Getting Started with ClickFunnels

Welcome to ClickFunnels! This guide will help you get started and familiarize yourself with key features and tools. Whether you're just starting your free trial or looking to maximize your ClickFunnels experience, follow these steps to set up and grow your business efficiently.

What is ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels is a web-based application that operates as a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform. It provides powerful tools to help businesses create high-converting sales funnels, websites, landing pages, and more. Designed to streamline online business operations, ClickFunnels integrates tools for sales, marketing, and customer engagement into a single, easy-to-use platform.

Why Choose ClickFunnels

• Comprehensive Solution: ClickFunnels eliminates the need for multiple software tools by offering a unified platform to create, manage, and optimize your sales and marketing efforts.

• Ease of Use: With its drag-and-drop builder and pre-designed templates, you can quickly create professional funnels and websites without requiring technical expertise.

• Automation Capabilities: From sending emails to managing complex workflows, ClickFunnels simplifies automation, allowing you to focus on growing your business.

• Scalability: Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, ClickFunnels adapts to your needs, making it an excellent choice for businesses of all sizes.

• Integrated Tools: ClickFunnels provides built-in tools for email marketing, course creation, appointment scheduling, and more, ensuring that you have everything needed to manage your online business in one place.

Start with a 14-Day Free Trial

Explore everything ClickFunnels has to offer with a free 14-day trial. Sign up at ClickFunnels.com to create your account and build your business online. No commitment is required, and you can cancel anytime.

Understanding Your Team Workspace

Your Team Workspace is where collaboration happens. Here’s what you need to know:

What is a Team?

A team in ClickFunnels is your main account, where you and other members collaborate to manage your business. Think of it as the "headquarters" for your entire business. When you create a ClickFunnels account, you automatically create a team. Depending on your plan, you can invite more people to join your team and work together.

What is a Workspace?

A workspace is an environment dedicated to managing specific aspects of a business, such as websites, funnels, courses, or products. You can create multiple workspaces within a team account to keep everything organized and separate.

Imagine you own a business center. Inside this center, there are three distinct shops, each with its own purpose and management:

• The first shop offers meals and beverages. This workspace manages everything related to its operations, including menus, pricing, and marketing strategies.

• The second shop sells shoes. This workspace focuses on inventory management, customer promotions, and branding specific to its product offerings.

• The third shop sells clothing. Its workspace handles a unique website, payment systems, and advertising campaigns tailored to its audience.

Each shop operates independently, with its own tools and data. However, the business center (your team account) oversees all the shops, providing a unified way to manage employees, monitor performance, and ensure smooth operations.

You can replicate this setup for your business by using workspaces in ClickFunnels. Each workspace is like a specialized shop, managing its own data, branding, and processes while remaining under the same team umbrella. This structure ensures you can focus on individual business areas without overlapping data or workflows.

Navigating Your Workspaces

After logging into your ClickFunnels account, navigate to the bottom left corner of the dashboard. Click on the name or icon next to the current workspace name to view the team and all associated workspaces. From this menu, you can select a different workspace or click on 'Team Settings' to manage the team name and add or remove workspaces as needed.

Learn more about adding a new workspace in the How to Add a New Workspace article.

Adding Your Workspace Marketing Contact Address

Your marketing contact address also called your business address, is a vital component of your ClickFunnels workspace. This address is used for compliance with email marketing regulations and ensures that your communications meet branding and legal standards. Including your business's physical address in marketing emails is crucial for legal compliance, building trust, and maintaining brand consistency. Laws like the CAN-SPAM Act require a valid postal address in emails to identify the sender and prevent fraudulent communications. Displaying your address enhances credibility, demonstrating that your business is legitimate and transparent. It also reinforces your brand identity by providing a consistent point of contact for customers.

How to Set Up Your Marketing Contact Address

1. Log in to your ClickFunnels account.

2. Navigate to Workspace Settings > Email Settings > General Settings.

3. Enter your business address in the designated fields in the ‘Marketing contact address’ section.

4. Save your changes to ensure the address is applied to all marketing communications.

For a detailed walkthrough, refer to our article on Email Settings - General Settings.

Creating Your First Funnel

A funnel is a series of steps designed to guide visitors toward a specific goal, such as making a purchase, signing up for a service, or downloading a resource. Creating your first funnel in ClickFunnels is designed to cater to various business needs while remaining simple and intuitive.

Creating Funnels from Templates

To begin, access the Funnels menu from the left-hand navigation panel. Click on the "Create Funnel" button to get started. You can select from various templates, such as lead funnels, summit funnels, book funnels, or cart funnels. Each template is tailored to a specific purpose, helping you get started quickly. Alternatively, you can build your funnel from scratch for complete customization, ensuring it aligns with your unique goals.

Smart Funnel Building with AI

ClickFunnels also offers the innovative Smart Funnel Builder, an AI-powered tool that simplifies funnel creation. With this tool, you can specify the funnel type, select branding colors and styles, choose image types, and add content preferences. The AI then generates a customized funnel based on your inputs, saving you time and effort while ensuring the design matches your business needs.

For further information, refer to our comprehensive guides on How to Create a New Funnel.

Editing Pages in ClickFunnels

The ClickFunnels Page Editor is a powerful tool designed to help you build and customize pages with ease. This intuitive editor provides a drag-and-drop interface, allowing you to effortlessly add and rearrange elements like headlines, images, videos, and buttons. With real-time previews, you can see your changes instantly, ensuring your page looks exactly as you envision.

Beyond basic customization, the Page Editor offers advanced features to enhance your workflow and creativity. You can tweak styles, set animations, and even add custom HTML or CSS for complete control over the page design. The editor also includes pre-built elements and templates, enabling you to create professional pages in minutes without requiring any technical expertise.

With the Page Editor, you can quickly design landing pages, sales pages, and thank-you pages that perfectly align with your branding and business objectives. In ClickFunnels, you have the ability to create various types of pages, including site pages, course pages, landing pages, funnel pages, store pages, blogs, and more. To modify a page in the editor, navigate to the specific page you wish to personalize and select the “Edit Page” option, which will launch the page editor for your adjustments. Utilize the block elements and containers to structure and style your pages. After completing your edits, click the “Save” button to apply the changes.

For further information, refer to our comprehensive guides on Getting Started with the ClickFunnels Page Editor.

Adding Apps in ClickFunnels

Apps in ClickFunnels are designed to enhance your workspace's functionality by catering to specific business needs. Apps enable you to perform specialized tasks, from email marketing to managing an online store, ensuring that your workspace is equipped with everything required for your success.

By default, every workspace includes essential apps such as Site, Analytics, and Community to help you get started. Additional apps can be added based on your specific requirements. For example, if you plan to offer free and paid courses, you’ll need the Course App to manage your lessons and the Payments AI App to handle transactions seamlessly.

To add an app, navigate to the left-hand sidebar and click the Add Apps button under the Apps section. You’ll see a variety of apps tailored to different needs. Select the apps relevant to your business needs to optimize your workspace.

For further information, refer to our comprehensive guides on Adding Apps to Your ClickFunnels Workspace.

Setting Up Your Website in ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels allows you to build and host your website seamlessly within its platform, eliminating the need for external web hosting services. This feature enables you to manage your entire online business—including funnels, websites, blogs, and customer centers—all in one place.

Navigating the Site App

To get started, navigate to the Site App from the left-hand sidebar and click Overview to view the site settings. This section provides an overview of your website, including recent posts, site pages, and links to essential tools like blogs and customer centers. From here, you can manage every aspect of your site in one central location.

Customizing and Designing Your Website

Click the Edit Site button to open the page editor and fully customize your website. The “Page Editor” allows you to design your site easily using drag-and-drop functionality, pre-built templates, and advanced styling options. You can tailor every element of your website to match your brand, ensuring a cohesive and professional online presence.

For further information, refer to our comprehensive guides on Overview of Sites.

Connecting Your Domain

ClickFunnels simplifies the process of connecting your domain, offering two methods to suit your preferences and technical expertise:

• Automatic Method: Navigate to Workspace Settings > Domains, select "Connect existing domain," and type your domain name. Authorize the connection with your domain’s DNS provider. ClickFunnels will automatically handle all the required DNS records, ensuring your domain is set up correctly and providing free SSL.
  

• Manual Method: If you prefer more control, you can manually add the necessary DNS records to your domain’s DNS provider. Once the records are added, verify your domain in ClickFunnels and enable
  SSL.

Default Subdomain

When you create a ClickFunnels account, a default subdomain (e.g., yourbusiness.myclickfunnels.com) is automatically provided. This subdomain is ideal for testing and exploring ClickFunnels features but is not recommended for live business operations. Connecting a custom domain ensures your brand maintains a professional and credible online presence.

For detailed instructions, refer to our guides on Domains - How to Connect an Existing Domain (Automated Setup) and Domains - How to Connect an Existing Domain (Manual Setup).

Setting Up Automation

ClickFunnels provides a powerful Automation app that allows you to create Workflows and Quick Actions to streamline your business processes. These automation tools help you link various apps within your workspace to trigger specific events, saving you time and ensuring efficiency.

Workflows are comprehensive automation sequences that perform a series of actions based on specific triggers and conditions. For instance, if you have a sales funnel selling supplements, you can set up an abandoned cart sequence in a workflow. This workflow triggers when a customer adds a product to their cart but doesn't complete the purchase, initiating a series of reminder emails or follow-ups to encourage completion. This helps retain customers and boost sales.

Quick Actions, on the other hand, are immediate, single-step tasks executed in response to specific events. For example, when a customer completes a purchase, a quick action can instantly send a confirmation email or update the customer’s status in your CRM. These actions are perfect for straightforward processes requiring prompt responses.

Start learning about Workflows and Quick Actions by exploring our detailed guides on Getting Started with Workflows and Automations: How to Add and Manage Quick Actions.

Sending Emails From ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels allows you to send marketing and automated emails without requiring any external email hosting or additional email servers. Using the powerful Email app and Automation Workflows feature, you can send emails directly from a custom email address associated with your domain.

Sending Emails with the Email App

The Email app is ideal for one-time email broadcasts to your audience. This app makes it simple whether you need to share updates, promotions, or announcements. You can send emails immediately or schedule them for a future date, ensuring your communication reaches your audience at the perfect time.

Sending Emails with Automation Workflows

Automation Workflows take your email strategy to the next level. You can add "Send Email" steps within a workflow to automate personalized communication. For instance, you can set up a workflow that sends a welcome email when a customer subscribes or a reminder email if they abandon their cart. This ensures timely and relevant interactions with your audience, boosting engagement and conversions.

For example, imagine you have a sales funnel for supplements. If a customer adds a product to their cart but doesn’t complete the purchase, a workflow can trigger a series of reminder emails to encourage them to finalize their order, helping you retain customers and drive sales.

Start learning about Workflows and Email app features by exploring our detailed guides on Getting Started with Workflows and Create and Send a New Broadcast.

Creating Your First Course or Membership Site in ClickFunnels

The ClickFunnels Course app enables you to create, manage, and deliver online courses effortlessly.

Adding the Course App

To begin, ensure the Course app is added to your workspace. This app serves as the foundation for building and organizing your course content. Once added, you’re ready to start creating your course.

Selecting Course Type

ClickFunnels offers three primary course types to suit your needs. Start by selecting the Simple Course option, which automatically provides a ready-made layout. This includes modules and lessons optimized for mobile responsiveness and design—you won’t have to worry about layouts or technical configurations. For more flexibility, choose the Custom Course type. This allows you to customize the templates for modules and lessons, giving you full control over the course’s appearance and structure.

For instance, if you’re offering a fitness training program, you can create modules for different workout routines, include instructional videos, and provide downloadable meal plans for your students. The Course app ensures a professional and engaging learning experience while keeping the setup simple and efficient.

Start learning how to create a course by visiting the Getting Started with Courses article.

Setting Up Payments

Taking payments in ClickFunnels is a seamless and secure process that is made simple with the Payments AI app. This app allows you to accept payments directly through your funnels or online store without needing third-party integrations, keeping all transactions managed in one place.

Integrating ‘Payments AI’ simplifies payment processing and lets you use popular payment processors like Stripe, PayPal, NMI, and Apple Pay within your ClickFunnels workspace. This flexibility ensures that your payment system is both comprehensive and easy to manage while maintaining a professional checkout experience for your customers.

Setting Up Payments AI

To start accepting payments, you must first add the ‘Payments AI’ app to your workspace. Navigate to the Apps section in the left-hand sidebar and click Add Apps. Select Payments AI from the list, and follow the setup wizard to configure your payment settings. Once Payments AI is fully set up, you’ll be ready to accept payments.

Creating and Selling Products

After setting up Payments AI, you can create products and attach them to your funnels or store. Whether you’re selling digital products, physical goods, or subscriptions, the integration ensures that your payment process is smooth and reliable. For example, you can connect a product to a checkout page in your sales funnel, allowing customers to complete their purchases effortlessly.

For detailed instructions, refer to our comprehensive article Accepting Payments - Introduction to Payments AI.

Creating Products

Products in ClickFunnels signify the main offerings you deliver to your customers. Whether you are marketing digital goods, physical items, or subscriptions, the method of setting up and managing products in ClickFunnels is straightforward and designed to enhance your sales process. Creating products globally allows you to manage your inventory, pricing, and details all from one central hub. This enables you to use the same product across different funnels and the store, ensuring consistency and saving time when making updates. For example, if you adjust the price of a product globally, it will immediately update across all linked funnels and the store.

Creating a New Product

To create a product, navigate to your workspace and access the Products menu. Click "Create Product" and fill in the necessary details, such as product name, pricing, descriptions, and variants (if applicable).

Attaching Products to Stores and Funnels

Once your product is created, you can attach it to your funnel pages or make it visible for the workspace store app. For a store, simply turn on the sales channel visibility in the product settings. For funnels, link the product to a checkout step to enable customers to purchase it directly. This seamless integration ensures your products are visible and accessible wherever your audience interacts with your business.

For a detailed walkthrough on creating and managing products, refer to our Products - How to Create and Manage Products article.

Upgrading to a ClickFunnels Plan

ClickFunnels offers a 14-day free trial that allows you to explore all its features without limitations. During this period, you can test out funnels, automation, email marketing, and more to see how ClickFunnels can support your business.

To continue using ClickFunnels after the trial, you must upgrade to a plan. Upgrading ensures that you can maintain access to your projects, keep your workflows active, and continue building and scaling your online business. It’s not about unlocking new features but about ensuring continuity and growth for your business.

For detailed information on plans and pricing, visit the ClickFunnels Pricing Page.