A few other pointers
Offer compressed as well as uncompressed eBooks
You can compress your eBook file to make it smaller (in memory terms) using compression software like WinZip. You should offer both a compressed and an uncompressed version of your eBook on the download page. This will enable a quicker download for those customers who have WinZip and are familiar with it. By the same token, those who don't know about using WinZip have the option of downloading the larger file.
If you're offering both compressed and uncompressed versions, then you should link your customers to the WinZip website, and explain how to use WinZip to unzip (uncompress) your eBook file.
Scan for a virus
Don't risk spreading a virus to your customers through your eBook. Before you send it online for others to download, it's imperative that you run a virus-scan on it. Make sure that you use an up-to-date virus scanning software. If you don't have one, then send a copy of your book to a friend who does.
Upload the files using FTP
It is always best to upload all your files to your website server with an FTP tool. This is an efficient and quicker process as compared to other traditional approaches. For better management create sub-directories on your website using the FTP tool. Upload related eBooks in each sub-directory.
Once you do this, simply place the complete link for these eBooks on your website for your customers. Make sure that you place two links for compressed and uncompressed files.
Downloading PDF files
The download process for PDF files works differently compared to other formats. If your customer directly clicks on the link provided for the PDF file, the book will open inside the customer’s browser. From here, the customer can click the save button and save the file to his/her PC.
However, this approach is not recommended as there is no indication of how big the file is and how long it would take to download the file. Besides, it can take a long time for the eBook to open in the browser.
To get around this problem, you should always instruct your customers to right click on the link and then click on "Save Target as". This makes downloading a PDF file similar to all other files in the sense that a window would open on the customer’s screen asking him/her to save the file at a specific location. This would indicate the file size and the time for download.
Be sure to remind your customers that they'll need a copy of Adobe's Acrobat reader to view the eBook and let them know that they can download a free copy from the Adobe website.
Test your links
Always test the download link to ensure that everything works as it should. Get some of your friends to try it out on their PCs. If nothing happens when you click on the link, check out the code for the link as well as the directory where you have saved the eBooks.
Testing is a very important phase of setting up the download page.
