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The Referrals Widget allows customers to share a unique link after checkout. Friends can use the link to get a discount, and the original customer can also be rewarded once the referral is completed. This article covers how referrals work, how to set up and customize your campaign, and how to prevent misuse.
How the referrals work
After a customer completes a purchase, a referral link is displayed on the Thank you page and the Order status page. Your customer can:
Copy the referral link and share it via WhatsApp, Twitter, or Facebook.
When their friend clicks the referral link, they land on a "Congratulations" page and are prompted to click Claim your reward to get a discount.
The coupon is automatically applied at checkout.
You can choose between:
1-sided referral: Only the friend receives a discount.
2-sided referral: Both the friend and the original customer get a reward. The customer will receive their reward via email once the friend's order is completed and fulfilled.
Note: Customer reward emails are only sent after the friend’s order is fulfilled in Shopify.
Set up your referral campaign
Step 1: Install the referral widget
🎦 Learn how to set up coupons with our interactive guide
In your Judge.me admin, go to Marketing and Social > Referrals.
In the Referral widget section, choose Enable.
Click Installation instructions > Open Theme Editor.
In the left-hand panel, click on Apps, then find the Referrals Widget.
Click the (+) next to Referrals Widget, then add it to the Thank you page and Order status page.
Click Save to apply the changes.
Note: Still using the legacy referral widget? We recommend switching to the new Referral Widget built with Shopify App Blocks for better customization and compatibility. After adding the widget, make sure to publish your App Blocks in the Shopify Theme Editor to activate it.
Step 2: Customize the referral widget and emails
In your Judge.me admin, go to Marketing and Social > Referrals.
In the Referral widget section, click Customize widget, page and email layout.
You can personalize the text, color, button labels, and more to match your brand style:
Referral Widget (displayed after checkout)
Friend reward page (shown to the referred friend)
Customer reward email (sent when a referral completes a purchase). Follow this guide if you want to send this email in multiple languages.
Step 3: Set up rewards for customers and their friends
Friend reward (1-sided referral)
With this setup, only the referred friend receives a discount.
In your Judge.me admin, go to Marketing and Social > Referrals > Friend reward.
Choose a reward type: Percentage off or Fixed amount.
Enter the discount value you want to offer.
Customer reward (2-sided referral)
Optionally, you can also reward the original customer when their friend makes a purchase.
In your Judge.me admin, go to Marketing and Social > Referrals > Customer reward.
Choose the reward type: Percentage off or Fixed amount.
Set the discount amount for the referring customer.
Step 4: Set the requirement and eligibility
Fine-tune your referral campaign by setting rules that apply to both Friend and Customer rewards.
1. Order requirements
No minimum: Discount applies to any order.
Minimum value: Require a specific order amount to unlock the reward.
Minimum quantity: Require a certain number of items in the cart.
2. Customer eligibility
Only new customers: Restrict the referral to first-time buyers.
All customers: Allow any customer to use the referral code.
3. Discount combinations
To allow buyers to use both a referral reward and a Shopify discount at the same time, you need to enable discount combination in both Shopify and Judge.me.
In your Shopify admin:
Judge.me referral rewards are treated as Order discounts in Shopify, so you need to combine non-Judge.me discounts (e.g., Shopify’s free shipping or product-specific discounts) with Order discounts.
Go to your Shopify admin and click Discounts.
Create a new discount or open an existing one.
Scroll to the Combinations section
Make sure Order discounts is selected.
Save your changes.
In your Judge.me admin:
To allow Judge.me referral rewards to combine with specific types of Shopify discounts:
Go to Marketing and Social > Referrals.
Scroll to Requirement and eligibility > Combinations.
Check the boxes for the discount types you want to allow stacking with:
Product discounts
Order discounts
Shipping discounts
Click Save.
Note: Combining multiple discounts can significantly reduce cart value. We recommend testing different combinations to find a balance between customer incentive and profit margin.
4. Validity period
Choose when the reward becomes active and how long it remains valid:
Starts immediately or after X days
Never expires or expires after X days
Prevent customers from using their own referral coupons
To ensure referral rewards are only used by new customers, you can enable restrictions:
In Reward Settings, turn on Only let new customers use these coupons.
This means:
Only customers with no previous orders can use the Friend reward coupon.
Referrers cannot use their own referral link to get a discount.
If this restriction is disabled:
Referrers may use their own link — in this case:
We stop generating future Friend reward coupons for them.
We don’t send the Customer reward coupon, even if a friend purchases later.
This ensures the integrity of your referral program and protects it from misuse.
Get your free trial
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