Coffee With Kyle: A New Front Door to Wealthy Affiliate (And Why It Matters)
Hey Everyone,
Today I want to walk you through an updated “front door” into Wealthy Affiliate, and how we want that to connect cleanly with what new members see the moment they enter the back office.
The goal is simple: make the experience seamless from the first impression on the website, to the first click inside the platform, to the start of training. As we add more tools (especially AI tools), marketing can get misaligned. We want to bring it all back together so it is easy to understand, exciting, and friction-free.
Coffee check first. I have the shiny gold WA mug (looks great, but you cannot microwave it, so it is not ideal if you reheat coffee).
The Website Entrance
The first thing anyone sees is the website. It needs to stay current, but it also needs to make the “what do I do here?” part instantly clear.
The approach we are testing leans into a simple idea:
“Your imagination is the only skill.”
No Photoshop. No coding. If you can type a sentence, you can create professional-level:
- logos
- images and ads
- content
- brand visuals
- and the foundation of a real business
We still want to keep the message focused, because if we explain every business model and every traffic source on the homepage, it just creates overwhelm.
Referral Credits (Affiliate Flow).
One piece we are considering is a referral bonus that changes what someone sees when they arrive from an affiliate link.
For example:
- Regular Starter: 2,000 AI credits
- Arrive via referral: 4,000 AI credits (includes a referral bonus)
That gives affiliates a clean, simple pitch: “Here is a free launch budget you can actually use.” It is tangible, and it is easy to understand.
Keeping the Flow Simple, But Still Inspiring.
We want to show possibilities without dumping everything on someone at once.
So instead of listing 50 ways to build a business, we highlight a few clear paths (that still match the core training), like:
- building a niche brand
- building a social brand
- building a YouTube brand
Then we connect that to the same underlying process:
- choose a niche
- build a foundation (website/brand hub)
- create content
- drive traffic (Pinterest, SEO, paid, social)
- earn revenue
The big focus is: one clear flow first, then expansion later once people have their bearings.
The New Starter Back Office Experience.
Once someone joins, the first screen matters a lot. Before, the dashboard had too much going on and live chat could be overwhelming for a brand-new member.
So now the Starter experience begins with one question:
Why are you here?
Right now the options are:
- Learn to build a business
- Create images with AI
- Explore the platform
Each path gives a “guided start” that matches what they are trying to do.
Learn to Build a Business
This shows the simple 5-step business flow (niche, website, content, traffic, revenue), then sends them directly into the core training.
Create Images With AI
This takes them into a simple preview of what they can create (pins, posts, mockups, ads), then straight into Image Studio.
Explore the Platform
This shows a quick menu of what is possible (create an image, generate an article, find a niche, browse the community, ask a question, create a hub), and still keeps core training one click away.
Live Chat and Focus
Live chat is still there, but it is not shoved in the face of someone brand new. They unlock it through simple setup steps (profile image, description, goals). That keeps the early experience more focused and less distracting.
What I Want Your Feedback On
This is the part I really care about.
- Does the website entrance make sense immediately?
Do you understand what you are getting, what you can do, and what the first step is? - Do the “why are you here?” choices inside the back office feel right?
Would you change the options? Combine some? Remove any? - Do we need two entry paths on the website (start vs scale)?
We get both audiences: people brand new, and people already building and looking to scale. We want to speak to both, without mixing them into one confusing message.
If you have ideas for what to remove, what to simplify, or what would make this smoother, drop them below. We are trying to remove friction and make the first experience inside the platform the clearest it has ever been.
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Recent Comments
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Just my two cents, but the live chat caught my attention and really made me feel this was different and real (legit). I know it can get a little crazy, but, for me, it was a big thing that made me feel like part of the community, had a million questions answered, learned a ton reading others' questions and the responses. It didn't distract me; it helped me, and without it, I don't know if I would have joined or been here for so long. It was something unique that made you feel like WA was different from all the other programs, that sound like they are good, but then after you join, you find out that you have to figure it out yourself, and that you are on your own. It was a major reason I joined in 2013 and have stayed so long.
Hi Kyle,
I like the new developments, and I can see many improvements. As many of us mentioned in the comments, I also welcome the elimination of Live Chat.
1. Home page concept
For me, without criticism, the first impression when landing on the Home page feels more like it’s promoting a design tool without actually naming it. Words like “Photoshop,” “imagination,” and “design” suggest a focus on images.
The “Assets” section
I think this might be too much at this stage. A beginner may have some knowledge of social media platforms, but it’s not clear whether the goal is to promote building a business starting with social media accounts or building a website.
The “Blueprint” section
I think this should be moved higher on the page, possibly as the first section. While I understand the three directions (Niche, Social Media, YouTube), the blueprint workflow could be limited to a single path and include a clear “Start Training” (or similar) button.
2. Image examples
I think the image examples could be replaced with the “Assets” from the Home page. While it’s good to give beginners a taste of what they can achieve, it may also be misleading.
I would keep only the “Learn to build a business” button, as users will follow the training and explore design at the same time.
3. Entry path for experienced users
If the percentage of a more seasoned audience is large enough, it might make sense to offer a scaling entry path. However, it should provide different learning material, as users looking to scale will have specific expectations.
Maria
Thanks, Kyle!
What you propose makes a lot of sense! Not everyone may want to start with one path, and giving them choices to start can evolve into them truly deciding what they want to do online with the help of WA and become Premium members.
On a personal note, I love that you, as the face of WA, always ask what we think of the changes you are proposing. I think we all know that you have the lead and know what will work best when making changes. After all, you have been successful since 2005!
Press on, Sir!
what I know as becoming active and sort of 'starting out' again, is that the platform is still hard to navigate eg finding your training for either base camp or superaffiliate bootcamp. The platform is not as navigable as you would make the categories in a website! I would have to think about your questions, but notice you are using language at times from an insider's perspective not a beginner's eg the 'launch budget' can also suggest you need one, just 'AI" is enough there for most noobs and then explain and then give... But I see some requests for Ai live chat, hmmm, I'm sure you aim to get AI to do as much as possible here as things roll on but so far my experience of AI chatbots in businesses has been infuriating and sort of an insult as to the lack of humanity and access ...
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Join FREE & Launch Your Business!
Exclusive Bonus - Offer Ends at Midnight Today
00
Hours
:
00
Minutes
:
00
Seconds
2,000 AI Credits Worth $10 USD
Build a Logo + Website That Attracts Customers
400 Credits
Discover Hot Niches with AI Market Research
100 Credits
Create SEO Content That Ranks & Converts
800 Credits
Find Affiliate Offers Up to $500/Sale
10 Credits
Access a Community of 2.9M+ Members
I created a new account a couple days back just to get an understanding of what's on offer these days. I think it's OK I suppose the extra credits would be a nice incentive. Just one thing I found that bothered me was the marketing for free members is driven towards premium plus and I couldn't find a way to upgrade to premium. In my view for a new member with a free account looking to upgrade for the first time I think maybe Premium plus might be too big a leap with extra costs so the marketing should clearly offer both.