Is AffiliateWP tracking visits, referrals, and coupons accurately on your site? While AffiliateWP is designed to work seamlessly out of the box, it’s always a good idea to run a few tests to confirm everything is functioning as expected.
This guide will walk you through testing affiliate visits, referrals, and coupon tracking to ensure your setup is ready for success.
Creating a Test Affiliate Account
To begin, it’s recommended to create a test affiliate account to keep testing separate from live accounts. In your WordPress admin area, navigate to Users » Add New and create a new user with a recognizable username, such as “testaffiliate.” Be sure to uncheck the Send User Notification email option and check both the Add as Affiliate and Disable Affiliate Email options before saving.
If the Require Approval setting is enabled in AffiliateWP » Settings » Affiliates, the new affiliate account will appear with a Pending status. You can manually approve the account to set it as Active. If approval is not required, the account will automatically be active.
When conducting test purchases or submissions, avoid being logged in as the affiliate you are testing and do not use their email address. AffiliateWP blocks affiliates from generating their own referrals unless the Allow Own Referrals addon is enabled.
Testing a Visit
To test if visits are being tracked, open your WordPress admin in one browser and navigate to AffiliateWP » Visits. Leave this browser open as you work in a separate browser application. In the second browser, append a referral variable to your website’s URL (e.g., http://yoursite.com/?ref=1) using the ID of an active affiliate.
After visiting the URL in the second browser, refresh the Visits page in your first browser. A visit should now be recorded, confirming that tracking is functioning correctly.
Testing a Referral
To test referrals, first ensure your chosen integration is enabled under AffiliateWP » Settings » Integrations. Using the same browser that recorded the visit, complete a purchase, membership signup, or form submission on your site. Make sure the email address used is not the same as the affiliate’s email address.
Return to the Visits page in your admin browser and refresh the screen. The red cross in the Converted column should change to a blue tick. Next, go to AffiliateWP » Referrals, where the referral should now be listed.
If testing another referral, be sure to clear your cookies to simulate a new visitor. For detailed steps, see our guide on deleting AffiliateWP’s cookies from your browser.
Testing Affiliate-Tracked Coupons
Affiliate-tracked coupons allow affiliates to generate referrals without requiring a referral link. To test this feature, confirm that your integration supports coupon tracking and enable it under AffiliateWP » Settings » Integrations.
Create a new discount code or coupon in your integration and assign it to the test affiliate. For clarity during testing, you may want to name the coupon after the affiliate (e.g., alfaffiliate).
Using a browser with cleared cookies, visit your site as a new visitor, add a product to the cart, and proceed to checkout. Apply the affiliate-tracked coupon during checkout and complete the purchase.
After the purchase, check AffiliateWP » Referrals to confirm the referral has been recorded. Note that if only the coupon is used without a referral link, no visit will be recorded. However, using both the coupon and the referral link will still result in only one referral, avoiding duplicates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is no visit recorded after using a referral link?
Ensure the affiliate ID in the referral URL is active, and verify that cookies are being set in your browser. Check for caching issues, as cached pages may prevent tracking.
Why is a referral not generated after a test purchase?
Make sure your integration is enabled and properly configured. Also, confirm that the test purchase email does not match the affiliate’s email address, as self-referrals are blocked by default.
Can I use an affiliate-tracked coupon with a referral link?
Yes, but only one referral will be generated, even if both the coupon and referral link are used for the same purchase.
Why are visits or referrals not tracking for subsequent tests?
Clear your browser cookies before starting a new test. This resets the tracking process and allows you to simulate a new visitor.
That’s it! Testing AffiliateWP ensures that visits, referrals, and coupon tracking work smoothly, providing affiliates with a reliable system for earning commissions. By creating a test affiliate, simulating visits and purchases, and verifying referral data, you can be confident in your setup.