The Mage Loyalty app embed must be enabled on your live Shopify theme before Basic Referrals will appear on your storefront. If you have not done this yet, see: How to Enable the Mage Loyalty App Embed.
Basic Referrals let your customers invite friends to your store with their own referral link. The friend gets a reward on their first order, and the customer who shared the link gets a reward once that order is paid.
Customers find everything they need on the Refer a Friend page of the Rewards Widget, so there is nothing to design or add to your theme.
What are Basic Referrals?
Basic Referrals are the simple, built-in referral program in Mage Loyalty. Here is how a referral works from start to finish:
A logged-in customer opens the Rewards Widget, clicks Refer a Friend and copies their referral link or shares it with one of the share buttons.
Their friend clicks the link and lands on your store. A popup asks them to enter their email address to receive their coupon.
The friend receives their discount code by email and uses it on their first order.
When that order is paid, the customer who shared the link receives their own reward code by email.
Basic Referrals vs Referral Campaigns
Mage Loyalty has two referral tools, both found under Referrals in the app:
Basic Referrals: a quick setup that lives inside the Rewards Widget. One reward for the friend, one reward for the customer who referred them.
Referral Campaigns: branded referral pages with a visual editor, extra fraud checks and more control over when rewards are sent. Referral Campaigns need the Growth plan or above.
This article covers Basic Referrals only.
How to Set Up Basic Referrals
Set up both rewards first, then turn the program on.
Step 1: Add the two rewards
Open Mage Loyalty from your Shopify admin.
Click Referrals in the left menu.
In the Referrals menu on the left of the page, click Basic Referrals.
Under Referred Friend Reward, click Add Reward.
Choose a reward type (Discount, Free Shipping or Free Product) and click Create reward.
Fill in the reward settings and click Save in the bar at the top of the page.
Go back to Basic Referrals and repeat these steps under Referring Customer Reward.
For a full walkthrough of every reward setting, see Configuring a Basic Referral Reward.
Step 2: Turn on the reward emails
The friend's discount code and the referring customer's reward code are sent by email. These emails are off by default.
Click Settings in the Referrals menu on the left.
Scroll to Email Templates and click Manage email templates.
Turn on the Referral Discount Email (sends the friend their code) and the Referrer Reward Email (sends the referring customer their code).
Basic Referrals codes are only sent by these two Mage Loyalty emails, even if you use Klaviyo, Omnisend, Postscript or Attentive, so keep both emails turned on. Sending referral codes to those tools is part of Referral Campaigns.
Step 3: Turn on Basic Referrals
Go back to Referrals > Basic Referrals.
Switch on the toggle next to Basic Referrals Status. The badge changes to Enabled.
The toggle saves straight away. You do not need to click Save.
Managing Your Rewards
Each slot on the Basic Referrals page holds one reward. Once a reward is added, the slot shows its name and how many codes have been issued and redeemed.
Option | What it does |
Referred Friend Reward | The reward the new customer gets for their first order. This is what persuades the friend to buy. |
Referring Customer Reward | The reward the existing customer gets after their friend's order is paid. This is what keeps customers sharing. |
Edit | Opens the reward so you can change its settings. |
Delete | Removes the reward from the slot. The slot stays empty until you add a new reward. |
To change a reward to a different type (for example, from a discount to free shipping), delete it and add a new one. You can also give each reward its own image: see Adding a Custom Image to a Referral Reward.
What Customers See
The customer sharing the link
When Basic Referrals is on, a Refer a Friend tile appears on the home screen of the Rewards Widget. The Refer a Friend page shows both rewards, for example "They get $10 off their first order" and "You get $10 off".
Customers who are not logged in see a Log in to start referring button.
Logged-in customers see how many friends they have referred, an Invite tab with their referral link and share buttons, and a History tab listing their referrals.
They can copy the link or share it with the channels you turn on under Referrals > Settings.
The friend
When the friend opens the referral link, a popup shows the reward and asks for their email address.
After they click Claim, they see a "Thank you!" message and their discount code is sent to their email.
To keep the offer fair, a friend cannot claim the reward if:
Their email already belongs to a customer in your store. The offer is for new customers only.
They enter the same email address as the customer who shared the link.
They have already claimed a reward from the same customer's link.
When the referring customer is rewarded
The referring customer's reward is sent as soon as the friend pays for an order that uses their referral discount code. The order must also meet any minimum spend you set on the friend's reward.
Basic Referrals have no waiting period. The reward is not held back, and it is not withdrawn if the friend's order is later cancelled or refunded. Holding a reward, choosing when it is sent and withdrawing it after a cancellation or refund are part of Referral Campaigns.
Referral Settings
The Settings page in the Referrals menu controls the options below for Basic Referrals. For more detail, see Referrals Settings.
Setting | What it does |
Referrals Landing URL Domain and Referrals Landing URL Path | The page a friend lands on when they open a referral link. Leave the path blank to send friends to your homepage. |
Social Sharing Settings | Choose which share buttons customers see: Whatsapp, Facebook, X / Twitter, Email and SMS. You can also set the message used for X and SMS. |
Email Templates | Opens your email templates so you can turn on and edit your referral emails. |
Email and SMS sharing need the Starter plan or above. Email sharing also needs the Referral Invite Email template turned on, otherwise friends will not receive the invitation.
The Guest Referrals, Advocate Reward Timing and Fraud Prevention sections on the same page are for Referral Campaigns. They do not change how Basic Referrals work.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Turning on Basic Referrals before adding rewards. Customers will see the Refer a Friend page with no reward on it. Add both rewards first, then switch on the toggle.
Only setting up one reward. When only one side is rewarded, fewer customers share and fewer friends buy. Add a reward to both slots.
Leaving the reward emails switched off. Friends are told to check their email for their code, so if the Referral Discount Email is off, they never receive it. Turn on the Referral Discount Email and Referrer Reward Email.
Offering a reward that is too small to notice. A reward that feels meaningful to both sides gets shared far more often than a token amount.
Troubleshooting
The Refer a Friend tile is not showing in the Rewards Widget
Check that the Basic Referrals Status toggle is on and the badge says Enabled.
Check that the Mage Loyalty app embed is enabled on your live theme.
Refresh your storefront, then open the Rewards Widget again.
Customers cannot see their referral link
The link is only shown to logged-in customers. Ask the customer to log in to their account first.
Share buttons are missing
Go to Referrals > Settings and check that the channels are ticked under Social Sharing Settings, then save.
If Email or SMS cannot be ticked, your plan does not include them. They need the Starter plan or above.
A friend says they did not receive their discount code
Check that the Referral Discount Email is turned on in your email templates. Basic Referrals codes are only sent by this email.
Ask the friend to check their spam or promotions folder.
If the popup showed an error such as "This offer is for new customers only", the friend already has an account in your store and cannot claim the offer.
The referring customer did not get their reward
The reward is only sent once the friend's order is paid and uses the friend's referral discount code.
Check that the order meets the minimum spend on the friend's reward.
Check that the Referrer Reward Email is turned on. Basic Referrals rewards are only sent by this email.
Check that a reward has been added under Referring Customer Reward.