Using email to send large files to your clients can cause problems at both ends. Here are 10 great tools to make things go smoothly...
The age of the web may have connected continents and allowed the world to function around the clock, but to send large files by email can still be a painful experience.
But there's no need to spend vast amounts of money on providing a solution. These free tools will help you to send large files to design clients without the hassle of bounced emails and hours of frustration with FTP connections, and some even haveiPhone apps and free Android apps to make your life even easier.
01. Infinit
The main thing that makes Infinit different is that it uses peer to peer technology rather than its cloud servers. That means, the French team of eight designers and developers behind it claims, that it's both more secure and "up to 23 times faster" than rivals.
It's also easy to use, and there are no limits to the number of files you can send, or their size. If your or your recipient's web connection goes down, the service just pauses until it comes back up - you don't gave to start again. And if you're really in a hurry when receiving media files, you can even start playing them before the full file has been sent.
02. WeTransfer
WeTransfer is a lovely looking site that allows you to send large files - up to 2GB per transfer - as often as you like! That way, there won't be any of those last minute e-mail woes when you run out of free transfers! You can send large files by email or grab a download link from the site; easy peasy.
03. itrnsfr
With itrnsfr, you can send files up to 2GB to anyone, anywhere. Totally free, no registration is required to use this service. It also allows user to transfer multiple files at once to multiple recipients. As the website states: secure and simple.
04. Sendspace
Launching back in 2005, Sendspace have been delivering files millions of times a week. Each file is tracked so if it's lost into the abyss of the internet, Sendspace will do their best to find it for you. They've also just launched a brand-new drag and drop feature, as well as a Sendspace app - meaning you can send large files on the move.
05. Dropsend
With DropSend, you can send large files of up to 2GB, making it ideal for sending jpegs, pdfs and MP3s. Fast, simple and secure to use, you'll be sending those all-important large files in no time. There's no software to install and it's available with 256bit AES Security. If you're still unsure about what to do, DropSend have also created a handy video tutorial for all your transferring needs.
06. WikiSend
WikiSend is a free file-sharing service that doesn’t require you to create an account to use; you simply upload your file and are given a unique URL to access your file.
Files are then left accessible for seven days for your client to download as many times as they need, and you can share files up to 100MB in size. WIkiSend also provides password-protected file sharing if you register an account with them.
07. Dropbox
Dropbox is possibly the most well known file sharing tool and you'll probably find your client already has this tool installed and is familiar with using it - always a bonus.
You need to register an account to use Dropbox, though it’s free to do so. As well as a web-based application, there’s a desktop application you can install and access your files on your computer in a native.
Dropbox also benefits from having no expiration dates on upload files: you can store files as long as you need to. Plus there's an uncapped maximum file size, so you can send the largest cat video mashups to your clients without worrying about capacity.
08. MediaFire
MediaFire is a free-to-register file sharing website which allows sharing of files up to 100MB in size. There are options to upgrade for greater storage capacity (10GB is available with the free account) and advertisement-free file and folder sharing, and there are desktop apps available for Windows, Linux and Apple, as well as iPhone, iPad and Android applications for mobile.
09. Box
Box is our next recommendation for free tools to share large files with your clients. Personal accounts for sharing are free with up to 5GB of storage space and allow you to share files of any size.
Box also features useful integrations such as with Google Apps and Salesforce. Business accounts are also available with a free trial, with the added bonus of more storage capacity for your design files and greater control over permissions for different user roles.
What really helps Box stand out from the crowd afd the customers who use its business accounts: its client list includes everyone from Procter & Gamble to Stanford University and even Skype and LinkedIn.
10. Senduit
Senduit is intensely simple to use: simply upload your file through the website and you’re provided with a private URL to share your file.
The service has a limit of 100MB for files being shared, and allows you to set an expiry time for durations of 30 minutes to seven days.
The service has a limit of 100MB for files being shared, and allows you to set an expiry time for durations of 30 minutes to seven days.
Have we missed your favourite way to send large files? Tell us about it in the comments below!
