The Best WordPress Affiliate Programs That You Must Join
Affiliate programs are a common online marketing tool, and WordPress affiliate programs are a big part of that world. Done properly and honestly, affiliate marketing grows your revenue, builds real relationships with both brands and their customers, and spreads the word about products you actually believe in.
Product builders get free advertising up front and pay only for results, while promoters earn solid income for pointing potential customers toward good products. The mechanics are simple: you promote a unique link on your blog, social account, or email list, and if a reader clicks it and buys within a set window – usually 30 to 60 days – you get a cut of the sale.
The WordPress ecosystem has no shortage of affiliate programs. Here are some of the best ones worth joining:
- WBcom Designs
- ThemeForest By Envato
- Elegant Themes
- ThemeIsle
- Genesis
- Themify
- CSS Igniter Program
- MyTheme Shop
- WP Engine
- Flywheel
1. WBcom Designs
A major name in WordPress theme and plugin development, Wbcom Designs tracks affiliate referrals across every page on its site. When a customer clicks your affiliate link and buys something on their site, you earn a commission – 30% of whatever your referral pays, with no cap on how many commissions you can earn.
Wbcom Designs has built a large user base with its themes and plugins, and its Reign BuddyPress Theme in particular works well for both new WordPress users and experienced designers. The program runs on a 90-day cookie window, and the brand’s reputation and product quality make it an easy sell to your audience – people tend to trust these products on their own merits.
They also run a full affiliate support team reachable across Skype, Twitter, email, and phone, which makes it easy to get questions answered if you sign up.
2. ThemeForest By Envato
ThemeForest is the biggest marketplace for premium WordPress themes, used by countless bloggers and designers to buy and sell themes. It’s owned by Envato Market and gives users a reliable place to shop for themes at reasonable prices.
ThemeForest runs one of the best affiliate programs in the WordPress space – anyone can sign up and start selling themes right away. There’s no manual review; your application gets approved instantly.
ThemeForest’s marketplace has a massive theme selection and pays 30% commission on every sale, or when someone deposits funds into their Envato account. You can download ThemeForest’s banners and logos to display on your site or just build affiliate backlinks directly.
3. Elegant Themes
Elegant Themes is another huge WordPress theme marketplace popular among developers and designers. It runs on a subscription model – signing up as a customer gives access to all 87 themes and 6 plugins, starting at $69 per year. With top-tier products like Divi, Bloom, and Extra in its lineup, Elegant Themes practically sells itself.
In our experience, Elegant Themes ranks among the top performers for WordPress affiliate programs. Beyond converting well with first-time customers, it also keeps around half its customer base long-term, and since commissions pay out on renewals too, you can earn from this program for years. Affiliate commissions run 50% on all sales, with a 180-day cookie window.
4. ThemeIsle
With more than 30 themes and 10 premium plugins – plus plenty of add-ons – ThemeIsle is one of the most well-known WordPress theme clubs and among the fastest-growing theme stores around. Customers get full access to the entire ThemeIsle library for a single annual fee.
For customers, that’s real value; for affiliates, it makes the program a reliable converter. The numbers back this up – ThemeIsle is one of the strongest affiliate programs for freemium themes, and the higher-priced tiers make for a genuinely lucrative offer.
Affiliate commissions stand at 55%, with payment threshold at $100 and cookie duration of a year.
5. Genesis
Genesis is one of the most enduring WordPress theme frameworks, one that bloggers have relied on for years. The decline of the Thesis theme helped push Genesis into becoming the go-to framework instead. It costs more and tends to attract established bloggers and well-known online businesses.
Promoting the Genesis framework and its child themes is straightforward, and a single sale can be a solid payday. It runs a 2-tier program with a 60-day cookie window and pays 35% commission on every sale.
6. Themify
Themify is a solid theme store with 52 well-designed WordPress themes, and it’s also known for its Themify Builder plugin. Customers will find dedicated eCommerce, restaurant, and corporate themes in the lineup.
The numbers show Themify converts reliably too, which makes it one of the better WordPress affiliate programs. Commissions run 30%, memberships start at $79 per year, and the cookie window is 30 days.
7. CSS Igniter Program
CSS Igniter offers templates for nearly every kind of website, and its range of pricing options makes it a strong fit for varied referral traffic. Its Lifetime “All Access” package costs $249, which works out to a $99.60 commission per sale at their 40% rate.
8. MyTheme Shop
MyThemeShop pays out one of the biggest commissions in WordPress affiliate marketing – a full 70%. They currently offer 85 premium themes and 13 premium plugins, plus a club subscription option.
MyThemeShop is one of the better-converting programs out there. Commissions sit at 70% with a 60-day cookie window.
9. WP Engine
WP Engine is one of the biggest names in managed WordPress hosting. Its plans cost more than typical shared hosting, but you’re paying for fast performance and strong customer support.
WP Engine pays $200 or 100% of the customer’s first month, whichever is higher. Plans start at $29 a month, and the cookie window runs 180 days.
10. Flywheel
Flywheel is another solid managed WordPress hosting option, offering fast performance and a knowledgeable WordPress support team to sort out any problems that come up.
They deliver quality service at a reasonable price point. Affiliate commissions run 3x the customer’s first month payment, with payouts starting at $45 and a 90-day cookie window.
Picking the Right Programs
These are some of the strongest WordPress affiliate programs out there, and each gives you a real shot at earning money by promoting products worth promoting. Weigh them on product pricing, the value they deliver to your audience, the commission percentage, and the cookie window. Join the ones that fit, promote their products to your readers, and you’ll start monetizing your content while giving your audience something genuinely useful.
