Friday, August 22, 2008

Shareware Download Sites

With a software product finally released and available for purchase from my web site, it's time to begin the arduous task of submitting it to the myriad of shareware download sites out there on the internet.

If you're faced with the same daunting task, here's a link to a spreadsheet I put together using the search results returned by Google Directory. With apologies for the bad links and defunct sites it contains, please feel free to download it for your own use. If I get any indication that it's a useful resource, I may even keep it up to date in a spare moment - let me know of any notable omissions.

Google Directory returned a list of well over 200 sites, most of which - thankfully - accept submissions using the Portable Application Description (PAD) file format. In fact, many shareware download sites accept submissions only by way of a PAD file. There's a useful tool called PADGen available from the Association of Shareware Professionals which allows you to generate the necessary PAD file for your application. Click here to download the current version.

The simpler sites allow you to submit by way of a PAD file but do not give you the opportunity to review your listing before it's displayed. As there's scope in the PAD file to insert separate product descriptions of varying lengths, it's worthwhile considering that the site you're submitting to may use any one, or more than one of them in your listing. Make sure, therefore, that your descriptions make sense in the face of that inconsistency - don't simply extend the shorter versions.

Cheers
Pete

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi,

This is truly awesome information on 'Share Downloads'. Thanks a ton for sharing it...

Shareware software is typically obtained free of charge, either by downloading from the Internet or on magazine cover-disks. A user tries out the program, and thus shareware has also been known as "try before you buy". A shareware program is accompanied by a request for payment, and the software's distribution license often requires such a payment.

Not all software companies release their programs as demoware. Sometimes you will find them as shareware. Shareware differs from demoware because it is usually not fully functioning. Shareware is downloaded with limited access to the full scripts of the program. That means that while you can get a feel for how the program works you must pay for the license before you can try out all the features. There is always the risk that after paying for the program the features that were blocked will not live up to their expectations despite the fact that you were given a preview.

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