5 Best Affiliate Programs for Website Developers to Earn Extra Income

Here are some legit passive income ideas that can help website developers earn from $40 to $3,000 commission!

You make beautiful websites for your clients and charge reasonable fees for the same. How about making some additional money without disturbing your client’s budget?

Check out these top affiliate marketing programs for website developers to
generate passive income in 2022.

How to start: Create a simple, basic website for your software business. You anyways need it for your business’s promotion and marketing.

Myth: You must have a large volume of traffic on your website to be part of affiliate programs.

Reality: High-volume traffic is not required for affiliate marketing if you already have clients. If your primary source of client acquisition is not your website, you can earn well in affiliate programs even with a low-traffic website.

Confused? Here’s the secret!

1) NameCheap: For Domain Names

The very first thing your client requires is a domain name. Join an affiliate program for domain names and earn a commission for each referral. Once your clients brainstorm and finalize an available domain name, prefer buying it from an affiliate partner. I have selected NameCheap for this article because I found the commission rate better than other options and enrollment process easier.

How it works: Go to NameCheap’s affiliate page and select Impact.com, which is NameCheap’s affiliate partner. Fill out the application form

Once your application is approved, you'll receive an affiliate link that you can put on your website. Now, click on that link when you buy a domain name for your client.

Earning potential: Website developers can earn a 20% commission on the sales price of each domain name sold. Get the domain for a 5-year duration. You can earn $10 to $50 for each domain name sold.

Cost to client: $50 to $200, for 5-year domain validity.

2) BlueHost: For Hosting

The second thing you need to create a client’s website is a hosting platform. BlueHost has a simple, no-drama affiliate program that you can use while purchasing a hosting plan for your clients.

If you're going to choose a hosting provider anyways, why not make a passive income from it instead of doing it for free?

How it works: Go to BlueHost’s affiliate page. Fill out the affiliate form. Once approved, you'll receive a tracking code to embed on your website.

Create a post or banner to look more authentic. While purchasing a hosting plan, click on the link/banner on your website. Get a commission for each such sale.

Earning potential: Flat $65 for each sale. Approved transactions are paid 10 days (s) after the end of the day they lock.

Cost to clients: Approx. $180 ($60/year) to $690 ($230/year) in total, for 36 months hosting contract.

3) GetSSL: For SSL Certificate

Another essential component for any website is an SSL certificate. It is needed to get rid of the "not secured" sign from your domain name in the address bar and protect the user's information.

Although you can get an SSL certificate for free with your hosting provider (sometimes), you can choose to buy a commercial one to earn some extra $$$ as an affiliate commission.

Also, most of the hosting providers offer a free SSL only for a year and then charge a high rate for renewal. It's better to get a commercial SSL for a long duration i.e. 3-4 years. It’s beneficial for your client as well. 

One of the simplest affiliate programs for an SSL certificate is GetSSL.

How it works: Go to GetSSL’s affiliate page. Get yourself registered and you’ll receive an affiliate link. Share this link to your social media, or emails, or embed it on your website. Now use this link to buy an SSL certificate for your client’s website.

Earning potential: 10% commission on each sale.

Cost to clients: GetSSL sell SSL certificates worth $60 to $7000. It depends on how much your clients want to spend on an SSL certificate.

4) Yottled: For an All-in-One Software

After you create a website, you need one or more facilities such as a CRM, online appointment booking, payment integration, event registration,
digital calendars for staff scheduling, invoice creation, etc. Instead of
creating all these features from scratch, you can use a third-party software,
like Yottled, and earn a heavy commission from it.

How it works: There is no link-sharing or cookie tracking to get enrolled in Yottled’s affiliate program.Once you convince your client to use Yottled, create a free account on Yottled. It's an easy-to-navigate platform but if you get stuck, contact their support staff for immediate help. Then, fill out the affiliate form to claim your commission.

Earning potential: $40 to $1,000 per referral. It depends upon the size of your client's business. You'll get paid once your client completes 20 transactions on Yottled, which generally take 2 to 3 days.

Cost to clients: 100% free. They have a "you grow, we grow" pricing model. Yottled charges $0.99 to the end customers i.e., your client's customers only when they make an online transaction using Yottled. Nothing to businesses. Your clients can use Yottled for free, forever.

5) Elegant Themes: WordPress Theme

If you're developing a WordPress website, you obviously need a professional theme. Instead of choosing a free theme, go for a paid one if your client's budget supports it. Elegant Themes pays an attractive
commission for refereeing its Divi theme (website-building framework) and Divi Marketplace.

How it works: Fill out the affiliate formand get the linking code to place anywhere on your website. Create a text link or banner for easy access. Now click on the link/banner while purchasing the paid membership.

Earning potential: 50% commission on each sale you
make. You can make $45 to $125. You can also make 30% for each renewal.

Cost to clients: $89/year or $249/lifetime.