How to Submit Products

Are you ready to distribute your product to millions of people around the globe? If so, you have come to the right place. Submitting your Product(s) to our Download Sites and partner networks is easy and only takes a few minutes.

To better serve you, these instructions are divided into two main areas:

Submit or modify your product
More information

These guidelines will help you understand what types of product and company information we need in order to add your product to our libraries. Also, we ask that you please keep in mind that we reserve the right to revise, replace, or decline submitted information at any time and without notice. You may also want to read our Software Policies to learn more about how we evaluate software products for listing.

Submit or modify your product

Although you will use separate forms to add new products and modify existing ones, the submission process is similar in both instances. Simply fill out the required fields and verify your product information. We will then process your submission as soon as possible.

About the forms

Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*). After you have made your changes, click "Save" to Submit your new/updated product information.

Adding new products

Log in to your Publisher account.
From the "My Products" page, click the appropriate platform for your software title located under the "Add a New Product" header.
Fill out all required fields.
Click Save.
Confirm submission information, then click save again.
Your submission will then be submitted to our staff for review. You will recieve a confirmation email with your submission details, and we will notify you again after your submission has been approved.

Modifying existing products

Log in to your Publisher account.
From the "My Products" page, click "Modify Product Information" under the name of the product you wish to modify.
Locate and click "Edit" at the bottom of the page.
Make edits to the fields as needed.
Click "Save"
Confirm submission information, then click save again.
Your submission will then be submitted to our staff for review. You will recieve a confirmation email with your submission details, and we will notify you again after your submission has been approved.

More Information

Contact and publisher information

When you submit your first product, you will be prompted to create a developer account followed by a company / developer profile. Contact information will not be displayed anywhere on our Download sites; publisher information will be made available on your product-listing and publisher-profile pages. Once logged in, you can update your contact and publisher information at any time through the "My Account" and "My Company" tabs located within your Upload.com account.

Company Name

The company name you enter will appear on all your product listings as a link to your publisher-profile page. If you do not have a company name, you may substitute your first and last names.

Extensions such as Co., Corp., Inc., LLC, and Ltd. must be omitted. We make exceptions for clarity (for example, if two companies have similar names, or two branches exist, such as Microsoft Corp. and Microsoft Inc.).
In the interest of readability, drop .com, .net, and other such suffixes.
Use all capital letters only if they form an acronym (for example, WinCIM? is OK, wherein CIM stands for CompuServe? Information Manager).
If your company spells its name with all lowercase letters, capitalize the first one. It's OK to use one (but only one) lowercase letter before the capital at the beginning of the name: eBay, eToys, iVillage.
Delete any punctuation, such as the exclamation point in Yahoo! (it should be Yahoo). But ampersands are OK (AT&T).

Company description

Please provide a one-paragraph description of your company for your publisher-profile page.

Write clearly in English, and in full sentences.
Do not use the names of other products or companies, or any information that is not essential for describing your company.
Do not use bullet points, URLs, or HTML.
Superlatives ("This is the best company ever!!!"), marketing-style language, and phrases such as "and more" and "and so on" ("This company develops pop-up blockers, antivirus programs, and more") will be deleted.
Abbreviations ("etc." or "e.g.") will be deleted. Instead, please use "for instance" or "for example."
Do not use unnecessary punctuation (use "Yahoo" instead of "Yahoo!"). Ampersands are an exception (AT&T).
Use all capital letters only if they form an acronym (use Winamp instead of WINAMP; but AOL and WebMD? are OK because they are acronyms).
When writing numbers, don't use "th." For example, use "March 25," not "March 25th."

Main URL

This is the URL to your main company home page. At this time we do not accept product-specific URLs or links to pages other than your main company home page.

Support information

Please enter a URL, an e-mail address, and a phone number users can use for technical assistance or customer support. This information is optional.

Product information

This information describes your product to our users. All information should be consistent with that in the installed file as well as that on your Web site. Please see our Software Policies for more information about our guidelines and evaluation process.

Notes for CNET production staff

If you have special instructions regarding your product, update, or would like to make a suggestion to our staff, you may do so by submitting that information here.

If there are special instructions you would like to communicate to our staff, this field is the proper place to do so.
Providing a note or suggestion does not guarantee that you will receive a response from our team.

Product name

To avoid confusion, product names on our Download sites should appear exactly as they do in the installed software's interface and on the publisher's Web site. However, some product names may need to be edited by our staff for clarity and consistency within our listings.

The product name must be consistent throughout the installed program file, including on title screens, help menus, and desktop icons, and in all other instances.
The product name on our download sites must be consistent with the product name on the publisher's Web site.
When entering your product name, please do not include your company name or any other characters or words (such as "Management Software") unless they are part of your product's official trademarked title ("Adobe Photoshop," "AOL Instant Messenger").
Use all capital letters only if they form an acronym (for example, WinCIM? is OK, wherein CIM stands for CompuServe? Information Manager).
If you use all lowercase letters, capitalize the first one. It's OK to use one (but only one) lowercase letter before the capital at the beginning of the name: eBay, eToys, iVillage.
Delete any punctuation, such as the exclamation point in Yahoo! (it should be Yahoo). But ampersands are OK (AT&T).

Version number

The version number listed on our download sites should match the version number in the binary file, as well as the number that appears on the publisher's Web site. Each new version of a product may be featured in our download sites New Releases list no more than once every two weeks and at our sole discretion, after changes and additions have been verified by our staff.

Beta and alpha versions are generally not accepted.

If a product has two versions ("Product Basic 2.1" and "Product Pro 2.1"), each must be submitted separately.
Version numbers on our download sites are limited to one decimal point followed by up to two numbers ("Product 7.89"); or two decimal points followed by one number each ("Product 2.5.2"); with an allowance for one lowercase letter after the last decimal ("Product 7.89b" or "Product 2.5.2a").
Full-version software is listed without decimals (correct: "Product 8"; incorrect: "Product 8.0").
Extraneous zeros will be deleted ("Product 3.50" will become "Product 3.5").
Full version updates must be submitted with new features and functionalities listed in the Update information field.
Use a minimum of two sentences to describe additions and changes ("Version 2.5 includes a redesigned interface and adds X, Y, and Z features").
An extensive list of details is not necessary; however, a summary of the new features will help avoid processing delays.
Our download sites allow for some latitude in the appearance of build numbers. If your product must include the full build number, please provide those details in the Update information field. If your request is approved, that number may appear in the following format: "Build number 1.19.1012xp includes a new, easy-to-use interface, the ability to save, and minor bug fixes."

Short and Long Descriptions

Please provide a short and long description (15-100, and 200-2500 Characters respectively) that clearly describe your product's core features and functionality, as well as any known bugs, written in English. Please note that our editorial staff retains rights over the presentation of all descriptions. We may include editorial opinions, if deemed appropriate.

Write in full sentences.
In the description field, spell and punctuate the product name exactly the way it appears in the Product Title field.
Do not use the names of other products or companies, or any other information that is not essential for describing your product. Editors will remove these, which may result in processing delays.
Do not use bullet points, URLs, and HTML. Editors will remove these, which may result in processing delays.
Do not use superlatives ("This is the most extraordinary program ever!!!"), marketing-style language, and phrases such as "and more" and "and so on" ("This product kills pop-up windows, blocks spam, and more"). Please be specific about what your product does ("This product kills pop-up windows and blocks spam").
Abbreviations ("etc." or "e.g.") will be deleted. Instead, please use "for instance" or "for example."
Do not use unnecessary punctuation (use "Yahoo" instead of "Yahoo!"). Ampersands are an exception (AT&T).
Use capitalization only for acronyms (use Winamp instead of WINAMP; but AOL and WebMD? are OK because they are acronyms).
Please double-check the correct spellings of file formats (use MPEG, not MPG; JPEG, not JPG; TIFF, not TIF; AIFF, not AIF).
Do not start every sentence with the name of the product, and do not repeat feature information.
When writing numbers, don't use "th." For example, use "March 25," not "March 25th."
The description field has a 2,500-character maximum. Longer descriptions will be truncated.

Category

Please choose the category that best suits your product. In most circumstances, we will approve your initial category request. However, we reserve the right to revise, replace, or decline category selections at any time.

Product Information URL

Please provide us with a URL that links to page where we can find additional information about your product.

File information

These fields describe the technical requirements for the software, including operating system and hardware. You must enter a direct-download URL for your file. Premium subscription customers may also suggest up to five search keywords for use on our Download sites.

Product Download URL:

Please provide a link that will immediately initiate the file download. Our automated system will attempt to upload your file from its originating server to our HTTP servers as soon as you complete your submission.

Submitted download URLs must initiate a file download. They must be active, publicly accessible, and directly accessible.
We do not accept download URLs that link to an e-mail or information-capture form, or download URLs that link to image or document files.
If your download contains an image, document, or other file type that initiates a browser window or other application (including but not limited to Adobe PDF; Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint?; and wallpaper in JPEG, BMP, or GIF formats), the file must be packaged or compressed into a downloadable format such as ZIP, RAR, or EXE.
Files are automatically virus-scanned during the file-upload process. We will notify you by e-mail of any problems we have uploading your file.
We ask that you continue to maintain an active, publicly accessible, direct-access download URL for your product while it is listed in our library.

File Size

Please enter the file size of your software.

System Requirements

Please describe the minimimu system requirements needed to operate your software. Indicate any unusual system, hardware, or software requirements. Obvious requirements and industry standards such as an Internet connection, a monitor, or a 1GHz processor need not be listed.

Examples of unusual minimum requirements include: 1GB RAM or more, 25GB of hard disk space, a joystick or gamepad, Adobe Photoshop or any other third-party software, Pioneer speakers.

Operating System Platform

Select the operating system or operating-system group with which the program is designed to run. If you don't see the exact OS version number, choose the closest one.

You may specify more detailed OS requirements in the Other minimum requirements field.
If the product download has multiple components or programs that run on different OSes, please choose the most appropriate OS. For example, Windows software that makes syncing with your Palm more efficient should be listed as Palm OS, with specific Windows requirements listed in the Minimum Requirements section. If the product has separate installation files for two or more operating systems, submit separate product listings instead of compressing them into the same file download. For example, the Mac, Windows, and Palm versions of ICQ are listed as separate products.

Executable File Name

Please provide us with the name of the executable file of your software.

Sample Registration Code

Please provide a registration code so that we can review the full version of your product.

License information

These fields describe the license, trial limitations, pricing, and purchase details of your product. You may also submit a link to an e-commerce page where users can purchase your product.

License Type

Please select the most appropriate license type from the dropdown menu. All product listings must fall within one of these classifications.

Free-- The product and all of its features are available free of charge.
Update-- This is a free update for a paid product and is only appropriate for users who own a copy of the full version. It can include new features, bug fixes, etc.
Trial-- The product has a reasonable feature set available on a limited basis, free of charge. In order to unlock all features or to continue using the product after the trial period is over, users must purchase the full version.
Purchase-- The product is only available for a one-time purchase price or ongoing subscription fee.

Price

Please enter the purchase price of your software including decimals. Examples:

5.00
29.99

Select the appropriate currency from the dropdown menu.

Buy URL

Please provide a link to an e-commerce page where users may purchase your product.

Trial Limitations

Describe how this version differs from the full version (examples: it's a 30-day trial, it's print-disabled, it contains a watermark or a registration reminder). This includes free downloads with functional limitations, trial periods, or disabled features.

It is your responsibility to disclose the functional limitations of the product.
If there are no limitations, do not write None in this field. Please leave it blank.
Please review our Software Policies for more information about our policies regarding trial limitations.

Product Images

You can upload screenshots for your product listing by clicking the Upload Screenshots button. Please read the Image Upload Instructions for more information about requirements and the upload process.

Listing Packages

In order to have your software listed on our Download Sites, you will need to choose a Listing Package for each product. Upload.com offers three uniquely designed listing packages to address your business needs, including; Premium, Basic, and Free.