Ranks give affiliates something to climb toward: you define named tiers such as Bronze, Silver and Gold, each with a requirement and a one-off bonus, and affiliates are promoted as they grow. Affiliate and Referral Program for WooCommerce shows the rank on the affiliate’s own dashboard and pays the bonus into the same commission queue you already review. Part of the plugin documentation.
What a rank is
↑ Back to topA rank is a badge plus a bonus. It does not change how much commission an affiliate earns per sale — it recognises a milestone and pays a fixed reward for reaching it. Ranks work with any commission setup, and they are especially useful where affiliates recruit other affiliates, because the requirements can count the size of an affiliate’s network.
Ranks are not the same as affiliate levels (performance-based direct commission). Levels set the direct commission rate an affiliate earns and replace your product and category rules while they are active. Ranks sit on top of whatever commission model you use and pay a one-off bonus. An affiliate can hold a level and a rank at the same time.
Create a rank
↑ Back to top- Go to: WooCommerce > Affiliate & Referral > Rank Setting.
- Press Add New Rank.
- Fill in the rank details:
- NAME OF RANK – what the affiliate sees on their dashboard, for example Silver.
- RANK PRIORITY – the rank’s position in your ladder. A higher number is a higher rank.
- RANK commission – the one-off bonus paid when an affiliate reaches this rank.
- DESCRIPTION OF RANK – a short line describing what it represents.
- Choose the RANK REQUIREMENT that earns it (see below).
- Save.
Repeat for each tier. Give the entry tier the lowest priority number and your top tier the highest, leaving gaps (10, 20, 30) so you can slot a rank in later without renumbering.
Choose what earns the rank
↑ Back to topRANK REQUIREMENT offers four kinds of milestone:
- Signup as an affiliate – earned on joining. Use it for a welcome tier that every affiliate starts on.
- Personally sponser affiliate – earned by personally recruiting a set number of affiliates. (The label is spelled this way in the plugin.)
- Total affiliate in an organisation – earned when the affiliate’s whole network, not just their direct recruits, reaches a set size.
- Reach a Rank – earned when a set number of the affiliate’s people have themselves reached a rank you choose. This is how you build a ladder where leaders are rewarded for growing other leaders.
The three network requirements count an affiliate’s recruits, so they are only meaningful once multi-tier mode is running and affiliates are recruiting each other.
When affiliates are promoted
↑ Back to topRanks are worked out when the affiliate opens their dashboard. If they now meet the requirement for a rank above their current one, they are promoted there and then, and the bonus is created.
Two consequences worth knowing:
- An affiliate who never visits their dashboard is never promoted. Mentioning ranks in your affiliate emails is what brings them back to look.
- Adding a rank later still rewards affiliates who already qualify — they are promoted the next time they open the dashboard.
How the rank bonus is paid
↑ Back to topThe bonus enters your normal queue as a pending commission labelled Rank bonus, with no order attached. Approve it on Manage Referrals like any other earning and it lands in the affiliate’s wallet, ready for a payout.
The bonus is paid once, when the rank is reached. Affiliates keep a rank once earned, and reaching a higher rank later pays that rank’s bonus in turn.
FAQ
↑ Back to topDo ranks change how much commission an affiliate earns per sale?
↑ Back to topNo — that is what Performance-Based Direct Commission with Affiliate Levels and the commission rules do. A rank pays its one-off bonus and shows on the dashboard.
Why has an affiliate who qualifies not been promoted?
↑ Back to topAlmost always because they have not opened their affiliate dashboard since qualifying — that is when ranks are worked out. Ask them to sign in and check.
Can an affiliate lose a rank?
↑ Back to topNo. Ranks are permanent recognition of a milestone that was reached, even if the affiliate’s network later shrinks.
Where do affiliates see their rank?
↑ Back to topAt the top of their dashboard, next to their name. The bonus itself appears in their commission table as a Rank Bonus row.
