Setting Up an Affiliate Program

Choosing between an affiliate network and a self-hosted platform is the first major decision when launching a program. Networks like CJ Affiliate and ShareASale provide immediate access to thousands of existing affiliates but charge setup fees and a percentage of commissions paid.

Self-hosted platforms such as Refersion, Impact, or WooCommerce Affiliates offer full control, lower ongoing costs, and cleaner data integration with your own systems, but require you to recruit affiliates entirely from scratch.

ShareASale is a large network well-suited to physical product and e-commerce brands, with a diverse affiliate pool across niches. Impact (formerly Impact Radius) is favored by mid-market and enterprise brands for its advanced reporting and partnership management features.

Refersion integrates directly with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce, making it popular with direct-to-consumer brands. WooCommerce Affiliates is a cost-effective plugin option for brands already running on WooCommerce with straightforward program needs.