How to build an affiliate marketing system in Bubble

To build an affiliate marketing system in Bubble, you store a unique referral ID for each User, generate a referral link using that ID, track visits and sign‑ups through that link, and reward the affiliate when the referred User performs a qualifying action (for example, a purchase). Bubble’s database, URL parameters, backend workflows, and privacy rules make this straightforward without plugins.

Core Structure

The system works by giving each User a field such as referral\_code, sending people to a page with ?ref=XYZ in the URL, saving that code when a new visitor signs up, and later checking that relationship when awarding commissions.

• User fields: referral_code (text), referred_by (User), affiliate\_balance (number).
• Optional type: Referral (stores clicks or sign‑ups).
• Where Bubble helps: Get data from page URL, backend workflows, Make changes to a thing, privacy rules.

Step‑by‑Step Setup

Create the field referral\_code on User. When a User signs up, run a workflow to set it to something unique like Current User's unique id or a short random string generated with Bubble’s Calculate formula → Generate random string.

• On any public landing page: read the URL parameter ref using “Get data from page URL”. Store it temporarily in a state or in a cookie‑like thing using a field on a datatype called “PendingReferral”.
• When the visitor signs up: if the URL has ref, set Current User's referred_by to “Do a search for User where referral_code = ref”.
• If you track clicks: create a Referral thing whenever someone loads the page with the ref code.

Rewarding the Affiliate

If a referred User makes a purchase, run a backend workflow triggered by the payment event (Stripe webhook or Bubble workflow). Check if the buyer’s referred\_by is not empty, then credit them:

// Backend workflow: reward affiliate
Make changes to thing: User = This User's referred_by
Field to change: affiliate_balance = This User's referred_by's affiliate_balance + 10 // example reward

Essential Privacy Rules

In the User privacy tab, allow a User to see only their own affiliate data. For example:

• When Current User is This User → view fields (referral_code, affiliate_balance).
• Otherwise deny access.

Creating the Affiliate Link

Your affiliate dashboard button might simply display:

// Build a shareable link
https://yourapp.com?ref=Current User's referral_code

This gives every User a safe, working affiliate system built entirely with Bubble’s native tools.