Moving an existing affiliate program to Affiliate and Referral Program for WooCommerce is quicker than it sounds: the plugin imports your existing affiliates from another WordPress affiliate plugin in one click and keeps their existing referral links working, so the move comes down to importing your people, re-creating your commission plan, and letting affiliates pick up their new tools. This page is the checklist that keeps it orderly. Part of the plugin documentation.
What carries over — and what does not
↑ Back to topTwo things move with you, one is rebuilt:
- People – import your existing affiliates in one click; anyone who is not in the import registers through the form.
- Rules – your commission plan is re-created in the new settings.
- Assets – imported affiliates keep their existing referral links working; new links, QR codes and banners wait in their dashboard, and you can restructure links later if you want a different format.
Before you shut the old program down, export its records for your files and settle its outstanding balances there — this program starts everyone’s ledger at zero.
Step 1: Import your affiliates, then invite the rest
↑ Back to topBring your existing affiliates across with the plugin’s one-click affiliate import — their accounts and referral links come with them. For anyone the import does not cover, set up the registration form and send them the signup link from your own mailing tool. Two settings make that part smoother:
- Turn on Affiliate Verification (under Advanced Features > General) so you approve each returning affiliate and can screen out strangers who find the form mid-migration. See How to Approve and Manage Your Affiliates.
- Add your own questions to the form — for example “your affiliate name in the old program” — so you can match new accounts to old records.
Step 2: Re-create your commission plan
↑ Back to topWrite down the rates your old program paid, then map them onto the commission rules: a store-wide rate first, then per-product, per-category or per-affiliate exceptions. Tier-based programs map to Performance-Based Direct Commission with Affiliate Levels or Affiliate Ranks and Rank Bonuses, and multi-tier programs to How to Set Up MLM in Your Affiliate Program.
Step 3: Check links and creatives
↑ Back to topImported affiliates keep their existing referral links, so promotions already running carry on paying them. Their dashboard also offers new referral links, QR codes and any banners you have uploaded, and you can restructure links later if you prefer a different format. Assign tracking coupons to affiliates who promote by code, and ask everyone to check that the links on their sites and profiles are the ones they want to keep using.
Give the old program a retirement date and say it in the invitation: “the old dashboard closes on the 30th.” A date moves people; an open-ended request does not.
FAQ
↑ Back to topCan I import my affiliates from my previous plugin?
↑ Back to topYes — in one click, with their existing referral links intact. Affiliates who are not in the import join through the registration form; use a custom form question to reconcile those signups with your old records.
Will links from my old program keep working?
↑ Back to topYes — imported affiliates keep their existing referral links, and those links pay them here. You can restructure links later if you want a different format.
Can both programs run during the transition?
↑ Back to topYou can keep the old program open while you finish the move, but plan to retire it quickly — running two ledgers side by side just prolongs split bookkeeping. More questions are answered in the Affiliate and Referral Program: FAQ.
