

I just want to take a second to let everyone know about
incognito forms.

yes it is a referral link - they do that too… here’s why i love them, i swear this isn’t an ad. It is just an amazing service with features for multiple accounts and forms.

They are $10 for pretty much unlimited forms and what they call ‘organizations’
Organizations can have their own form, own email reply etc.

So I currently have 5 different clients using one $10 form service.
attachments, calculations, stuff for developers, json… you name it.
and it’s dirt cheap.
YOUR WELCOME WEBFLOW COMMUNITY.