Settings overview

5 min read

6 minBeginnerUltimate Affiliate Pro 9.7+

This overview of the Ultimate Affiliate Pro settings shows what each settings tab controls and where to find the options you need. Use it as a map: every section links to the guide that explains the options in detail.

All program-wide options live in Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Settings. Features you turn on or off, such as recurring commissions or PayPal payouts, live in Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Modules. If you are setting up the plugin for the first time, the quick start covers the settings that matter on day one.

Ultimate Affiliate Pro Settings screen with the settings tabs on the left and the first General Settings sections on the right
The settings tabs on the left and the first General Settings sections.

The tabs are on the left side of the Settings screen. Each tab has its own Save Changes button, so save before you switch tabs.

General Settings #

The core rules of your program, in this order on the screen:

Referral Calculation
Which Rate should be used? decides what happens when several rates apply to the same sale, for example a rank rate and a product rate.

Default: Biggest Amount

Redirect Settings
Redirect Same Page Without URL Parameters removes the referral parameter from the address bar after the visit is recorded.

Default: On

Affiliate Links

URL Parameter Name, Base Affiliate Link, Affiliate Link Format, Search URL for Both Formats and the Affiliate Link URL Blacklist. See Affiliate referral links.

Campaign Settings

The Campaign URL Parameter Name used to track affiliate campaigns. See Campaigns.

Default: cmp

Cookie Settings
Cookie Expiration (Days): how long a visitor stays linked to the affiliate after a click.

Default: 360 days

Currency Settings

Currency, Symbol Position, Thousands Separator, Decimals Separator and Number of Decimals, used for every commission and payout. See Currencies.

Referral Calculation Exclusions
  • Exclude Shipping from Calculations and Exclude Taxes from Calculations: on by default, so commissions are calculated on the product amount.
  • Save Zero Value Referrals: records referrals with no amount, for example free orders. On by default.
  • Reject Commissions on Refund: rejects unpaid referrals when the order is refunded. On by default.
  • New Customer Commissions Only: pays commission only on a customer’s first order. Off by default.

See How commissions are calculated.

Affiliate Registration
Auto-Enroll Users as Affiliates makes every new WordPress user an affiliate, and Default Country for Registration Form preselects a country. See Turn existing users into affiliates.

Pages Setup and Redirects Setup #

Pages Setup

Which pages are your Registration Page, Login Page, Lost Password Page, Logout Page, Affiliate Portal and TOS Page. The plugin creates all of them except the Logout Page on activation; change them here if you build your own. See Set the default pages.

Redirects Setup

Where affiliates land after they log out, register, log in or reset their password, and where visitors are sent when they open a page they cannot use, for example the Affiliate Portal while logged out. See Redirects for affiliates.

Notifications Settings and Payout Settings #

Notifications Settings
Sender Details: the email address and name every email is sent from. Affiliate Manager Notifications Email Address(es): who receives the emails meant for you. Notification Logs: the emails the plugin has sent, with an option to clean up old logs. Write the emails themselves in Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Email Notifications. See Email notifications.
Payout Settings

The payout methods affiliates can choose (Stripe Payouts, PayPal Payouts, Wire Transfer and Store Credit) and the payout rules: Referral Grace Period Days (how many days an approved referral waits before it can be paid, 30 by default), Minimum Payout Amount and Disable Direct Deposit. See How affiliate payouts work.

Admin Workflow and Public Workflow #

Admin Workflow
  • Update Frequency: how often affiliate ranks (daily by default) and payout statuses (twice a day by default) are updated.
  • Keep Referral Status as Pending: referrals stay Pending until you approve them yourself, instead of changing to Approved when the order is completed.
  • Disable IP Address Logging: stops saving visitor IP addresses with clicks, for stricter privacy rules.
  • Show Dashboard Notifications for new affiliates and referrals, and Enable Usage Tracking, which shares anonymous technical data with us.
Public Workflow
Referral Sources sets the label shown for each source of referrals, such as WooCommerce or User SignUp. Optimize Assets Loading loads the plugin’s styles and scripts only where they are needed.

Access, uploads, reCAPTCHA and developer tools #

WP Dashboard Access

By default, only Administrators can open the WordPress admin dashboard; other logged-in users stay on the front end of your site. Turn on access for other WordPress roles here if they need it.

Uploads Settings

Accepted File Extensions, Maximum Upload File Size and Maximum Avatar File Size for files affiliates upload, such as profile pictures.

reCaptcha Setup

The reCAPTCHA Version and the Site Key and Secret Key that protect your affiliate forms from spam. See Add reCAPTCHA to affiliate forms.

Developers
Safe Mode pauses every other active plugin across the site while you look for a conflict, and turns itself off after 30 minutes. Choose plugins that stay active in Always keep active. The Hooks & Filters section lists the actions and filters you can use in custom code. See Hooks and filters.

Use Safe Mode on a staging site when you can

While Safe Mode is on, features from other plugins, such as your shop or page builder, are paused for every visitor. Turn it on for as short a time as possible, or test on a copy of your site.

Settings outside the Settings screen #

Other options have their own menu items under Ultimate Affiliate Pro:

Modules

Turn features on and off, such as Recurring Commissions, Multi-Level Marketing, PayPal Payouts or Pretty Affiliate Links. Most modules have their own settings page.

Integrations

Turn on the plugins that create referrals, such as WooCommerce or a form plugin.

Ranks and Product Rates

Commission rates for groups of affiliates and for specific products. See Ranks and Product rates.

Registration Form, Login Form and Affiliate Portal

Fields, messages, design and menu of the pages affiliates use. See Affiliate Portal settings.

Email Notifications

The emails sent to affiliates and to you, one per event.

Export-Import

Export affiliates, referrals, clicks and payouts to CSV files, import affiliates and referrals from CSV files created by the plugin, and export or import your settings to copy them to another site.

Licensing

Activate or revoke your license. See Manage your license.

Frequently asked questions #

Where do I change the referral link parameter?

In Ultimate Affiliate Pro, Settings, General Settings, section Affiliate Links: change URL Parameter Name and click Save Changes.

Where do I change the cookie duration?

In General Settings, section Cookie Settings, field Cookie Expiration (Days). The default is 360 days.

Why do commissions not include shipping or taxes?

Exclude Shipping from Calculations and Exclude Taxes from Calculations are on by default. Turn them off in General Settings, section Referral Calculation Exclusions, if you want to pay commission on the full order total.

Can I copy my settings to another site?

Yes. Use Ultimate Affiliate Pro, Export-Import to export the settings from one site and import them on the other.

I changed a setting but nothing happened. What should I check?

Make sure you clicked Save Changes on that tab before switching tabs. If you use a cache plugin, clear its cache so visitors see the new behavior.

What’s next #

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