Set up and run FolderBloom

Getting started

Step-by-step guides: show a folder · Excel table · photo gallery · restaurant menu · update a PDF, keep its link.

Create an account and add your website’s address (for example example.com — www.example.com is included). Then:

1. Connect Dropbox or OneDrive. FolderBloom only reads your files; it can’t change or delete them. Setting this up for a client? Use Use a different Dropbox account (or pick the account in Microsoft’s sign-in) so you connect their storage, not yours — a wrongly connected account can be disconnected and removed from the site.
2. Choose a folder and who can see it. Only that folder and the folders inside it are shown — nothing else in your account.
3. Choose a look. On Embeds, click Show a folder on my website: choose the folder and a look with a live preview, then copy the code (or click All options for every setting). (An “embed” is simply the piece of your website that shows the folder.)
4. Add it to your website. Copy the website code at the end and paste it into a page — see Install below.

Steps 1–3 and the preview are free. To show the folder on your real website, choose a plan under Billing and confirm the website is yours under Site & license (see Verify your domain).

Install the embed

Paste this where the library should appear. It loads asynchronously, has no dependencies and mounts an isolated frame, so your theme's CSS won't interfere:

<script src="https://folderbloom.com/embed.js" data-embed-id="fb_your_embed_id" async></script>

Prefer a placeholder? Add <div data-folderbloom="fb_your_embed_id"></div> anywhere and include the script once. Optional attributes: data-title (accessible frame title), data-height (initial height in px) and data-loading="eager" for above-the-fold embeds.

WordPress

Install FolderBloom Embed from the WordPress.org Plugin Directory: in WordPress go to Plugins → Add New Plugin, search for FolderBloom, then click Install Now and Activate. WordPress keeps it up to date for you. Add the shortcode [folderbloom id="fb_your_embed_id"] to any page, post or widget (use a Shortcode block in the block editor). Or paste the snippet into a Custom HTML block — both use the same hosted library.

Can’t install from the directory (for example, plugin installs are restricted on your host)? Download the plugin .zip (v1.2.2) and use Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin.

Webflow, Squarespace, Wix and others

Add an Embed / Code / Custom HTML element and paste the snippet. Some builders only run scripts on the published site, so check the live page rather than the editor preview.

Verify your domain

Easiest: paste a code on your website. In Site & license, copy the verification code (a one-line <meta> tag that’s unique to your site and domain), paste it into any page of your website — or your builder’s “header code” box — and publish. Then enter that page’s address and click Check my website. FolderBloom opens the page from its own server and looks for your code; if it isn’t there, it tells you why (page not published, wrong address, code not in the page’s HTML). If you’re adding a FolderBloom embed anyway, you can use the version of the embed code shown there instead — it shows your files and verifies the domain at once. You can remove the code after verifying. The DNS record and verification-file methods below still work.

Choose whichever you can edit:

• DNS: add a TXT record on _folderbloom.example.com (or the root) with the value shown in the dashboard.
• Verification file: download the ready-made folderbloom-verification.txt from the dashboard and upload it (FTP or your host's file manager) so it opens at https://example.com/.well-known/folderbloom-verification.txt.

www.example.com and example.com are one site. You can also allow one staging origin; localhost always works for previews. Changing a verified domain requires verifying the new one and is limited to once every 30 days (support can help sooner).

Stable file links

Every file has a link like https://folderbloom.com/f/abc123…. Copy it from the embed’s Files tab. It keeps working when you save a new version over the file, rename it, or move it within the published folder. Deleting a file retires the link — it shows “no longer available” and never points at another file. If a delete-and-re-upload looks like the same document, the file appears under Needs review so you can reconnect the link or keep them separate.

Protected folders

In Access, set a password on any folder or subfolder you’ve connected. Visitors see it as locked; nothing inside is listed, searchable or downloadable until they enter the password. Subfolders inherit protection unless you mark one public. Rotating the password signs everyone out. Unlocks last two hours per browser session.

A folder’s password applies everywhere that folder appears on your site — if you published both a parent folder and the folder itself, it’s locked in both. Site admins can click the eye next to a password in Access to see it (and copy it), or the pencil to change it; each view is noted in the activity log. Passwords set before this was available show “not stored” until they’re changed once. The live preview in the dashboard shows protected folders unlocked, so you can see your design — visitors still get the password box.

Galleries

Add a gallery tier to the site, choose a folder of photos as an “Image gallery”, and choose a gallery layout. FolderBloom builds AVIF/WebP images at 480, 960 and 1600 px wide (never larger than the original) plus a JPEG fallback, stripping EXIF location data. Captions and alt text can be edited per image in the dashboard.

Captions from a spreadsheet

Save a file named captions.csv in the folder with three columns — file, caption, alt — one row per photo. Excel and Google Sheets files work as-is (comma or semicolon separated). It applies to the photos in its own folder (each subfolder can have its own), is never shown in the gallery, and updates on the next sync. Download a pre-filled template from Galleries → Captions template. If a caption is edited in both places, the most recent edit wins. Rows are matched by file name, so update the row if you rename a photo. It works for file libraries too, as file descriptions.

Badges, QR codes, scheduling and more

File size and type limits

Individual files can be up to 650 MB. Files over 50 MB download straight from your Dropbox or OneDrive through a secure link that only works for that file and expires within a few hours, so large files arrive quickly; passwords, client folders and download counts work the same. To keep FolderBloom from being used to distribute movies, games or software, some file types (such as .torrent, .iso, .exe, .dmg and .apk, and long-form video containers like .mkv) aren't published. Files over the limit or of a blocked type stay in your storage but don't appear on your site; your library shows them with a “Not published” tag.

“New” and “Updated” badges

Files added to a folder, or replaced with a new version, are tagged for 14 days by default. Turn badges off or change the window (3–60 days) in the embed designer. Files already there when a folder is first connected are never marked new.

QR codes

On an embed’s Files tab, use the QR button on any file to download a PNG or print-ready SVG QR code for its permanent link. Printed codes keep working when you replace the file.

Single-file button

Create an embed with the Single-file button layout, choose the file and the button text. It always serves the latest version — ideal for menus, price lists and forms.

Music and audio

In the List, Compact list and Cards layouts, audio files (MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, OGG, FLAC) get a Play button beside Download. Pressing it plays the file and turns the button into Pause; press again to pause. Only one file plays at a time. Listening isn’t counted as a download in Analytics. Turn it off with Play button for music and audio in the designer.

Recipe

Choose the Recipe layout and a .xlsx or .csv file with the columns Part, Amount and Text. In Part, write Title, Description, Servings, Prep time, Cook time, Total time, Ingredient, Step or Note — one per row. Add a Video row with a YouTube or Vimeo link to show a how-to video above the ingredients (it plays in YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode or with Vimeo’s “do not track” on); Ingredient: For the sauce starts a sub-heading. Each sheet is one recipe. Steps are numbered for you, ingredients get tick boxes (you can turn them off), visitors can change the servings and every amount that starts with a number adjusts (turn off with Let visitors change the servings), and search engines receive it as a recipe. Start from the recipe template.

Step photos: save pictures named 1.jpg, 2.jpg… (or step1.jpg, Step 2.png, step-03.webp) in the same folder as the spreadsheet, and each appears under its step. When one spreadsheet holds several recipes (one per sheet), put each recipe’s photos in a subfolder named exactly like its sheet — for example Roast Chicken/1.jpg. Visitors get a Hide photos button to see the method as a compact list, and can show the photos again. In a gallery folder the photos are shown as optimized copies; in a regular folder, keep them to about 1600 pixels wide so pages load quickly.

Team page

Add a folder as a Photo gallery (team pages are included with gallery packages) and save a .xlsx or .csv file in it with a Name column — plus any of Title, Description (a short line on the card), Bio (opens in a pop-up from “Read bio”), Phone, Email, LinkedIn, Group (splits the page into sections), Link (their own page — the photo and name open it) and Button + Button link (e.g. “Apply now”). Any other column, like NMLS ID or License #, shows on each card as a custom field; start a heading with “_” to keep a column off the website. One person per row, in display order. Pick a card style — Simple, Card, Framed or Panel — then photo shape, corners, people per row, text alignment and round or square contact buttons. Under Colors you can set the card, name, job title, text, links and icons, photo frame and button colors. Choose Match my website as the font to use your site’s own fonts. Download the team template.

Photos: save each person’s photo in the same folder (or a “Photos” subfolder) named after them, like Jane Smith.jpg. Capitals, spaces, dashes and accents don’t matter; a Photo column can name a different file. FolderBloom makes small, fast copies of each photo; anyone without one shows their initials. Bios can also live in their own text or Word file named after the person (John.txt, John Smith.docx) in the folder or a “Bios” subfolder. Choose people per row, round, square or tall photos and rounded or straight corners on the Design tab. Phone numbers are tap-to-call, and email addresses are only put together when a visitor clicks the envelope, so spam bots can’t collect them from the page.

Logo carousel

In a gallery folder, choose Logo carousel: every logo scrolls by in an endless strip that pauses on hover. Pick the speed and logo size, and optionally show logos in gray until hovered. SVG logos, or PNGs with see-through backgrounds, look best — SVG files are turned into sharp, see-through web images automatically. Visitors who prefer less motion see a still row. To make logos clickable, save a text file named links.txt in the same folder with one line per logo — the file name, a comma, then the web address (for example acme-logo.png, https://acme.com). Each logo then opens its site in a new tab. Edit or delete lines to change links; it updates on the next sync. You can also add a Link column to captions.csv instead.

Automatic cropping

When FolderBloom makes the web copies of a gallery picture, it trims leftover canvas — see-through space, a thin frame line around the artboard, or a large empty margin on one side (common with flyers exported from design apps) — so the picture fills its space neatly. Ordinary photos, and products shown with even white space around them, are left alone. Your original file is never changed, and “Download original” always gives the full, uncropped file.

Single image

In a gallery folder, choose Single image and the photo. Choose how it appears when scrolled into view — fade, zoom, slide up, slide in from the left or right, or blur to sharp — plus the speed, size, position and rounded corners. Replace the photo in your storage (same name) and the page shows the new one. Under Which photo to show, keep A specific photo, or choose Always the newest photo in this folder so each new photo you add replaces the one on your website after the next sync. If the chosen photo is deleted and the folder has only one photo left, that photo is shown automatically.

Scheduled publishing

Use the calendar button on a file to set “Publish from” and/or “Remove after” (your local time). Outside that window the file is hidden from embeds, search and ZIP downloads, and its link shows “not available”.

Slideshow

A gallery layout showing one large photo at a time with arrows, dots, swipe and optional autoplay (3–15 seconds per photo). Autoplay pauses while visitors hover or use the controls, and is off for visitors who prefer reduced motion.

Download all (ZIP)

When available, turn on “Download all” when creating the embed (or later in its designer). Visitors can download every file in the current folder as one ZIP. Folders over the size limit (500 MB by default) are split into numbered parts; single files over the per-file limit are left out and listed so visitors can download them individually. Protected folders are only included after they're unlocked.

Summary emails

Owners receive a weekly summary of downloads, top files and traffic for every site. Change it to monthly or off, or send yourself a preview, under Account → Summary emails.

Analytics

A download is counted when FolderBloom starts sending the file (a “download start”), since completion can't be measured reliably. Data is kept for about 13 months. Export any range as CSV.

Billing & licensing

Each site has its own annual subscription. A failed renewal starts a 14-day grace period during which embeds keep working. A canceled subscription works until the paid year ends. After that, embeds show a small unavailable message. Manage payment methods and invoices through the billing portal.

Create & copy embeds

Show a folder on my website (top right of the Embeds page, or on any library) is the quick way: choose the folder, choose how it looks while a live preview updates, then copy one line of code. It starts with settings that suit most sites; open Customize for themes, sorting, badges and download options.

All options walks you through every setting step by step: a name, the folder, the layout, the theme, highlights and downloads, what visitors see, the default sort order, and finally the embed code and WordPress shortcode. Both save as you go; Cancel removes an unfinished embed. Everything can be changed later in the embed’s designer.

To reuse a design, click Copy settings next to an embed in the list, then Apply settings next to each embed that should look the same. Apply only lights up on embeds of the same type — file layouts with file layouts, photo layouts with photo layouts, and buttons, spreadsheet tables and menus each with their own kind. Each embed keeps its own folder, file and menu details.

Every embed in the list has Copy embed code and Copy shortcode (for WordPress), so you can grab its code without opening it. In Show a folder on my website, admins can remove a folder they no longer need with the trash icon, and after Publish another folder you go straight on to choosing its look.

Starting folder

Admins can choose a starting folder for each connected Dropbox or OneDrive (on the folder picker, or from Connections). The folder picker opens there for everyone, and editors and viewers can only browse and publish that folder and the folders inside it — the rest of the account stays out of sight. Admins can still browse the whole account to change it.

“Always the latest file” buttons

A Single-file button can open one specific file, or always the latest file in a folder — handy for newsletters, menus and price lists you publish as new files (October Newsletter.pdf next to September’s) instead of replacing the old one.

In the embed designer, choose Always the latest file in a folder and pick the folder. FolderBloom shows the rule in one sentence and the file the button opens right now. Under Customize which files count you can require text in the file name (for example “Newsletter”), limit it to one file type, include subfolders, or pin a file yourself.

The newest file is the one most recently changed in Dropbox or OneDrive. Hidden, scheduled, expired and password-protected files are always skipped, and the choice is checked again every time the button or its permanent link (/l/…) is opened. If nothing matches, visitors see “This file isn’t available right now” and Check before publishing tells you why. Links to specific files keep working exactly as before.

Collections

A collection shows hand-picked files from any of your published folders together — for example “Forms for new clients” with a form from one folder and a price list from another. Nothing is moved or copied in Dropbox or OneDrive.

Open Collections, create one, then use Add files to pick files folder by folder. Use the arrows to set the order and ✕ to take a file out (the file itself isn’t touched). Click Show on my website to get an embed; collections use the List, Compact list or Cards layouts.

Each file keeps its own rules. Files that are hidden, scheduled, removed, or in a password-protected or client folder are left out automatically, and the collection page says why. A collection never makes a private file public. Visitors see file names and each file’s permanent link — never your folder names.

Spreadsheet tables

Choose the Spreadsheet table layout, pick a .csv or Excel (.xlsx) file and, for Excel, which sheet. Leave First row is column names on if row 1 holds the headings. Edit the file in Dropbox or OneDrive and the table updates after the next sync; formulas show the values Excel last saved.

Replacing the file with a new name? Choose Always the newest spreadsheet in this folder instead of a specific file. The table — or menu, or recipe — then shows the most recently changed .xlsx or .csv in the folder, so deleting the old file and uploading a new one keeps your website working after the next sync. Hidden and password-protected files are skipped.

Columns on the website lists every column heading:

• Show or hide — untick a column to leave it off. Hidden columns are removed on FolderBloom’s server, so they never reach visitors’ browsers. Columns with nothing in them, and empty rows, are hidden automatically.
• Alignment — use the three icons to align a column left, center or right (or use All columns to set them all at once). Columns start left-aligned.
• Buttons — web addresses (starting http:// or https://) are clickable links. For a column that contains them, tick Show web addresses as buttons and type the button text, such as “Visit website” (blank shows “Open”). Links open in a new tab.

Columns are matched by heading, so these choices follow a column if you reorder the spreadsheet; renaming a heading resets them for that column. The “Download file” link at the top right of the table gives visitors the original, complete spreadsheet — turn it off if you’ve hidden columns that should stay private. On phones each row becomes a card (“Price: $12.00”) with a Sort by menu; turn off Rows as cards on phones to keep a sideways-scrolling table instead. Tables show up to 5,000 rows and 60 columns from files up to 10 MB. A cell must contain the web address itself to become a link — text that is hyperlinked inside Excel (for example “Click here”) shows as plain text.

Restaurant menus from what you already have

The Restaurant menu layout reads a spreadsheet with the columns Category, Item, Price, Description and, optionally, Tags and Available. If your menu is a PDF, a photo or a different spreadsheet, open Menu converter in your dashboard and upload it (PDF, JPG, PNG, .xlsx or .csv, up to 10 MB). FolderBloom reads it, sorts it into sections, dishes and prices, and shows every row for you to check and edit next to a live preview. Download the spreadsheet, save it in your Dropbox or OneDrive folder, and choose it with the Restaurant menu layout. Photos and scans are read with text recognition, so check spelling and prices carefully. Your upload isn’t stored.

Check before publishing

Open an embed or gallery and choose Check before publishing. The checklist separates things that stop the embed working (license, domain verification, a disconnected storage account, an empty folder, a missing file for a button, menu or spreadsheet) from things worth a look (public folders with private-sounding names, oversized or unpublished files, photos that couldn’t be optimized, missing alt text). Each item links to the setting that fixes it. Alongside is the embed as a first-time visitor sees it. The check also browses, searches and builds every “Download all” ZIP as an anonymous visitor to confirm nothing protected, hidden or scheduled is visible.

Document viewer

View opens PDFs (with page controls and zoom), images, Word (.docx), Excel and CSV, and text files in FolderBloom’s viewer. PDFs and images are drawn in the visitor’s browser; Word, Excel and text files are converted once per file version in the background and refreshed when the file changes. Limits: PDFs 60 MB, images 25 MB, Word and Excel 10 MB, text 2 MB — larger files and other formats offer a download instead. Turn off Download button in the viewer in the embed designer to let visitors read without downloading. The viewer follows every folder password, schedule and hidden setting.

Before & after

In a gallery, choose Before & after, click Add a pair, then click the before photo and the after photo — you see the slider straight away. FolderBloom also suggests pairs from names like “kitchen-before.jpg” and “kitchen-after.jpg” (Add or Add all). Each pair has a title, caption, Swap and, under More options, labels and alt text. Then pick the Before & after layout in an embed of that gallery (it only works with gallery libraries). Pairs follow photos through renames and replacements. A pair only appears once both photos are public and optimized; the pairs page shows why any pair isn’t showing. Included with every gallery tier.

Update alerts

On an embed’s Files tab, switch on Visitor update alerts and choose daily or weekly. Every embed of that folder then shows Get updates on public folders. Visitors confirm by email and receive a short list of newly published files, linked by their stable links; every email has a one-click unsubscribe. Files that existed when you switched alerts on are never announced, each file is announced once, and protected, hidden or scheduled files are never mentioned. You see the number of subscribers, not their addresses.

Client portals

Under Client portal, make a folder a client folder (for example one per client inside a “Clients” folder), then invite clients by email to the folders they should see. Clients open /portal/… on FolderBloom, sign in with a one-time email link (invitations last 7 days, sign-in links 15 minutes, sessions 8 hours) and see only their folders. Client folders are invisible in your public embeds, searches and ZIPs, and a copied file link asks the person to sign in. Use Design next to a client folder to choose how clients see it — any embed layout: a file table, a thumbnail grid or masonry gallery with the lightbox, or a slideshow — plus “Download all” (web-size photos on any gallery tier; full-size originals on Gallery Plus and Pro). Change a client’s folders or revoke them at any time — revoking signs them out everywhere. Your portal’s address is folderbloom.com/portal/ plus your domain name (e.g. /portal/rooferrecord); link to it from your site as “Client login”.

Branding and your own portal address

In Client portal → Branding, add your business name, brand color, a short welcome message and your logo (PNG, JPEG or WebP up to 1 MB). They appear on the portal and in invitation and sign-in emails. Very light colors aren’t accepted so text stays readable.

Custom portal address (optional): enter an address under your licensed domain, such as files.yourdomain.com. Then (1) add a CNAME record for it pointing to the FolderBloom address shown there, (2) ask FolderBloom support to add the address to our hosting with a security certificate, and (3) click Check address. Until the check passes, every link and email keeps using the standard portal address, so nothing breaks. Portal pages are never indexed by search engines on either address.

Troubleshooting

• “Not enabled for this website” — the page's domain doesn't match the site's verified domain or staging origin.
• “Temporarily unavailable” — the site's license isn't active. Check Billing.
• Files not updating — open Connections; if it says “Reconnect”, sign in to the provider again. Use “Sync now” on the library.
• Content Security Policy on your site — allow https://folderbloom.com in script-src and frame-src.