This guide provides an overview of the steps required to set up the Affiliates Manager plugin and launch an affiliate program on your WordPress site.
Step 1: Install and Activate the Plugin
First, install and activate the Affiliates Manager plugin on your WordPress site.
After activation, a new Affiliates menu will appear in your WordPress dashboard. The plugin will also create the pages required for affiliate registration, login, and account management.
For detailed instructions, see the Affiliate Manager plugin installation guide.
Step 2: Configure the General Settings
Go to Affiliates > Settings in your WordPress dashboard to review the plugin’s configuration options.
From this area, you can configure settings such as:
- Affiliate application approval
- Email notifications
- Commission rates
- Cookie duration
- Terms and conditions
- Payout options
Review these settings and adjust them to suit your affiliate program before accepting registrations.
Step 3: Review the Affiliate Registration Process
The plugin allows visitors to register for an affiliate account through the registration page created during activation.
Depending on your settings, new applications can be approved manually by an administrator or approved automatically. Once approved, affiliates can log in, accept your terms and conditions, provide their payment details, and access their affiliate dashboard.
See How the Affiliate Registration and Login Works for a complete explanation of this process.
Step 4: Connect a Supported E-commerce Plugin
Affiliates earn commissions when they refer visitors who complete a qualifying purchase or conversion.
To track sales and award commissions automatically, Affiliates Manager must be connected to one of the supported e-commerce plugins or integrations.
Configure and test the appropriate integration for the payment or e-commerce plugin used on your site.
Step 5: Provide Affiliate Links and Creatives
Affiliates promote your website using referral links that contain their unique affiliate ID.
They can generate a referral link to any page on your website from their affiliate dashboard. You can also create banners, text links, and other promotional materials that affiliates can access from the My Creatives section.
Learn more about how affiliates can link to pages on your site.
Step 6: Test the Complete Affiliate Workflow
Before launching your affiliate program, create a test affiliate account and verify the complete process:
- Submit an affiliate registration.
- Approve the application, unless automatic approval is enabled.
- Log in as the affiliate.
- Accept the terms and conditions.
- Select a payout method.
- Generate and open an affiliate referral link.
- Complete a test purchase through the referral link.
- Confirm that the referral and commission appear correctly in the plugin.
Testing the complete workflow helps ensure that registration, referral tracking, commission calculation, and your e-commerce integration are working correctly.
Step 7: Review and Pay Affiliate Commissions
Affiliate commissions accumulate in each affiliate’s account until you process a payout.
You can review affiliate balances from Affiliates > My Affiliates in your WordPress dashboard. Payouts can be processed on any schedule that suits your program, such as monthly.
See the Affiliate Payout guide for more information about reviewing balances and paying affiliates.
Your Affiliate Program Is Ready
Once you have completed these steps and confirmed that referral tracking works correctly, you can begin inviting affiliates to join your program.
For additional configuration options, integrations, and troubleshooting guides, visit the Affiliates Manager documentation.