Best way to handle redirects and campaign data

[yuckystuff]

I prefer to limit plugin usage when possible and when looking at one of my sites I realized I've been using an abandoned WP plugin just for redirecting affiliate URL's for no good reason, other than me being a lazy bastard. I used to use Prosper202 many years ago when I did more affiliate shit, but last time I checked they looked like they'd been frozen in time. Not sure if they're still a good play, although I definitely prefer a self-hosted solution and they did offer that.

My first thought was I'll just add the redirects to .htaccess, but then that really only handles the redirect part of it. I'd still like to track campaign data even if it's only with UTM parameters. That's when I realized I've been doing agency shit for so long that I let Google become ingrained in my brain. So what are the best options now?

 

[Ryuzaki]

I'm so far out of the loop on this stuff that I can't offer you any alternatives. But you did make me think about the .htaccess 301 with UTM parameters problem.

The only solution I can think of would be a redirect chain of two leaps, where the user sees and clicks on a clean looking URL, then gets passed through a URL with UTM parameters tagged on, which then sends them on to the destination.

That's definitely not elegant but not too far off from how other big platforms do it anyways. Similar methodology with an easier way of rolling out links, I imagine.