Is it possible to add an automatic PDF download link within Webflow for my client? If so, how can it be done? Thank you.
TL;DR
- Upload your PDF to Webflow, copy its URL, and link it to a button or link block with a
downloadattribute. - To trigger download automatically, use a page load interaction with custom JavaScript that redirects to the PDF URL.
Yes, it’s possible to add an automatic PDF download link in Webflow, but you'll need to configure it to trigger a download automatically under specific user actions (e.g., on button click or page load).
1. Upload the PDF to Webflow
- Go to your Webflow Designer.
- Open the Assets panel (press
Jto open it quickly). - Click Upload and select your PDF file.
- Once uploaded, right-click on the PDF in the Assets panel and copy its URL.
2. Create a Download Button or Link
- Add a Button or Link Block to your page.
- Under the button’s settings panel, set the Link to: URL.
- Paste the copied PDF URL into the field.
- To force a download, add the
downloadattribute using the Custom Attributes section: - Attribute name:
download - Leave the value blank or specify a filename (e.g.,
brochure.pdf)
3. Set the Link to Trigger Automatically (Optional)
If you want the PDF to start downloading without a user clicking, such as on page load:
- Add a Page Load interaction in the Page Trigger section of Webflow’s Interactions panel.
- Set the trigger to “Page Load”.
- Action: Choose “Start an Animation”, then create a new animation.
- Inside the animation, add a JS embed trigger using the Custom Code Embed element on your page (
+ Add > Components > Embed). - Paste this as inline JavaScript (no
<script>tags):window.location.href = "https://your-pdf-url-here";
This will redirect the user to the PDF URL on page load, which may or may not trigger an actual download depending on browser settings.
4. Alternative: Use Third-Party Services (Optional)
- If browser-based force downloads are inconsistent, consider hosting the file on Dropbox or Google Drive with a direct download link, then link to that.
- Or use Zapier + Webflow forms to send the PDF upon form submission.
Summary
You can add an automatic PDF download in Webflow by uploading the PDF, linking to it with a download attribute, and optionally triggering it via a page load redirect using custom code. Note that fully automatic downloads are browser-dependent and may need user interaction for security reasons.