A checkout link skips your product page. The buyer taps it and lands in Shopify checkout for one product, and Alva Digital Downloads delivers the files, links or license keys attached to that product as soon as the order is paid. You create and manage every link from Checkout links in the app menu.
Before you start
Checkout links are a paid-plan feature: every paid plan includes them, and the Free plan does not. On the Free plan the Checkout links page shows "Checkout links need a paid plan" and a View plans button instead of a create button.
The product you link to must already have something to deliver — files, a link or license keys attached in Alva Digital Downloads. A checkout link for a product with nothing attached would take the buyer's money and send them nothing, so the app refuses to create one for a product with no delivery set up, and pauses a link whose delivery is empty or inactive. No product yet? Quick sell creates the product, attaches the file and makes the link in one screen.
Create the link
1. Open Checkout links
Open Alva Digital Downloads in your Shopify admin and click Checkout links in the app menu. Click Create checkout link — or, on an empty page, Create your first checkout link.
2. Pick the product and variant
In the Product card, click Select product and choose the variant a buyer should arrive in checkout with. Set Quantity if you want more than one of it in the cart. A link always points at a single variant.
If something about the product would stop the link working, the editor says so before you share it — for example "This product is not published to the Online Store", "This variant is not available for sale" or "Your storefront is password-protected". Fix those in Shopify first. Products that ask buyers to personalise them need one extra setting, covered in Sell personalized products with a checkout link.
3. Fill in the link details
In Link details, give the link an Internal name such as "Summer bundle — Instagram bio". Only you see it; it names the link in your list and your stats. Under What buyers see first, choose Go straight to checkout (fewer taps) or Show the cart first (lets a buyer add more before paying). Leave Status on Active to make the link live when you save.
4. Add a discount, schedule or limit (optional)
All of these can stay blank. In Discount you can type an existing Discount code to apply at checkout, or, once the link is saved, have the app create a code that only works on the product variant this link sells. In Schedule and limits, Starts and Ends set when the link works (times are in UTC), and Order limit stops it after that many orders. Discounts, expiry and usage limits covers each one in detail.
5. Save
Click Save. The link's addresses and QR code appear once it is saved. Use Test this link at the top of the page to open it yourself and check it lands where you expect.
Your link has two addresses
The Share this link card shows two addresses for the same link. Both land the buyer in the same checkout; they differ in how permanent they are.
| Address | Looks like | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Short link | yourstore.com/summer | Bios, posts, stories and messages. Easy to read and type, but it can be renamed or removed. |
| Full link | yourstore.com/apps/alvadd/l/ab3xk7q | QR codes, packaging, flyers and anything else you cannot change later. It never changes. |
The short link
The short link is a Shopify URL redirect on your own domain that points at the full link. When you save a new link, its short path starts out as the link's seven-character code, for example yourstore.com/ab3xk7q. Click the pencil (Edit path) next to it to choose something readable like summer. Paths use lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens, 2 to 60 characters, with no slashes.
Creating redirects needs a permission Alva Digital Downloads does not ask for at install. Until you grant it, the Checkout links page shows "Short links on your own domain are off", and your links work at their full address only. Click Get a short link on your domain on that banner and Shopify shows its own permission prompt for managing URL redirects. Approve it and short links are on; decline it and nothing breaks. Links you made before granting it can be given a path afterwards with Edit path.
The full link
The full link is served by the app itself at /apps/alvadd/l/ followed by the link's Code. The code is permanent: it never changes, even when you edit the short path. That makes the full link the one to print, and the one to fall back on if a short path is ever renamed or deleted in Shopify.
The QR code
Every saved link gets a QR code card. The code encodes the full link, so editing the short path never breaks a printed code. Click Download QR code to save it as a PNG for packaging, flyers or a market stall. Printed codes stop working if you uninstall the app — see Before you uninstall.
The link preview
The Link preview card controls the card Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp and iMessage show when the link is shared. Set a Preview title, Preview description and Preview image URL, or leave them blank. A blank title uses the product's title and a blank image uses the product's image; a blank description is simply left out. Networks cache previews for hours, so re-paste the link after changing them.
Read the status badge
Each link carries a status badge, in the list and at the top of the editor.
- Active — the link is live and sends buyers to checkout.
- Draft — the link sends nobody to checkout. Set Status to Draft yourself to switch a link off without deleting it.
- Scheduled — the link is active but its Starts time is still in the future. Until then, buyers see that it is not available.
- Expired — the Ends time has passed or the Order limit has been reached.
- Paused, with a reason — Alva Digital Downloads stopped sending buyers to checkout because the order would not go through or would not be delivered.
You never set Paused yourself. Alva Digital Downloads checks the product each time a buyer opens the link, and if the check fails it pauses the link and writes the reason into the badge — for example "Paused: product not published", "Paused: sold out" or "Paused: nothing to deliver". Buyers see a neutral "not available" page rather than paying for something they would not receive. Fix the cause and the pause clears on its own. A product you re-publish or restock in Shopify is usually picked up within half an hour, or straight away if you open the link and choose Check again. Why isn't my checkout link working? lists every reason and its fix.
If you change plan later
Moving to the Free plan does not break links you already shared. Existing links, short paths and discounts keep working and can still be paused or deleted, but you cannot create new links or edit existing ones until you upgrade again.
Frequently asked questions
Checkout links are available on every paid plan. On the Free plan you cannot create or edit them. If you downgrade, links you already made keep working, and you can still pause or delete them.
Share the short link in bios, posts and messages, because it is easier to read. Use the full link, or the QR code that encodes it, on anything printed. The full link never changes, while the short path can be renamed or removed.
Alva Digital Downloads pauses a link by itself when an order placed through it would not be delivered or could not reach checkout, for example because the product is unpublished or sold out. The badge names the reason. Fix the cause and the pause clears without re-saving the link.
No. Without it every checkout link still works at its full address. The permission only adds the short path on your own domain, and you can grant it later from the Checkout links page.
No. Each checkout link points at one product variant, in the quantity you choose. Pick Show the cart first under What buyers see first if you want buyers to be able to add more before paying.