Link management and cloaking
You joined Amazon Associates or another merchant. The plugin shortens, inserts and counts the outbound links. Examples: ThirstyAffiliates, Pretty Links, Lasso.
Blog · WordPress plugins
Best WordPress affiliate plugins
Quick answer
Affiliate plugins do two different jobs. Link plugins such as Pretty Links and ThirstyAffiliates manage and count outbound links to merchants you joined; program plugins such as AffiliateWP and SliceWP pay commissions on your own WooCommerce store. WebJi sells none of them and quotes no plugin prices.
For Indian bloggers and WooCommerce store owners separating link management from running a real affiliate program.
GuideWebJi®
knowledge
knowledge
- Read time
- 3 min
- Sections
- 4
- Updated
- 14 Nov 2026
- Written by
- WebJi® team
Last editorial update: 15 November 2026.
Two different jobs share the word "affiliate" in WordPress
Before comparing plugins, separate the two jobs: managing links to merchants you have joined, versus paying other people to sell for you. Most WordPress sites need only the first. The second only applies once you run a store and actually owe commissions to promoters.
Your own affiliate program
You are the merchant. The plugin creates referral accounts, tracks commissions and manages payouts. Examples: AffiliateWP, SliceWP. Nothing to install until you pay promoters.
WebJi® does not sell any plugin named on this page, and quotes no plugin prices. If the plan is to promote hosting rather than run a program, the terms worth comparing are collected in hosting affiliate programs in India.
Link-management plugins: dated wordpress.org facts
ThirstyAffiliates and Pretty Links both run free versions on wordpress.org with large install bases; Lasso is a commercial product known for its product displays. The figures below were read from the official wordpress.org listings on 15 November 2026.
| Plugin | Free listing | Active installs | Dated facts | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pretty Links | Yes | 200,000+ | v4.0.18; needs WordPress 6.5+ and PHP 7.4+ | Short branded redirects, click tracking, CSV import in the free tier |
| ThirstyAffiliates | Yes | 30,000+ | v3.12.2; needs WordPress 6.0+ and PHP 7.4+ | /recommends/ style cloaked links, click reports; Amazon API import sits in the paid tier |
| Lasso | No (commercial) | — | Version and sales figures not published in a comparable listing | Product boxes and link displays for roundup posts |
Both free plugins are by the same author, Blair Williams, and both offer paid upgrades for keyword auto-linking, geolocation and link health checks — the free tiers cover shortening, redirects and click counts. Match the plugin to how you write: manual link inserts, or product boxes in review posts.
The Amazon Associates catch Indian bloggers must read before cloaking
Amazon's Associates participation requirements restrict obscuring where a click comes from — they state you will not cloak, hide or obscure the URL of the site containing special links, including with a redirecting page. That sits awkwardly beside any plugin whose headline feature is cloaked redirects, so the order of reading matters.
- Read the current Amazon.in Associates agreement before turning redirects on; program text changes and this page is not the agreement.
- A link that keeps the reader on your domain and forwards to the merchant must still let Amazon identify your site as the source.
- Keep the disclosure sentence the merchant requires — plugin settings do not replace program terms.
- Track clicks in the plugin and in the merchant dashboard for a month; the two numbers should be the same order of magnitude.
This is a summary of a documented rule as the page's sources state it, not legal advice.
Running your own program on WooCommerce: AffiliateWP and SliceWP
To pay affiliates on your own WooCommerce store, the two names that come up are AffiliateWP, a commercial plugin, and SliceWP, which lists a free version on wordpress.org. Per its listing read on 15 November 2026, SliceWP (v1.2.15, 10,000+ active installs, WordPress 6.0+/PHP 7.3+) tracks visits and percentage or fixed commissions, auto-creates registration and account pages, and integrates with WooCommerce; recurring commissions and PayPal Payouts sit in its paid tier.
- Decide the rate first: a percentage or fixed rupee amount per order — the plugin records it, it does not invent it.
- Set a cookie window and a refund rule: test one referred order and refund it; check the commission reverses before inviting affiliates.
- Choose a payout method Indians can receive: a bank transfer you honour beats a gateway button your affiliates cannot cash out to.
AffiliateWP is the plugin most WooCommerce stores mean when they say they run a program; it is sold on its own site rather than the free repository, so no install figures are quoted here. Do not cloak your own checkout — your program's cookie lives on your domain already.
Disclosure rules: what ASCI and the FTC expect on an affiliate post
Say you earn a commission where the reader can see it, before the first link, in the post's own language. ASCI treats the commission as a material connection; the FTC's Endorsement Guides ask for a clear disclosure close to the claim. A sitewide footer does not cover an individual post.
- Per post, not per site: every post carrying commission links gets its own line.
- Use a recognised label: ASCI's current list includes Ad and Sponsored — do not invent a private joke.
- Place it before the click: above the first affiliate link, not after the buy button.
- Keep the merchant's sentence too: Amazon and other programs prescribe wording that survives alongside your own.
Where this income stream sits among ads, sponsored posts and digital products is mapped in blog monetization in India.
Where an affiliate site should be hosted
An affiliate site is a WordPress content site with tracking redirects — it needs reliable uptime and backups more than raw power. WebJi®'s WordPress plans start at ₹400/month before GST (Unlimited, with daily backup, staging, CDN and an install wizard; Unlimited+ at ₹500/month raises mailbox storage from 1 GB to 10 GB per ID, read from WebJi® billing on 15 November 2026). Redirect plugins add database rows, so keep the daily backup. The wider plugin shortlist for a new site is in essential WordPress plugins, and WebJi®'s own program — the other side of this market — is on the WebJi® hosting affiliate program page.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a cloaking plugin if I just have three affiliate links?
No. With a handful of links, paste them directly and disclose the commission. Link plugins earn their install once you manage dozens of links, need click counts, or want to update a merchant URL in one place instead of editing every post.
Is cloaking allowed under Amazon Associates?
Amazon's participation requirements, as this page's sources state them, say you will not cloak, hide or obscure the URL of your site containing special links, including with a redirecting page. Some redirect styles remain workable; read the current Amazon.in agreement before enabling redirects and never rely on a plugin's default as permission.
Can SliceWP's free version run a real program?
Per its wordpress.org listing, the free tier tracks visits and percentage or fixed commissions, creates affiliate account pages and integrates with WooCommerce. Recurring commissions, PayPal Payouts and multi-level referrals are paid-tier features. Many small Indian stores start free and pay bank transfers manually.
Does WebJi® sell or bundle any of these plugins?
No. WebJi® hosts WordPress sites; it does not sell ThirstyAffiliates, Pretty Links, Lasso, AffiliateWP or SliceWP, and does not quote their prices. What WebJi does offer is its own affiliate program for hosting referrals, linked above, alongside WordPress hosting plans with daily backups.
Last editorial update: 15 November 2026. Prices follow the dated sources on this page; checkout confirms current charges.
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