For entrepreneurs looking for the best website to start selling digital products in 2024, there is no shortage of options. This is great news — we all love choice!
But, it can also be overwhelming weighing up all of the options to discover what’s going to work best for your unique needs.
We’ll explore the various options out there and help to weigh up the pros and cons of each, so whether you are just getting started selling digital products, or you’ve been doing this for a while but are not yet seeing the sales you hoped for — this article will guide through some of the best websites to sell digital products on in 2024.
What is a digital product?
Let's start by defining what we mean by a ‘digital product’. Digital products are intangible goods or services that can be made once and sold repeatedly online.
They differ from physical products in that they don't need constant reproduction, giving creators the opportunity to focus on enhancing the product rather than simply producing more. Digital products can come in a great variety of forms, including digital files like Canva templates, virtual musical instruments, online courses, community subscriptions and downloadable content like printable artwork for your home.
Finding a niche, making quality imaginative digital products and targeting a specific customer base can lead to long-term success and open up a range of opportunities for the generation of relatively hassle-free income. What’s not to like?
Where to sell digital products?
There are a host of options available to the budding entrepreneur selling digital products, or looking to boost sales if your current solution is not paying off — and each solution caters to different needs and preferences.
Marketplaces such as Gumroad, Etsy, RedBubble and Udemy provide a large customer base and a pre-established platform for showcasing your products.
Platforms like Shopify, Podia, and Sellfy offer the flexibility of creating your own unique storefront to sell digital goods directly to customers.
One-page checkout options, like Checkout Page, streamline the purchasing process, making it easy for customers to buy your digital products with minimal friction and place your products wherever you and your audience interact.
Each of these options has its own set of features and benefits, catering to the diverse requirements of entrepreneurs looking to start selling or to boost their current digital product sales.
Let’s explore these options further and weigh up some of the pros and cons together!
Selling digital products on marketplace platforms
An online marketplace is a website where multiple vendors can showcase and sell their products to a large audience of potential buyers. Imagine it like a virtual shopping mall or market where different sellers offer a variety of items, both physical and digital.
Typically, marketplaces act as a ‘"merchant of record" — meaning they are the entity responsible for processing and handling customer payments, overseeing the entire payment process from purchase to settlement of funds and applying appropriate tax additions.
Pros of selling digital products on a marketplace
- Established platform with existing traffic
- Quick and easy set-up process compared to creating your own website
- Can benefit from the marketplace's marketing efforts
- Merchant of Record platforms take care of your tax
Cons of selling digital products on a marketplace
- Often very high fees and percentages taken from sales
- Very limited customization options and overall flexibility
- A merchant of record site owns the customer relationship, not you, meaning you may not be able to market to or communicate with your audience
- You will often pay the highest rates of tax with a merchant of record site
- Increased competition with very high numbers of other sellers on the same platform
Selling digital products on e-commerce platforms
E-commerce platforms like Shopify and Printify, provide sellers with the tools to create their own customized online storefronts. These platforms enable individuals and companies to design and manage their unique e-commerce websites, showcasing their brands, products, and story.
Unlike marketplaces, these platforms give sellers more control over the look and feel of their online presence, offering greater flexibility.
Pros of selling digital products on e-commerce platforms
- Full control over branding and customer experience
- Customizable storefront and website design
- Ability to create and sell a wide variety of digital products
- Flexibility in pricing and promotions
- Integration with various payment gateways and marketing tools
Cons of selling digital products on e-commerce platforms
- May require more effort and time for initial setup and customization
- Monthly subscription or transaction fees may apply
- Responsibility for driving traffic and marketing efforts largely falls on the seller
- Maintenance and management of the website's technical aspects
- Varied learning curves based on the platform's features and tools
Sell digital products on your own website
Many entrepreneurs considering selling digital products explore the option of creating their own website in order to maintain full control of how they display their products and express themselves and their story. It also gives them total freedom to engage with their audience directly.
There are many user-friendly platforms such as Webflow and Framer which allow users to design, build, and launch custom, responsive websites without needing to write code, so the process needn’t be intimidating to those without technical know-how, and you stay fully in the driving seat!
Pros of selling digital products on your own website
- Complete control over branding, design, and customer experience
- Ability to customize product offerings and pricing strategies
- You get to choose how you take payment from your customers
- Full ownership of customer data and relationships
- Potential for higher profit margins with much lower transaction fees
Cons of selling digital products on your own website
- Setup and maintenance of the website and payment system may require a little upfront effort
- You have the responsibility for driving traffic and conversion rates
- May require ongoing investment in SEO, advertising, and other marketing efforts to generate consistent sales
Sell digital products with a single product checkout page
Embracing a single-page, single-product checkout approach when selling digital products offers a streamlined and user-friendly experience for your customers.
By eliminating unnecessary steps and complexities, you make it easier and more efficient for customers to complete their transactions - resulting in far fewer abandonments!
Shopping cart abandonment is a real challenge for most businesses. In fact, more than 70% of shopping carts are eventually abandoned.
Using a streamlined checkout page option, a typical large-scale e-commerce store has the potential to boost its conversion rate by as much as 35% during the checkout process, and you to place your digital products in front of your audience wherever you connect with them; newsletters, social media bios, blogs, websites and more!
Pros of selling digital products with a checkout page
- Efficient and streamlined and highly flexible purchase process
- Massively reduced chances of customer abandonment during checkout
- User-friendly no-code rapid setup of pages
- Low monthly costs and often no fees mean better profit margins
- You get to sell from anywhere you interact with your audience and maintain ownership of your audience's data
Cons of selling digital products with a checkout page
- May not be suitable for selling multiple products in a single transaction
- The responsibility for a receptive audience is with the seller
- Customization options may be more restricted compared to multi-step checkout processes
What are the 18 best websites to sell digital products on in 2024?
As we’ve said, the array of options out there is vast, so we have worked to compile you a list of the best websites to sell digital products in 2024, exploring marketplace options and non-marketplace options, to help steer you in the best direction!
🥁 Ready? Drumroll, please!
Best platforms for selling digital products in 2024
1. Checkout Page
We may be biased, but we are proud of the amazing ease and cost-effectiveness with which Checkout Page allows you to begin selling digital products! Our no-code solution enables you to spin up attractive, single-product pages in a matter of moments. You can then share and embed your checkout pages in just a few clicks with features like pop-ups, responsive checkouts, and QR codes, simplifying the purchase process for you and your customers.
Checkout Page involves a low monthly subscription and no fees are taken from sales, making it a highly cost-effective option for those looking to maximize profit. You can take one-off payments, ongoing subscription payments, and there are also ‘pay as you choose’ options as well as many other customisable features to create product variants, discounts and more.
Last but not least, Checkout Page puts you in full control of your audience data, leaving you free to get creative as to where and how you engage with them when selling your products. If we’ve made you curious, why not sign up for a 7-day free trial, no card needed!
2. Thinkific
Thinkific is a robust online course creation platform designed for individuals and businesses to create, market, and sell online courses. With its user-friendly tools and customizable templates, instructors can develop engaging, interactive course content. The platform provides assistance in course marketing, enrollment tracking, and student engagement to support creators in delivering high-quality educational experiences to their audience.
3. Podia
Podia is an all-in-one digital storefront designed for creators to sell online courses, memberships, and digital downloads. This platform offers a user-friendly environment for creators to build a branded storefront, engage with their audience, and market their digital products. Podia's suite of features includes course hosting, email marketing, and membership management tools to support creators in growing their digital product businesses.
4. Sellfy
Sellfy is an e-commerce platform focused on helping creators sell digital products directly to their audience. Its straightforward setup makes it easy for creators to offer and monetize digital goods, including e-books, music, videos, and more. Sellfy also provides features for marketing, analytics, and integrations, supporting creators in effectively selling and promoting their digital products.
5. Shopify
Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform that enables individuals and businesses to create and operate online stores. With its comprehensive suite of tools, Shopify supports entrepreneurs in setting up and customizing their online storefronts, managing inventory, processing payments, and tracking orders.
6. Printify
Printify serves as an excellent print-on-demand service for creators aiming to sell custom-designed products, including apparel and accessories. It offers seamless integration with major e-commerce platforms, providing creators with a user-friendly interface to manage digital product offerings efficiently and expand their customer reach.
7. Payhip
Payhip is an e-commerce platform designed to assist individuals and businesses in selling digital products and memberships. Through a simple setup process, creators can showcase and sell their digital goods directly to their audience. Payhip offers features for product management, marketing, and affiliate tracking to support creators in effectively selling and promoting their digital products.
8. SendOwl
SendOwl is an e-commerce platform that provides creators the ability to sell digital products, memberships, and subscriptions directly to their audience. With its focus on simplicity and flexibility, SendOwl enables creators to personalize the selling and delivery process for their digital content.
9. SquareSpace
SquareSpace is a website-building platform that offers a comprehensive suite of tools for creating professional websites and online stores. With its e-commerce functionality, SquareSpace enables individuals and businesses to set up and manage online stores to sell physical and digital goods. The platform provides a range of website templates, marketing tools, analytics, and payment processing features.
Best marketplaces to sell digital products in 2024
1. Gumroad
Gumroad is a platform that empowers creators to sell digital products directly to their audience. With its easy-to-use interface, creators can market and sell products such as e-books, music, software, and more, enabling them to build an online storefront with minimal hassle. Gumroad also offers features like pre-orders, upselling, and audience management to assist creators in growing their customer base and maximizing their sales potential.
2. Etsy
Etsy is a popular online marketplace specializing in handmade, vintage, and unique goods. It serves as a platform for independent creators and artisans to showcase and sell their art, jewelry, clothing, home decor, and other handmade items.
Etsy's community-driven approach allows both sellers and buyers to engage with one another, fostering a sense of community and supporting small-scale and independent business ventures.
3. Udemy
Udemy is a popular online learning platform that offers a broad array of courses on a variety of topics. Instructors can create and sell their courses on the platform, reaching a wide audience of learners. Udemy provides a marketplace for creators to share their expertise and educational content, offering opportunities for individuals to expand their knowledge and skills.
4. RedBubble
RedBubble is a global online marketplace that offers print-on-demand products featuring artwork from independent artists. This platform enables artists to monetize their designs by offering them a wide variety of products, including clothing, home decor, stationery, and more.
RedBubble's print-on-demand model ensures that products are created as they are ordered, minimizing the need for inventory management and allowing artists to focus on creating and promoting their art.
5. Amazon
The marketplace titan, Amazon provides a valuable platform for selling digital products, offering access to a vast customer base, robust marketing capabilities, and a trusted brand reputation. With Amazon, digital product sellers can leverage the platform's established infrastructure - and customer trust the customer trust this platform enjoys, making it a household name globally, which means you benefit from that trust when selling on this platform.
6. eBay
A marketplace veteran, eBay boasts a broad customer base, a user-friendly interface, and secure transactions, making it an appealing platform for sellers of digital products. Its global reach and trusted reputation provide an excellent opportunity for connecting with international customers and driving sales in a reliable online marketplace.
7. Envato
Envato is a network of digital marketplaces that offer creative assets for web design, graphics, and multimedia projects. Through its platforms, creative professionals can access a wide range of digital assets, including themes, templates, music, and more. Envato's ecosystem supports both content creators and users, enabling seamless transactions and fostering collaboration within the creative community
8. Creative Market
Creative Market is a marketplace for digital design assets, offering a wide variety of resources such as fonts, graphics, templates, and themes. This platform serves as a hub for designers and creatives to sell and purchase high-quality digital assets. Creative Market fosters a community of creative professionals, providing them with the tools and resources they need to succeed in their projects and businesses.
9. Zazzle
Zazzle is a popular platform that provides artists and designers with the tools to create and sell custom-designed products. Through its interface, creators can apply their designs to a diverse array of products, ranging from clothing and accessories to home decor items and electronic accessories. Zazzle also offers a global fulfillment network, which ensures that products can be produced and shipped to customers worldwide.
Well, there you have it! A good list of the most popular marketplaces in 2024 that can make getting up and running and selling digital products quick and easy. BUT — there is a cost. Marketplaces make you pay for the convenience of the ready-made audience and the other services they offer. As we’ve seen, they are also the most restrictive option in terms of design and audience ownership. So let’s continue to explore alternatives…
What makes Checkout Page a great alternative to a marketplace?
As well as being a cost-effective and flexible solution for the entrepreneur, Checkout Page enables a truly creative approach to how, where and when you promote, upsell and cross-sell your digital products — putting you fully in control and avoiding some of the restraints that solutions like marketplaces often present.
We understand that for many people, not having an audience is a big concern when getting started — so the decision of which platform to use needn't be either/or.
Why not have your cake and eat it?
Have a website with an e-commerce plugin that lacks the option of selling a file directly to your audience? Checkout Page can help!
Want to put some products on a marketplace like Etsy to build an audience, and want to target your social media following or email list with a specific offer or subscription? Again, look no further.
Checkout Page is so cost-effective it can easily be coupled with other options to really broaden your reach.
Conclusion
We’ve looked at what digital products are and the array of options for where you can sell them, the pros and cons of marketplace and non-marketplace options, and looked at the 18 best websites to sell digital products right now in 2024.
We’ve shown you how Checkout Page can help you overcome some of the ‘cons’ of the other website options — particularly the limitations and high costs of marketplaces — and we’ve highlighted how you can ‘play the field’ by using more than one solution as you experiment and get up and running in the digital product space.
We hope you now feel more confident with the ‘where’ of selling digital products, and if you could use some inspiration on the ‘what’, why not check out our article Best digital products to sell in 2024
Thanks for joining us on this exploration!
