TIP FOR THE DAY
Just because you can make a big zip file doesn’t mean you should.
If you’re delivering product then it’s worth knowing that the larger the zip file, the greater the chance of frustration for your customers.
You see there’s a good chance that after they use their bandwidth to download your item, then attempt to open it with a tool like 7zip, win zip or stuffit, they will end up with a file corrupted warning or a “can’t open file” message. More than likely they’ll try to download your file agin, perhaps using a different browser, only to find the same issue again.
What this means is that you have an annoyed customer and you’re going to have support issues, taking up more time than necessary.
Why does this happen?
There could be a couple of reasons. Perhaps their temp file space is full so there’s not enough room for the file operation. Easy fix – clear the temp folders then retry.
More likely, because the size of the file is large, the internet packet delivery gets interrupted and fails to fully download the zip file. This may be overcome by using a Download Manager. These tools are more reliable downloading complete packages.
So, yes. It’s quicker for you to zip everything into a mega zip file. But it’s not so good for your customer, their experience, or your time management handling the issue.
Make life easier for everyone. Create smaller zip files!
Yes, that will mean more uploading for you and downloading for them … but it will be more reliable delivery.
Better yet, give them a choice. “Here are your files in 3 zip files. Or grab them all in one mega zip file.” That way if their system can’t handle the larger file they can simply go back and download the smaller files. Less support needed from you.
Keep in mind it’s better to spend a tad more time upfront setting up a smooth delivery process than handling a bunch of individual support requests!
Great advice Mel. I often package up my contents into smaller folders, as well as making it easier to open, it helps the customer find the information more quickly.
Good tip! In the past I had a slower Internet connection and this was a huge problem for me. I used my precious MBs to download a big file only to find it was corrupted. Very frustrating!
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