ReCurr Pro Tutorial Series — Part 5: Affiliate Portal & Creatives

ReCurr Pro feature — Requires an active ReCurr Pro licence (RECPRO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) and the ReCurr Pro plugin installed alongside the ReCurr base plugin.

The Affiliate Portal is a frontend dashboard where your affiliates can track their performance, grab referral links, download banners, and manage their settings — all without needing access to your WordPress admin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to set up the portal page, create marketing creatives, and understand the affiliate self-service experience.

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Before You Begin

• Your affiliate program is configured (Pro Tutorial 3)
• At least one affiliate is approved and active
• You are familiar with commission and payout flow (Pro Tutorial 4)

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Part A: Setting Up the Affiliate Portal

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Step 1: Create the Portal Page

The affiliate portal is rendered via a WordPress shortcode. To set it up:

1. Go to Pages > Add New in your WordPress dashboard
2. Give the page a title (e.g., “Affiliate Dashboard” or “Partner Portal”)
3. Add the shortcode to the page content:

[recurr_affiliate_portal]

4. Publish the page
5. Note the page URL — this is what you will share with affiliates

Screenshot 1: WordPress page editor with the title “Affiliate Dashboard” and the [recurr_affiliate_portal] shortcode in the content area.

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Step 2: Link the Portal in Navigation

Make the portal easily accessible to your affiliates:

1. Go to Appearance > Menus
2. Add the Affiliate Dashboard page to your main menu or a dedicated “Partners” menu
3. Optionally, use a conditional menu plugin to only show this link to logged-in users

Screenshot 2: WordPress Menu editor showing the Affiliate Dashboard page added to the navigation menu.

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Step 3: Explore the Affiliate Portal

When an approved affiliate visits the portal page while logged in, they see a full self-service dashboard with the following sections:

Dashboard Overview

The main dashboard shows at-a-glance statistics:

Metric	Description
Total Earnings	Cumulative commissions earned (all time)
Balance	Current unpaid balance
Total Referrals	Number of customers referred
Conversion Rate	Percentage of clicks that converted to sales

Screenshot 3: The affiliate portal dashboard showing the four key metrics in card format.

Referral Link

The portal prominently displays the affiliate’s unique referral link with:

• Copy button — one-click copy to clipboard
• QR Code — scannable QR code that encodes the referral link (great for print, events, or social sharing)

The referral link format is: https://yourstore.com/?ref=CODE

Screenshot 4: The referral link section showing the full URL, a Copy button, and a generated QR code.

Referrals Tab

A detailed table of all referrals with:

Column	Description
Date	When the referral was created
Type	Sale or Renewal
Amount	Commission earned
Status	Pending, Approved, Paid, or Rejected

Affiliates can filter by status and date range.

Screenshot 5: The referrals table showing a list of referrals with mixed statuses and a date filter.

Visits/Clicks Tab

Shows all tracked clicks on the affiliate’s referral link:

Column	Description
Date	When the click occurred
URL	The page that was visited
Referrer	Where the visitor came from
Converted	Whether the visit resulted in a sale

Screenshot 6: The visits table showing click data with referrer information and conversion indicators.

Creatives Tab

Displays all available marketing materials (set up by the admin — see Part B below). Affiliates can:

• Preview banners and text links
• Copy pre-built HTML embed code
• Download banner images

Screenshot 7: The creatives tab showing available banners with preview thumbnails and “Copy Code” buttons.

Payout History Tab

Shows all past and pending payouts:

Column	Description
Date	When the payout was processed
Amount	Payout amount
Method	Manual, EFT, Store Credit, or PayFast Split
Status	Pending, Processing, Completed, or Failed

Screenshot 8: The payout history table showing completed payouts.

Settings Tab

Affiliates can manage their own preferences:

• Payment Method — choose preferred payout method (Manual, EFT, Store Credit)
• Referral Code — view their unique code (not editable)
• PayFast Merchant ID — enter their PayFast merchant ID for split payments (if applicable)

Screenshot 9: The affiliate settings tab showing payment method dropdown and PayFast Merchant ID field.

The portal shows each affiliate their own referrals, earnings and payouts only. There is one level: an affiliate earns on the sales they refer, and the portal lists no other affiliates.

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Part B: Creating Marketing Creatives

Creatives are marketing materials you provide to affiliates — banners, text links, and email swipes that include their referral tracking.

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Step 4: Access Creatives Management

1. Go to Subscriptions > Creatives in your WordPress dashboard
2. Click Add New Creative

Screenshot 10: The Creatives list page with the “Add New Creative” button.

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Step 5: Create a Banner Creative

1. Click Add New Creative
2. Fill in the creative details:

Field	Description
Name	Internal name for reference (e.g., “Homepage Banner 728×90”)
Type	Select “Banner”
Image	Upload or select the banner image from the media library
Destination URL	The page the banner links to (the affiliate’s referral code is appended automatically)
Description	Optional notes for affiliates about where/how to use this banner

3. Click Save Creative

Screenshot 11: The Add New Creative form for a banner, showing the image upload field, destination URL, and description.

Recommended Banner Sizes

Size	Use Case
728 x 90	Leaderboard — website headers
300 x 250	Medium Rectangle — sidebar, in-content
160 x 600	Wide Skyscraper — sidebar
468 x 60	Full Banner — classic web banner
1200 x 628	Social — Facebook, LinkedIn sharing

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Step 6: Create a Text Link Creative

1. Click Add New Creative
2. Set Type to “Text Link”
3. Fill in:

Field	Description
Name	Internal name (e.g., “Sign Up CTA Link”)
Link Text	The anchor text (e.g., “Start your free trial today”)
Destination URL	The target page
Description	Usage suggestions for the affiliate

4. Click Save Creative

When affiliates copy this link from their portal, their referral code is automatically appended to the URL.

Screenshot 12: The Add New Creative form for a text link, showing link text and destination URL fields.

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Step 7: Create an Email Swipe Creative

Email swipes are pre-written email templates that affiliates can send to their audience.

1. Click Add New Creative
2. Set Type to “Email Swipe”
3. Fill in:

Field	Description
Name	Internal name (e.g., “Welcome Email Swipe”)
Subject Line	Suggested email subject
Email Body	Pre-written email content with a placeholder for the affiliate’s referral link
Description	Tips for customising the email

4. Click Save Creative

Include {affiliate_link} in the email body — this is replaced with the affiliate’s unique referral URL when they view the creative in their portal.

Screenshot 13: The Add New Creative form for an email swipe, showing subject line and email body fields with the {affiliate_link} placeholder.

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Step 8: Review Available Creatives

The Creatives list shows all your marketing materials:

Column	Description
Name	Creative name
Type	Banner, Text Link, or Email Swipe
Status	Active or Inactive
Date Created	When the creative was added

You can deactivate creatives that are outdated or seasonal without deleting them.

Screenshot 14: The Creatives list showing a mix of banners, text links, and email swipes with their statuses.

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How Affiliates Use Creatives

From their portal’s Creatives tab:

1. Banners — affiliates see a preview thumbnail and can copy the HTML embed code (which includes their referral link) or download the image
2. Text Links — affiliates copy the pre-built link with their tracking code appended
3. Email Swipes — affiliates copy the email template with their referral link pre-filled

All embed codes and links automatically include the affiliate’s unique referral code. Affiliates do not need to manually add their code.

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Important Notes

• The portal requires login. Non-logged-in visitors see a login prompt. Non-affiliate users see a message indicating they are not registered as an affiliate.
• QR codes are generated dynamically. Each affiliate’s QR code encodes their unique referral link. These can be printed for offline marketing (business cards, flyers, events).
• Creatives are shared across all affiliates. You create them once, and every affiliate sees them with their own tracking code applied.
• Banner images should be optimised. Upload compressed images to ensure fast loading on affiliate websites.
• The portal is fully responsive. The affiliate dashboard works on mobile devices, tablets, and desktops.

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What’s Next?

Up next: Pro Tutorial 6: Reports & Analytics — Understanding your CRM dashboard, affiliate performance reports, and revenue insights.

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Quick Checklist

• [ ] Created the Affiliate Portal page with the [recurr_affiliate_portal] shortcode
• [ ] Published the page and added it to your site navigation
• [ ] Logged in as a test affiliate and explored the portal dashboard
• [ ] Verified the referral link and QR code are displayed correctly
• [ ] Reviewed the referrals, visits, and payout history tabs
• [ ] Created at least one banner creative
• [ ] Created at least one text link creative
• [ ] Created at least one email swipe creative (optional)
• [ ] Verified creatives appear in the affiliate portal with correct tracking codes

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This is Part 5 of the ReCurr Pro Tutorial Series.

Tutorial	Topic
Pro 1. CRM Getting Started	Contacts, lifecycle stages, tags, tasks
Pro 2. CRM Automation & Campaigns	Automated workflows, email campaigns, merge tags
Pro 3. Affiliate Program Setup	Enabling affiliates, registration, commission programs
Pro 4. Affiliate Commissions & Payouts	Referral tracking, commissions, payout processing
Pro 5. Affiliate Portal & Creatives	Frontend portal, banners, links, QR codes (you are here)
Pro 6. Reports & Analytics	CRM dashboard, affiliate reports, revenue insights