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How to create a file sharing website with WordPress.
WordPress is an extremely popular content management system that allows anyone to create websites with ease, including file sharing websites. In fact, here are the steps you need to take to create a file sharing website with WordPress:
- Set up user accounts in your WordPress dashboard with different permissions.
- Install WordPress File Sharing plugin to add files from an external location.
- Configure file sharing settings to allow uploading, downloading, and managing files.
- Create a folder on your computer that you want to share with people.
- Get your files into WordPress.
- Upload your files onto a web server and create links so others can download them.
- Share the links!
This post will walk you through the steps above and show you how to create a file sharing website with WordPress, allowing users to upload and download files of any type at any time.
By the end of this post, you’ll have everything set up so that visitors can quickly and easily share their work with others!
What is a file sharing website and what are its benefits?
A file sharing website is basically a type of CMS that allows users to upload and share files on the internet.
The benefits are unlimited, since you can use it for whatever purpose you want!
How do I create one?
The easiest way to do this would be to install a “File Sharing Plugin“. To do this, go to your dashboard and click on “Plugins” under “Add New” in the sidebar.
Then search for File Sharing (it should be the first result). Click on Install Now and then Activate.
You can also click this link to WordPress.org for the most popular file sharing plugins in WordPress.
How do I use it?
After activating your plugin, you can access all of its functionality by going to “Settings” and follow the set up procedure. It’s easier than you think!
Now that your file sharing plugin of choice is activated and configured, you’ll have the option of adding a new file sharing feature for your users.
How to create a file sharing website using WordPress.
1. Set up user accounts in your WordPress dashboard with different permissions.
If you want users to upload their own files, then they will need write access. If the site is only for uploading and sharing files between friends or colleagues, then read-only access may suffice.
To set up user accounts: Navigate to Settings > Users in your WordPress dashboard (The ‘Users’ link is available under ‘Settings’). Click ‘Add New’ at the top of the page.
Include your desired username and password, as well as an email address which you will use to send a confirmation code for that new account.
You can also choose whether or not users have ‘overwrite’ permissions – this gives them permission to delete any post or video they’ve written or uploaded onto your site (the user who created the post would lose all credit for it).
Add your users to groups. You can add users with different permissions (write or read-only) to separate ‘groups’.
Navigate to Groups in your WordPress dashboard, and click on ‘Create a new group’ at the top of the page. Name that group appropriately – for example, ‘Uploaders’.
Add your users to that group by typing their usernames into the Members box at the bottom of the page. Make sure you click on ‘Save Group’ before closing this window!
If you want certain files to be only available for members of a certain group (such as admin), then go back to the file in the media library and add it to a new ‘custom field’ called ‘groups’, with each group listed as its own value.
To grant read-only access, create another user account (or use an existing one) and set up your permissions accordingly (navigate to Users > All Users).
You can then assign that user’s permissions to different posts by clicking on the post and using the ‘Edit’ button.
The end user should be able to upload files, but not delete or overwrite them. To accomplish this: Navigate to Settings > Media in your WordPress dashboard (under ‘Settings’).
If you want a certain group of people (such as administrators) to have access to uploading files, then tick the box next to ‘Allow media library browsing’ – this will allow them to see any post in your library.
If you want certain groups of people (such as administrators) to have access only to specific folders for uploads, then tick the boxes next to each folder name. You can also restrict file types if you wish.
If you want certain groups of people (such as administrators) to have access only to specific files for uploads, then tick the boxes next to each file name and choose a group from the ‘Limit these files to’ box.
You can also restrict file types if you wish – for example, by ticking ‘Only allow MP: MP’ next to the file you want.
Navigate to Settings > Reading in your WordPress dashboard (under ‘Settings’).
If you want to restrict access to certain parts of your site by ticking the boxes next to each category name and choosing a group from the dropdown box at the bottom of that section.
For example, if you want only administrators to have access to the ‘Pages’ section, then only tick that box for administrators.
You should also check your site’s permalink settings (Settings > Permalinks) and make sure they are appropriate – you can’t change them after publishing posts!
2. Install WordPress File Sharing plugin to add files from an external location.
Simply install a WordPress File Sharing plugin that allows you to add files from an external server, so users are able to upload files.
You can upload any file type to your installation by using the File Sharing plugin once you’ve installed one on your WordPress site.
Like Dropbox and Google Drive, File Sharing plugins allow users to bulk upload their files right from their dashboard in a hassle free manner without having to deal with traditional FTP software like Dreamweaver or Filezilla.
Save the file to a location on your server (e.g., “uploads”) and give it an appropriate name (“testfile-mime”, for example).
Next, create a new post in WordPress with that filename as its title; then add some test content to see how things work if you like.
First, save the file you want to upload in a directory on your server. Then, create a new post with that filename as its title and add some test content to see how things work if you like.
You can then use a WordPress File Sharing plugin to select files from this location for insertion into your posts.
Once you’ve uploaded your file, it will automatically be assigned an identifier that allows other users to link directly to it via URL, no additional coding required!
3. Configure file sharing settings to allow uploading, downloading, and managing files.
Once your file sharing plugin is installed, you can then configure your plugin settings to allow uploading, downloading and managing files.
To do this, go to your chosen file sharing plugin’s “Settings” area of WordPress’s Admin Dashboard for your file sharing plugin (wp-content/plugins) and enable file sharing by checking the box entitled ‘Enable File Sharing’ in the ‘Sharing’ tab.
You can also use the “Permissions” tab to limit access.
You can also use the permissions tab in your plugin settings to set up user roles and control what they’re able to do with their files (e.g., upload, download, delete).
How you configure these options is entirely dependent on what features are available within your chosen plugin.
4. Create a folder on your computer that you want to share with people.
Create a folder on your computer that you want to share files with other people. Then, upload the files from this location in order for them to be shared. How so?
Well, let’s say I have an album of family photos stored in my “Family Photos” directory within my Dropbox account (accessible via my username and password).
5. How would I get these files into WordPress?
Create a new post in your blog. You can do this by going to “Posts” > “+ New” within the dashboard of your website’s Admin section, or you could use an FTP application like FileZilla (Mac/Win) if you’d prefer a more “hands on” approach.
Then, open up that post and type in an appropriate title for it (e.g., “Family Photos”). This is what will appear as the hyperlinked text when someone else clicks through to view this album of photos you’re sharing with them.
How they access these files, by clicking a link or directly through their FTP client, is really up to you.
Upload the folder, or select it using an FTP program like FileZilla (Mac/Win). How? Well, let’s say I have an album of family photos stored in my “Family Photos” directory within my Dropbox account (accessible via my username and password).
I can use my FTP program to connect to Dropbox’s servers, find the “Family Photos” directory within my account, and upload all of those images.
With WordPress installed on your server or web host you have a few options for creating directories that will store user content (uploaded files).
You should choose which one works best with your needs.
If you are unfamiliar with FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or don’t have FTP access to your server, you can also use the WordPress built in file upload feature.
But if you’re going to use the FTP to upload your files or your users files, you’ll have to log into your cPanel account for your host, click on “Files” then select “Upload”.
You will be prompted to either drag and drop or upload through the file manager in order to get an uploaded file ready for transfer.
The easiest way though is through the “Upload” feature through the Media Library in your WordPress dashboard.
6. Upload files from this folder onto the web server and create links so others can download them.
You can also create a new directory within your website’s folder, upload the files there and reference them like this: /uploads/my-folder.
When you do that, WordPress will not delete these files when you uninstall or change themes.
Every time someone requests any of those files, WordPress will serve them through your website.
7. Share these links with friends or family members who have also installed WordPress websites, and they will be able to access the shared files as well.
File sharing plugins are an excellent tool to use on WordPress websites. With these tools, you can provide access for your site’s visitors to upload their own files that others will be able to download!
You can also upload video or audio files, PDFs, images, etc., by using different plugins for those formats!
How to create a file sharing website with WordPress, conclusion.
Setting up a file sharing website can be easy and fun with the right tools. In this post, I’ve outlined how to use WordPress as your platform for hosting an online file sharing site using WordPress File Sharing plugin.
I hope you enjoyed learning about setting up your own file sharing website!
