Mitch Referrals 1.4.6
- Author Mitchy71
- Creation date
Mitch Referrals v1.4.6 – Referral Source Analytics (External Traffic Tracking)
Version: 1.4.6
XF Compatibility: 2.3.x
This update introduces Referral Source Analytics, a long-requested feature that shows where referrals actually came from, not just where users landed on your site.
What’s New
External Referral Source Tracking (Done Right)
Affiliate clicks now capture and store the external referrer at click time:
Tracks external domains and pages (Google, Reddit, blogs, etc.)
Internal site URLs are explicitly ignored
Data is captured at click time, never guessed later
Fully XF-native, safe, and privacy-respecting
Each click can now store:
External source domain
External source full URL (when available)
Note: Some platforms (e.g. Discord, mobile apps, privacy browsers) do not send referrer headers. In those cases, the source will correctly display as Unknown.
“Who Referred Who” – Source Display
The affiliate dashboard now shows where each successful referral originated:
Source domain displayed per registration
Optional link to the originating page (when available)
Click → registration matching is evidence-based:
Same referrer
Same IP
Within attribution window
Click occurred before registration
No heuristics. No assumptions.
Why This Matters
Most referral systems only show:
total clicks
total signups
Mitch Referrals now answers the real question:
Which platforms are actually converting?
This lays the groundwork for:
Top referral domains
Per-affiliate traffic sources
Future analytics dashboards
Mitch Referrals v1.4.5 – Feature Update
This release focuses on affiliate tools, usability improvements, and stability fixes, expanding Mitch Referrals into a more complete referral & promotion system.
New: Affiliate Banner / Referral Tools Page
Members can now access a dedicated Referral Tools → Banners page where they can:
View all available promotional banners
Copy BBCode or HTML snippets with one click
Automatically inject their own affiliate code into banner links
Use banners in forum signatures, external sites, or ads without manual editing
This makes it significantly easier for members to actively promote your community.
Widget Enhancement
The Affiliate widget now includes a direct link to the Referral Tools / Banners page, making promotion tools immediately discoverable right from the dashboard.
Admins now have a full ACP banner management system, allowing you to:
Add, edit, enable/disable, and delete banners
Control banner titles, images, links, and optional custom HTML
Instantly update what affiliates see without code changes
Store banner data safely via XenForo options (exportable & upgrade-safe)
Upload support is intentionally disabled for this release to ensure maximum stability and export compatibility. Image URLs are fully supported.
Affiliate Code Auto-Injection
All banners automatically include the correct affiliate tracking code for the viewing user.
No manual editing, no copy mistakes, no broken links.
🛠 Fixes & Improvements
Fixed copy-to-clipboard issues across widgets, leaderboards, and tools pages
Improved template structure and styling consistency
Cleaned up referral attribution edge cases
Improved option handling to ensure upgrade safety and data integrity
General stability and performance improvements
XenForo 2.2+ / 2.3+
Fully upgrade-safe
No core file modifications
Summary
Version 1.4.5 transforms Mitch Referrals from a tracking system into a true affiliate promotion platform, giving both admins and users the tools they need to grow communities organically.
As always, feedback and feature requests are welcome
Mitch Referrals 1.4.4 – Feature Release
This update introduces a major expansion of the affiliate system, giving members better tools to promote your site and giving admins more control over referrals and rewards.
Referral Tools: Banners Page (Public)
Members now have access to a dedicated Referral Tools → Banners page where they can:
View all available promotional banners
Copy BB code or HTML code with one click
Automatically inject their personal affiliate code into banner links
Use banners in forum signatures, external websites, or promotions
This makes it dramatically easier for members to actively promote your site.
A new Affiliate Referrals page allows members to clearly see:
Who they have referred
Referral dates
Referrer ↔ referred relationships
Clean, modern card-based layout
Mobile-friendly responsive design
This adds transparency and motivation for affiliates.
Referral Leaderboard Enhancements
The referral leaderboard has been refined with:
Cleaner layout
Better spacing and responsiveness
Improved UX consistency with XenForo 2.3.x styling
Referral Rewards System (PHP-Driven)
Referral credit payouts are now handled entirely in PHP, removing reliance on bridge/event hacks.
Benefits:
More reliable credit payouts
No duplicate credit triggers
Full control over referral logic
Compatible with DBTech Credits
Registration Referral Input
New registrants can now optionally enter the username of the member who referred them directly on the registration form.
Works alongside cookie-based referrals
Automatically triggers the same referral logic and rewards
Prevents duplicate or self-referrals
Admin Improvements
Banner Management (Admin CP)
Admins can now manage banners from the Admin CP:
Add, edit, enable/disable banners
Control banner titles, images, links, and custom HTML
Centralized banner configuration (no hardcoding)
Note: Image upload support is intentionally disabled in this release and will be introduced in a future update. For now, banners use image URLs.
🛠 Technical Improvements
Improved referral attribution safety
Stronger duplicate-prevention logic
Better compatibility with XenForo 2.3.7+
Cleaner separation between public and admin logic
Export-safe templates and options (no _output hacks)
Version
1.4.4
This release focuses on affiliate usability, promotion tools, and system reliability, laying the groundwork for future enhancements like media uploads and advanced banner analytics.
Mitch Referrals v1.4.3 – Feature Update & Stability Release
This release finalizes the referral → credit flow, removes all DBTech bridge dependency for payouts, and adds long-requested visibility and registration improvements.
Referral Attribution (Stable & Final)
Referrals are now attributed at registration time as the single source of truth.
Attribution works via:
Referral cookie OR
Username entered on the registration form
Each user can only ever be attributed once.
Self-referrals are blocked.
Attribution never breaks registration if something fails.
Credits are now awarded directly via PHP.
DBTech “Event” logic is no longer used to determine amounts.
No reliance on:
Content type filters
Event caps
Daily limits
Apply-max rules
Credits are always awarded exactly once per valid referral.
Referral payouts are now controlled by a single option string.
Format (single line only):
*=1000|Registered=250|Moderator=500|Administrative=0
How it works:
*= is the fallback payout
Matches are done by user group title
If a user belongs to multiple groups, the highest payout wins
Group titles make this portable across installs
Affiliate Referrals Page (Member-Facing)
New public page showing:
Who referred whom
Referral dates
Accessible to logged-in members
Clean, paginated layout
Linked from the Members menu
Referral link is displayed in a read-only field
Copy button now uses XenForo’s clipboard handler correctly
Users can copy their referral link with one click
Optional “Referred by (username)” field added to registration
Username is validated and resolved at registration
Triggers the same referral logic as cookie-based referrals
🛠 Technical / Internal
Referral attribution handled in XF\Entity\User::_postSave
Referral repository is the single source of truth
Safer IP logging
No _output files edited directly
Fully XenForo 2.3.7 compliant
Credits award reliably
Stats remain accurate
Admin control is simple
Users can clearly see referral relationships
No fragile event configuration required
Mitch Referrals — Major Feature Update Released!
This update is a big step forward for Mitch Referrals, focusing on flexibility, developer extensibility, and real-world usability — without adding bloat or forcing unwanted behavior.
Below is a full breakdown of everything added since the previous release
You’re no longer limited to a single referral URL.
Members can now:
Paste any internal URL (or relative path) into their affiliate page
Instantly generate a tracked referral link for that specific page
Share links to threads, resources, landing pages, or anywhere else on the forum
This makes referrals far more natural and effective — users can promote content, not just the homepage.
Member affiliate dashboard (expanded)
The affiliate page has been significantly improved and now includes:
Live stats:
Total clicks
Unique clicks
Successful registrations
Referral link generator for custom URLs
Everything members need in one place, with a clean XenForo-native UI.
A new sidebar widget is now available, allowing members to see their referral performance from anywhere on the site.
The widget can display:
Referral code
Referral link for the current page
Click and registration stats
Quick link to the full affiliate dashboard
Perfect for keeping referrals visible without disrupting the main experience.
Built-in reward notifications (optional)
This release introduces a reward-ready architecture, starting with built-in alerts.
When enabled via options:
Rewards are fully optional and disabled by default, so admins stay in control.
Mitch Referrals is now officially extensible.
Two new code events are fired from the source of truth:
mitch_referrals_conversion
Fires when a referral registration is successfully credited
mitch_referrals_threshold
Fires when a referrer hits a referral milestone
These hooks allow other add-ons to:
Award credits or points
Promote user groups
Grant trophies or badges
Trigger external integrations
Build custom reward systems
No core files touched. No hacks. Fully XenForo-native.
New settings give admins more control over referral behavior, including:
Enable/disable reward notifications
Cookie handling and attribution rules
Click tracking configuration
All options are safe-by-default and designed for live production forums.
🛠 Stability & architecture improvements
Under the hood, this update includes:
Cleaner separation of “source of truth” logic
Safer referral attribution (no double-counting)
Improved event firing consistency
Better long-term upgrade and extensibility support
This update turns Mitch Referrals from a simple referral tracker into a flexible, extensible referral platform — ready for real communities, real incentives, and future expansion.
As always, feedback and suggestions are welcome.
More reward integrations are coming next.
Member Referral System
Automatically generates a unique referral code per user
Simple ?ref=CODE links — no pretty URLs required
Prevents self-referrals and duplicate attribution
Click Tracking
Tracks total clicks
Tracks unique clicks (24-hour IP window)
Logs landing page, IP, and user agent
Registration Attribution
Referral credit is awarded only on successful registration
Attribution stored securely via cookie
One referral per registered user (no gaming the system)
Member Affiliate Page
Dedicated page showing:
Referral code
Referral link
Total clicks
Unique clicks
Total registrations
Latest referred members
Copy-to-clipboard referral links
Sidebar Widget (Optional)
Displays referral stats anywhere widgets are supported
Shows:
Referral code
Referral link for the current page
Click and registration totals
Automatically adapts if the user has not generated a code yet
Admin Control Panel
Dedicated admin page for referral oversight
Clean admin navigation entry
Fully exportable, dev-mode-friendly add-on structure
Configurable Options
Admin-configurable referral cookie lifetime
Built to support future expansion (commissions, rewards, etc.)
Technical Highlights
Built specifically for XenForo 2.3.x
No core file edits
No pretty URLs required
Uses native XenForo:
Entities
Widgets
Templates
Event listeners
Safe for live sites
Clean uninstall (no orphaned data)