ExamplePattern
Example tool
Official site always comes first. A Partner link only appears when a live public programme is wired.
Affiliates
How Openforge makes money
Openforge is free to use. This page explains, plainly, how the site may make money, what we earn, and what is not switched on yet.
Not live yet
Right now Openforge earns nothing from this site.
- No Partner (affiliate) links are switched on — every Partner button is turned off.
- No display adverts, and no advertising network has approved the site.
- No sponsored listings or paid reviews — and that will not change; it is not something we sell.
We will update this page, with the date, before any of that changes.
How Partner links work
Some tool cards may carry a link marked Ad. That is an affiliate (Partner) link: if you click it and then buy or sign up, the seller may pay us a commission. It should not change the price you pay. If we ever find a Partner link costs you more than going direct, or loses you a discount you would otherwise get, we will remove it.
What we earn
- A commission set by the seller or network — usually a percentage of a sale or a fixed fee per sign-up. We do not set it, and it varies by programme.
- Partner links pay only when a purchase or qualifying sign-up happens, not for clicks alone.
- Display adverts, if we add them later, may pay per view or per click; they will be labelled Advertisement.
- We do not receive your name, email or payment details through a Partner link. The network records the click and any purchase under its own privacy policy.
Our rules
- Every Partner link is labelled Ad, visibly and before you click — not hidden on hover, behind an icon or in small print. It sits beside the tool’s official link, never instead of it.
- Paid links are also marked as sponsored in the page code (
rel="sponsored"), so search engines treat them as adverts. - Commission never affects whether a tool is listed, where it ranks or what we say about it. Nobody can pay for a listing, a ranking or a review.
- Most listings have no Partner link. We only add one after joining that tool’s public affiliate programme, and we never shorten or disguise a Partner URL to hide that it is paid.
- Display adverts, if we add them later, will be labelled Advertisement and kept visually separate from our own cards.
- Any video or social post of ours that contains Partner links will be labelled Ad or #ad at the start — not only in the description.
- Before Partner links or adverts go live, we will update our privacy and cookie notice and ask for your consent where the law requires it.
- As an Amazon Associate, Openforge earns from qualifying purchases. (Shown only once Amazon Associates UK is approved; confirm the exact required wording in the Operating Agreement at that time.)
Spotted a Partner link without an Ad label, or a price that is higher than going direct? Tell us via the contact page and we will fix or remove it.
Basis: CAP Code rule 2.1 — marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such
(rule 2.4 for advertorial-style content). ASA guidance on affiliate marketing expects a clear,
upfront label; “affiliate”, “partner” or “#sponsored” on their own may not be enough, so every
Partner link also carries “Ad” (video/social: “Ad” or “#ad” upfront).
rel="sponsored" is Google’s link-attribute guidance, not an ASA rule — use it as well as the visible label, never instead.
CMA consumer-protection law (now the DMCC Act 2024) applies too.
Card pattern
Official first · Partner optional · Ad labelled
Dry-run only. Partner slots stay dead until programme IDs exist and go-live is OK’d. Official link always first; Partner renders only if partner_url is set.
YouTube / Watch
On YouTube
Prep only — stub wording filed for when a channel and programmes exist. Every tracking ID stays a PLACEHOLDER; Partner CTAs stay dead until networks clear.
Some Openforge videos mention tools we use. When a video description, pinned comment or tagged product includes a Partner link, it is labelled Ad before the link, and we say so in the video when it comes up. If a whole video is a paid promotion or is mainly about products we earn from, its title or thumbnail starts with Ad.
- Amazon links in our video descriptions, or products tagged under our videos, are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Openforge earns from qualifying purchases.
- “Watch demo” buttons on this site go to our own videos on YouTube. They are not paid links.
- Every Partner link sits next to the tool’s official link, which never earns us anything.
- Questions or a correction? Use the contact page.
Stub-only until a channel exists and at least one programme is live. Ad / #ad always comes first, before any link and above YouTube’s “Show more” cut. We do not use #affiliate, #aff, #sponsored or #spon instead of Ad. The Amazon statement is in addition to Ad, never a replacement.
Path A · default
Amazon UK Special Links
Tagged amazon.co.uk product URLs in the long-form description (above “Show more”).
Ad — this description contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ad · {Product} (mentioned @ mm:ss): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/ASIN?tag=PLACEHOLDER-21
Why some links are labelled Ad: https://openforge.PLACEHOLDER/affiliates
(Pinned, optional) Ad — the Amazon links in the description are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
- On-screen at mention: “Ad” plus “Link in description”.
- Spoken at mention: “The link for this is in the description. It’s an ad, so if you buy through it, we may earn a commission.”
- Wholly/mainly product video: title starts “Ad: …” and the thumbnail carries a visible “AD”.
Path B · later
YouTube Shopping product tags
Needs YPP plus an Amazon account linked to one channel. Parked until Path A is live.
Ad — products tagged in this video are affiliate links. If you buy through them, Openforge may earn a commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
(Pinned) Ad — the products tagged under this video are affiliate links. More: https://openforge.PLACEHOLDER/affiliates
(Shorts) #ad {Short title} — the product tagged here is an affiliate link.
- On-screen when tagged: “Ad · Tagged product”.
- Spoken when tagged: “This product is tagged below the video. That’s an ad: we may earn a commission if you buy.”
Network partners — Awin / Impact
Ad — links marked Ad below are Partner links. If you buy or sign up through them, Openforge may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Ad · {Partner} (mentioned @ mm:ss): https://PLACEHOLDER-TRACKING
Official site (no commission): https://…
Site cards — Watch vs Partner
- Watch demo / Watch on YouTube — no Ad label; official YouTube watch or playlist only;
rel="noopener". - Caption under an embed whose video carries Partner links: “This video’s description includes some links labelled Ad.”
- Partner link — visible Ad plus visually hidden “(paid link, opens in a new tab)”;
rel="sponsored noopener noreferrer"; “Why?” → this page. Renders only when a livepartner_urlexists. - Amazon Partner variant: “View on Amazon” with Ad, plus “As an Amazon Associate, Openforge earns from qualifying purchases.”
- Official site — always shown next to any Partner button; never replaced by it. Never put a commissionable URL behind a play-button.
ExampleWatch · Ad
Example guide video
This video’s description includes some links labelled Ad. (Caption pattern — only when the video actually carries Partner links.)