A Project page on itch.io is how you share what you've created with the world.A unique part about itch.io that you can control how your project page looks bychanging colors, fonts, and images. In this guide you'll learn how to createone.
All you need to create a page for your game, comic, soundtrack, assets, etc.is a freeitch.io account.
The itch.io dashboard is a central hub that lets you manage all your pages,sales, bundles, get both overview and in-depth analytics on views, downloads,purchases, and handle various payment-related tasks.
You can access it at any time by clicking theDashboard link in the topbar, or the arrow menu next to your avatar and username.
Since itch.io started as a game marketplace, most of the vocabulary isgame-centric – as the platform evolves towards other types of content, we'llkeep adjusting that.
To get started, hit theCreate new game button.
The create / edit page contains most of the information essential to publishinga project on itch.io. The title, short description and cover image are used ingame listings all over the site. Here’s an example listing:
The project URL is generated automatically from the title. If you havea particularly long title, you might want to change it to a shorter URL.
Cover images should respect a315:250 aspect ratio. 315x250 is a minimum,but it’s best to include a larger image with the same aspect ratio, like630x500. Screenshots can be any size, it’s recommended to uploadbetween 3and 5 of them.
The next step is classification: are you uploading a video game, a tabletopgame, a comic, a book, soundtrack, or even some assets? If no category fits, youcan always choose ‘Other’ and choose a custom noun lower down the form.
Then comes the kind of project: itch.io supports HTML5, Flash, Java and Unityembeds – everything else (including comics, books, soundtracks etc.) isa downloadable.
Uploading is relatively straight-forward – you can upload several filesat the same time, and tag them by platform. Uploads can either be direct,from Dropbox, or even just links to external websites.
There is a upload size limit applied on all new itch.io accounts,which we can increase to on request. All you have to do is toget in touch!
A typical game release on itch.io includes one .zip file per platform,and optionally, some bonus content such as artwork, the game’s soundtrack,that can be unlocked when a buyer pays more than a given price.
Do you want to distribute a free demo? No need to make a separate page!Simply upload them to the project page and tick theThis file is a demoand can be downloaded for free checkbox.
itch.io supports early access models, pre-orders, and crowdfundingcampaigns via project goals.
A project can only be purchased if it has at least one upload available.
For example, if you'reonly selling external keys (which is discouraged, butnot disallowed), you'll have to add a placeholder upload – maybe a PDFfile with instructions on how to redeem the external key.
While the files are uploading, you can start filling out the projectdescription. It will appear directly on the project page. Feel freeto take full advantage of the formatting options given by our editorsuch as bold, italic, underline, lists and links.
To break down your project description into multiple sections like Features,Credits, or Links, format your titles by selecting them, then selectingHeader 2 under¶ (Formatting).
Those will appear like other, site-generated sections like ‘Download’,‘Purchase’, and ‘Also available on’.
Make sure to add contact information to the instructions, so that yourfans know how to reach you, should they need to.
Make sure your project is sorted in the right categories by picking a ‘Genre’and adding up to 10 tags. For more in-depth classification, check out theMetadata tab by editing your project after it’s been saved once.
Not all metadata options necessarily apply to your project if it’s nota game. Feel free to ignore the ones that don’t make sense for whatyou're uploading.
We're still in the process of adjusting the platform for non-game content.You can participate to theexisting discussion about table-topgames oropen a new issue for the type of content you'd likeitch.io to support better.
To preview your project page, hitSave & view page. Newly created pagesare private by default to give you a chance to adjust the design of ituntil you're satisfied with it.
To publish your page, simply edit it again, and set its visibility to ‘Public’.
There is a third visibility option,Public restricted, lets you publishyour page but prevents anyone from buying or purchasing any files on it. Youshould use this for projects that aren’t released yet, or old projects thatyou'd like to restrict access to.
Unless you've disabled payments entirely, you'll have to choose a paymentoption for your project to accept purchases or donations. You can do soin yourUser settings, underSeller settings.
Learn more about payment options
Anyone who has purchased your project once owns a copy of it. It shows upin their purchase list, and they can download any future files you uploadto that same page, except if those uploads have a minimum price higher thanwhat the buyer paid originally.
Updating your project is simply a matter of uploading the new version, anddeleting the old version.
You can let buyers know about a major new release of your project by writingan e-mail from theInteract tab. Additionally, everyone who follows you onitch.io will see public updates to all your projects in their feed.
Encourage your fans to follow you on itch.io to make sure they don’tmiss a thing!
Learn more about interacting with your fans
You can provide external keys (e.g. Steam keys) with every purchase by editingyour game and navigating to theDistribute tab, thenExternal keys.
Learn more about download keys
To make your project available at no cost to press outlets and get morecoverage, you can opt your projects into theitch.io press system. Youcan do so from theUser settings page.
If you'd rather handle press copies on a case-by-case basis, you can simplygenerate as many download keys as needed from theDistribute tab and sendthem directly.
Follow itch.io onTwitter,Facebook orJoin our Discord for new games and site updates.
