In our forthcoming updates to the download process, we are improving the way accepting Terms and Conditions at point of download works. This will make the terms more prominent initially, and improve the user experience, only prompting the user to review the T&Cs again if they change.

How it works currently

Configuration

The acceptance of terms and conditions at point of download can be on or off for a given Asset Bank site. If it is on it can then be set to show for all non-admin users only, or for all users, including admins. This can be changed by the Asset Bank Support Team on request from the client.

The user experience

When a user who has to accept the Terms and Conditions downloads a file they are presented with the following:

Before they can progress with the download process they have to tick this mandatory checkbox. Note, the user has the option of clicking the “Terms and Conditions” link to then see a pop up that contains the relevant terms and conditions like so:

Problems with this approach

These include:

• The user always has to tick this box, even if they have previously accepted the T&Cs, impairing the download experience
• There is no motivation for the user to actually review the T&Cs every time they download
• If T&Cs change at any time, there is no signal to the user that this has happened

The improvement

The new Quick Download feature will make it simpler and quicker for users to download assets. It makes use of a more modern interface which allows users to download directly from the Asset Details page, without having to visit a separate page first. 

It looks like this:

New Quick Download Interface

New Terms and Conditions Workflow

In terms of workflow, for when Terms and Conditions are required to be accepted as part of the download process, these would appear first, after clicking the 'Download button'. Here is the sequence.

Click download to start the process

Accept T&Cs if you have yet to (or if they change)

Access the download options

So the user will still download from the Asset Details page, but will first have to accept the T&Cs before seeing and utilising the download options. 

Differences to the old approach

There are some key changes here. 

1 - Show T&Cs directly (without the need to click on a link)

The user will actually see the T&Cs text in a scrollable window prior to clicking the ‘accept’ button.

2 - Only ask once unless T&Cs change

Once a user accepts the terms related to a download from your Asset Bank site, they will no longer be asked to do this for subsequent downloads unless the T&Cs change. At which point they will be shown the updated T&Cs and be asked to accept these before progressing.

Benefits

The key benefits to the site admin include:

• Knowledge that T&Cs are visible prior to acceptance, no need for a user to optionally click a link
• Knowledge that T&Cs will only be shown again if they change, which draws attention to the change itself

The key benefits to the user who has to accept T&Cs include:

• Accept them once, as per other T&Cs they agree to on other apps, improving the download experience
• Be forced to reconsider them if they actually change

Questions

If you have any questions then please get in touch.