Selling software is less about the sale than about the months after it. The buyer pays once, but they’ll come back when a new version ships, when an operating system update breaks something, or when they move to a new computer. Set up the sale well, then plan for the three things software buyers expect afterwards: updates, an honest status and a way to get help.
What does the buyer get when you sell software online?
Start with the delivery, because it decides the product type. Most software fits one of these.
| Your software | Sell it as | The buyer receives |
|---|---|---|
| A desktop app that asks for a key | License key, with durations if you sell time | A key on the order page and in the receipt |
| A desktop app with no activation | File (download) | A private, signed download link |
| An installer plus a key | A bundle of a key product and a file product | Both, opened into their parts on delivery |
| A hosted app or SaaS | Membership, or duration options with auto-renew | Access issued by your own system |
Mobile apps are the exception. Apple’s and Google’s app stores have their own rules for selling digital content inside apps, so read them before you sell access to a mobile app from an outside store.
For key-based software, the license keys guide covers key pools, durations and replacements in detail.
Sell desktop software as private downloads
A download product holds your installer as a private file. Each order gets its own signed download link with an expiry and a download limit you choose, so a link pasted in a forum stops working on its own. A full refund stops the links for that order.
A few habits that save support time:
- Sign your installers. Windows and macOS warn users about unsigned apps, and some buyers stop right there.
- Put the version in the file name, so buyers know what they downloaded.
- Ship a short readme with system requirements and install steps, and send the same steps in the product’s message to every buyer.
- Set download limits that allow a reinstall. A buyer moving to a new machine shouldn’t need to email you.
Sell SaaS licenses and app access
For hosted software, what you sell is time. Sell it as a membership, or as a key product with duration options (30 Days, a year, Lifetime) each with its own price. Buyers can turn on auto-renew, which charges a saved card each period and retries when a card is declined (auto-renew).
If your own system issues licenses or accounts, dynamic delivery lets a product fetch what it delivers from your system at the moment of sale, so your system can issue something for each buyer as they pay (dynamic delivery). The REST API, signed webhooks and plugins come with paid plans (see current plans). For recurring pricing, see how to sell subscriptions online.
Software update notifications people read
Owners of older versions are your easiest future sales and a steady source of support tickets. Catalog → Updates posts a changelog, with an optional new file, to everyone who owns a product. It goes out by email, Discord DM and Telegram, and it stays under “What’s new” in each buyer’s library.
You can narrow who gets it by options, purchase dates or active keys, so a build for lifetime owners doesn’t land in the inbox of someone whose 30-day key ran out last spring. Write changelogs for users, not for your commit history: what changed for them, what they need to do, and whether the update is required (updates to owners).
Add a status page for your software
When something breaks, the first thing buyers do is check whether it’s them or you. Give every product a status: Working, Updated, Testing, Updating, Not working or Down, with a short note and the time it changed. It shows on the product page, the product cards and search.
Your store also gets a status page at /status with components, incidents and uptime history, and buyers can subscribe to changes. When a product is down, auto-pause can stop its sales until it’s fixed, so nobody buys software that doesn’t work that day (product status).
Run a software reseller program
Two kinds of partners can sell for you. Affiliates send buyers to your store. Resellers buy from you and sell under their own name: the wholesale portal gives them a place to order, and the reseller API lets them do the same from their own systems. Resellers are worth it when your software has buyers in markets or communities you can’t reach yourself.
If you want to resell other developers’ software, get their written authorization first. ShopFast doesn’t allow pirated, cracked, leaked or nulled software, key generators or cracks (what you can sell).
Settle these before your first sale
- Refunds. A delivered key or download can’t be taken back. Decide your policy and put it on the product page (refund policy for digital products). Buyers in the EU, EEA and UK tick a box at checkout to have the order delivered right away, which waives their withdrawal right for digital content.
- Taxes. With your own gateway, you’re the seller of record and tax is yours to handle (VAT on digital products). ShopFast Pay, by application, collects and remits it for you.
- A test run. Press Simulate first sale, or turn on Test mode, and buy your own product. Test orders use TEST- keys and never count in your sales.
Questions sellers ask
Should I sell my software as a license key or a download?
If your app asks for a key, sell keys, and sell the installer as a download next to it in a bundle. If it doesn't, a private download on its own is enough.
How do I tell buyers about a new version?
Post it in Catalog → Updates with a changelog and, if you like, the new file. Owners get it by email, Discord DM and Telegram, and it shows under What's new in their library.
Can I sell my app as a subscription?
Yes. Sell it as a membership or as duration options such as 30 Days and Lifetime, and let buyers turn on auto-renew so a saved card is charged each period.
What happens to a download after a refund?
A full refund stops that order's download links working. A copy the buyer already downloaded can't be taken back, so say in your refund policy how you handle it.
Can I sell software made by someone else?
Only if you're authorized to resell it. Pirated, cracked, leaked or nulled software, key generators and cracks are never allowed on ShopFast.