RewardsWP gives you complete control over how your referral marketing program operates. Whether you’re configuring rewards, customizing the user experience, or enabling platform integrations, the settings page provides all the tools you need to tailor the plugin to your business goals.
This guide will walk you through each setting, explaining its purpose and how to use it effectively. By the end, you’ll have a fully optimized referral program ready to grow your business.
Accessing RewardsWP settings
To access the main settings area, navigate to RewardsWP → Settings in your WordPress admin. The settings screen uses tab based navigation, with each tab representing a settings group. Each group is further divided into logical sections, and settings are saved per tab.
General
The General tab contains two sections that establish the foundation of your RewardsWP setup. The first controls licensing and feature availability, while the second defines core behavioral rules that affect how customers participate in your rewards and referral programs.
License key
Your RewardsWP license key determines which features are available across the plugin. When a valid license is active, Pro functionality is unlocked and automatic updates are enabled, ensuring access to advanced reward types, email notifications, and ongoing improvements.
Different license tiers control which settings and reward options appear throughout the interface. As a result, certain features are only visible when the appropriate license level is active, keeping the settings experience focused and relevant to your plan.
License status indicators provide immediate feedback, clearly showing whether your license is valid, expired, invalid, or deactivated, so you can quickly understand whether any features are restricted
General settings
General settings define how RewardsWP behaves at a foundational level. These options influence tracking behavior, URL structure, and who can participate in your programs.
Here’s how to set them up:
- Currency: Select the currency your store uses for transactions. For example, you might choose “United States Dollar (USD).” This ensures rewards align with your store’s pricing.
- Referral Slug: The unique identifier used in referral links, such as “share.” A referral link might look like yoursite.com/?share=5ee7bdf.
- Cookie Expiration: Set the duration for which a referral link remains valid. By default, this is 30 days, meaning a referred friend must make a purchase within 30 days for the advocate to earn a reward.
- Program participants: Program participants determine who is allowed to take part in the RewardsWP program. You can allow participation from:
- All customers, including guests and registered users, or
- Members only, limiting participation to customers with WordPress accounts
When guest participation is enabled, guests can earn rewards, but they must create an account before redeeming points or rewards. Restricting participation to members only ensures all activity is tied to registered accounts from the start.
These settings form the foundation of your referral program, so it’s essential to configure them accurately.
Points
The Points tab manages your loyalty program, allowing customers to earn and redeem points through purchases and engagement. For complete Points program documentation, see the Complete Guide to RewardsWP Points.
Referrals
The Referrals tab controls how your refer a friend program works from end to end. This includes when the program is active, what rewards are issued, and how advocates share their referral links.
Referral settings are designed to help you balance generosity, profitability, and ease of sharing, while keeping the experience simple for customers.
Program status
Program status acts as the master control for the referral program.
When the program is Active, RewardsWP generates referral links for advocates, displays sharing options in the Rewards Widget, and begins tracking referrals. When the program is Inactive, all referral related features are hidden from customers and no new referrals are tracked.
Importantly, deactivating the program does not delete any existing data. Previously issued rewards, referral history, and advocate links remain safely stored. This makes it easy to pause your program temporarily without losing progress.
Referral tracking
The Referral Tracking section controls how RewardsWP identifies and attributes referrals.
Referral variable
The referral variable defines the URL parameter used in referral links. This value appears in every referral URL shared by advocates.
For example, if the referral variable is set to share, referral links will look like:
https://yourstore.com/?share=ABC123
This parameter allows RewardsWP to associate visits and purchases with the correct advocate. Because referral links are often shared externally and reused over time, the referral variable should be short, clear, and finalized before launch. Changing it after your program is live will break previously shared referral links.
Referral cookie duration
Referral cookie duration controls how long referral attribution remains active after a visitor clicks a referral link. When someone clicks a referral link, RewardsWP stores a cookie in their browser containing the advocate’s identifier. As long as the cookie is valid, any qualifying purchase will credit the advocate, even if the purchase happens days later.
Referral rewards
The Referral Rewards section defines what happens when a referral successfully converts. RewardsWP supports two sided rewards, meaning you can reward both the advocate who shared the referral and the friend who placed their first order.
Each side is configured independently, giving you flexibility to design rewards that balance generosity and profitability.
Advocate reward
The Advocate Reward is issued to the existing customer who successfully refers a friend.
When you click Add Reward under Advocate Reward, you can choose from the following reward types:
- Amount discount: Issues a fixed amount coupon, such as $10 off.
- Percentage off: Issues a percentage based discount, such as 20% off.
- Free shipping: Issues a coupon that removes shipping costs.
- Points: Awards points directly to the advocate’s points balance. This option is available when the Points program is enabled.
Advocate rewards are issued each time a qualifying referral converts, ensuring advocates are rewarded consistently for continued sharing.
Friend reward
The Friend Reward is issued to the new customer on their first order after arriving through a referral link. When you click Add Reward under Friend Reward, you can choose from the following reward types:
- Amount discount: Issues a fixed amount coupon for the friend’s first order.
- Percentage off: Issues a percentage based discount.
- Free shipping: Issues a free shipping coupon.
Friends always receive coupon based rewards. Points are not available for friend rewards. Friend rewards are typically used to incentivize conversion by offering an immediate benefit on the first purchase.
How referral rewards work together
Once both rewards are configured, RewardsWP handles the entire referral flow automatically:
- An advocate shares their referral link.
- A friend clicks the link and places their first order.
- The friend receives their reward on the qualifying order.
- The advocate receives their reward after the referral is confirmed.
Each referral generates new rewards, and all reward issuance is tracked internally so there are no duplicate or missed rewards.
Rewards Widget
The Rewards Widget is the interface your members use to share their referral links and track rewards. It’s fully customizable to match your brand and enhance the user experience. As you make changes to the widget’s design and settings, you can preview the updates in real time to ensure everything looks just right before saving.
- Brand Color: Choose a color that aligns with your branding. This will be used throughout the widget’s design.
- Rewards Launcher Display: Customize how the launcher appears on your site. Options include:
- Icon with Text
- Text Only
- Icon Only
You can also edit the launcher text (e.g., “Earn Rewards”) and choose its position on the screen for optimal visibility.
- Sharing Options: Allow members to share their referral links directly from the widget. Supported methods include:
- Facebook: Members can share their links, but Facebook requires users to write their own messages when posting.
- Email: Customize the subject and message for referral emails. Placeholders like {site_name} and {referral_link} personalize each message.
Preview changes in real-time to ensure the widget looks and functions perfectly before saving.
Integrations
RewardsWP supports WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads, ensuring compatibility with the most popular eCommerce platforms.
- If WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads isn’t installed, you’ll see a message prompting you to install and activate the respective plugin.
- Once installed and activated, RewardsWP automatically enables the integration. For example, you’ll see a confirmation message like “The WooCommerce integration has been automatically enabled.”
These integrations ensure seamless tracking of referrals and reward application during the checkout process.
That’s it! The RewardsWP settings page is your command center for building a successful referral program. From defining rewards and customizing the Rewards Widget to enabling platform integrations and setting up email communication, each setting plays a vital role in enhancing your program’s effectiveness.