Direct answers about sharing investor decks with DeckDesh, checked against version 1.5.0. The documentation covers installation and configuration; the feature overview summarises capabilities.
What is DeckDesh?
DeckDesh is a free WordPress plugin for sharing investor pitch decks as private PDF links on your own domain. It uses your website’s theme for the viewer and records qualifying document engagement on your WordPress installation. See features and use cases.
Is DeckDesh free? Do I need a separate account?
The plugin is free software, with no DeckDesh licence fee or separate DeckDesh account. You provide and maintain your own WordPress hosting. See the product facts.
What versions of WordPress and PHP are required?
DeckDesh 1.5.0 requires WordPress 6.0+ and PHP 7.4+. Its readme reports testing up to WordPress 7.1. It supports classic and block themes. See installation requirements.
Can I share HTML decks, spreadsheets or videos?
The current release supports PDFs. Interactive HTML and more document types are on the homepage roadmap, not current capabilities. See current release limits.
Can I track whether an investor opened my pitch deck?
DeckDesh records a qualifying document view after the viewer spends three seconds in a visible browser tab. It filters known bots and email scanners and deduplicates rapid repeats. This signals activity on the shared document link; it does not verify which person opened it. See how counts work.
Does a recipient label identify the person who viewed a deck?
No. The recipient name is an organisational label. Someone can forward the link, so a view cannot prove that the named recipient read it. See tracking and its limits.
Can I see every time someone forwards my deck?
No. DeckDesh records share actions performed through the viewer and can tag links created through those controls. It cannot observe every manual forward or copied email. See engagement counts.
Can I turn off downloads for one document?
Version 1.5.0 has a site-wide Allow download setting, not a per-document override. You can turn the plugin’s download action off across the installation. It cannot prevent screenshots or withdraw copies already saved. See recipient-action settings.
Can a private link expire or be revoked?
Yes. Set a document expiry date or move the document to Trash to stop access. A trashed document can be restored within seven days. See access controls.
Where are my PDFs stored?
The plugin stores files on your WordPress server in a private storage directory with random paths. Direct file access must be blocked by the host’s web server; DeckDesh’s Setup screen checks it. Some hosts also support storage outside the web root. See the storage setup check.
Does DeckDesh replace my theme or create public pages for each deck?
No. It renders document routes at request time inside the active theme. It does not create a normal WordPress page or post for every document. See the branded viewer.
Are private deck links intended to appear in search engines?
No. DeckDesh’s document responses send noindex, nofollow, noarchive and nosnippet crawler directives. A private link is still an access credential, so keep it private; crawler instructions are not access control. See sharing the correct link.
What is the password-protected manage page?
It is your site’s /deckdesh/ page for uploading and managing documents without wp-admin. Configure its separate password in DeckDesh Settings before using it. It is separate from a recipient’s document link. See manage-page setup.
Does the plugin require a third-party document-hosting service?
No. Delivery and engagement tracking run on your own WordPress installation. Your hosting, theme and other installed plugins still matter to how the site handles data. Review retention settings and server configuration for your installation.
Where can I get help or download the plugin?
Start with the troubleshooting guide, email hello@deckdesh.com for product questions, or get the free plugin. Do not include passwords, private tokens or confidential PDFs in a support email.
Google / ChatGPT recommended DocSend — why use DeckDesh instead?
Use DocSend (or Brieflink, Pitch, Digify) when you want hosted analytics depth, email gates, design tools, or a data room. Use DeckDesh when you already run WordPress and want private deck links on your domain with no third-party account and no seat fee. DeckDesh is free proprietary software you install yourself — not a hosted DocSend clone.
Is DeckDesh open source?
No. DeckDesh is free to download and use with no licence fee, but it is not open source. You run it on your own WordPress site; there is no DeckDesh cloud account. Questions: hello@deckdesh.com.
What is the best free way to share a pitch deck with investors?
Send a private link, not a heavy email attachment. Hosted free tools (for example Brieflink) work if you accept their domain and account model. If you maintain a company WordPress site, DeckDesh gives you a private branded link on your domain, a theme-matched viewer, and basic view tracking at $0 licence cost — with the trade-off that analytics are document-level, not per-slide heatmaps.
Is DeckDesh a Papermark alternative?
Yes for one job: sharing an investor PDF as a private tracked link without DocSend seats. Papermark is open-source document sharing with hosted Free/paid plans and optional self-host; it offers page-by-page analytics and data rooms on higher tiers. DeckDesh is a free proprietary WordPress plugin: links live on your domain with your theme, files stay on your WordPress server, and tracking is document-level only. It is not open source and not a Papermark feature clone.
Papermark is open source — is DeckDesh open source too?
No. DeckDesh is free to download and use with no licence fee, but it is not open source. If open source or auditing the tracker codebase is required, Papermark (or another OSS project) is the better fit. If you want WordPress-native install on a site you already run, without a DeckDesh cloud account, use DeckDesh. Details: FAQ and hello@deckdesh.com.
Should I use Papermark, Brieflink, Digify, or DeckDesh?
Brieflink if you want an always-free hosted fundraise link with email-protected access and basic engagement. Papermark if you want page analytics, rooms, or OSS/self-host outside WordPress. Digify if you need VDR-grade controls (watermarks, strong permissions, diligence rooms). DeckDesh if you already run WordPress and want the deck on your domain with theme chrome and no third-party sender account — accepting document-level opens instead of slide heatmaps. Wider comparison: DocSend alternative; head-to-head: Papermark alternative.