Looking for an all-in-one solution to help you build and optimize your online sales funnels? ClickFunnels 2.0 may be just what you need. In this ClickFunnels review, we’ll take a closer look at the latest improved version, including its features, pros, and cons, to help you decide whether it’s the right tool for your online business.
In fact, this marketing SaaS company has pioneered the use of the sales funnel as a rigorous digital marketing and email marketing tool. Building landing pages with this software is all the rage right now. But does it really help digital businesses?
TL;DR: ClickFunnels is a web page or landing page builder & designer that utilizes the concept of sales funnel to build websites for beginners. People with no coding knowledge can easily use this software to build an online presence. But it comes with a steep learning curve, and it is not affordable for small business owners.
What is ClickFunnels?
ClickFunnels is a landing page builder. Because of their specialization to build sales funnels, the websites attract targeted prospects and turn them into buyers. As a result, the landing pages are more successful as business websites.
ClickFunnels was founded by Russel Brunson, who is known for his contributions to unique marketing software. Before working with the marketing funnel, Russel was known for his work in email marketing software.
With a founder as famous as this, it did not take long for ClickFunnels to gain traction online. The ClickFunnels landing pages are unique from typical websites because the software gives you everything you need to gain the interest of website visitors and turn them into customers.
The workings of the software behind the scenes are pretty complex, but the simple user interface with a drag-and-drop editor makes it much easy for any novice online business owner to use.
The types of funnels you can build with ClickFunnels are unlimited:
- Lead generation funnels
- Sales funnels
- Content funnels
- Sales call booking funnels
- Discovery call funnels
- Onboarding funnels
- Review funnels
- Limited time offer sale funnels
- Webinar Funnels
- Shopping cart funnels
- Cancellation funnels
- Upsell/downsell funnels
- Membership funnels
- Squeeze page funnels
- Survey funnels
- Tripwire funnels
- Live demo funnels
- Lead magnet funnels
With ClickFunnels online marketing, building an online presence and quickly accelerating conversion rates get much easy – boosting online sales. Keep reading my ClickFunnels review to know more about what it has to offer.
ClickFunnels 2.0
In October 2022, ClickFunnels 2.0 was launched.
So, what is ClickFunnels 2.0?
CF 2.0 is a highly anticipated release of new and improved features.
The ClickFunnels 2.0 platform has LOADS of brand-new features and tools that the original ClickFunnels didn’t have, making it a truly all-in-one platform.
ClickFunnels 2.0 has everything available in version 1.0 plus many new features, including:
- Funnel Hub dashboard
- Visual funnel flow builder
- Online courses builder
- Membership site builder
- No-code drag-and-drop website builder
- No-code visual eCommerce website builder
- Write and publish blog posts
- Visual automation builder
- CRM funnel builder
- Real-time analytics
- Complete email marketing service
- One-click universal site-wide changes
- Team collaboration and simultaneous page editing
- Significantly improved performance and funnel designs
- Plus lots more
Besides these features, ClickFunnels 2.0 also offers a new dashboard, improved A/B testing, and a feature to copy and paste funnels between accounts. Overall, ClickFunnels 2.0 has made significant improvements in usability, functionality, and user experience, making it more efficient at creating and managing sales funnels for businesses.
Basically, ClickFunnels 2.0 is no longer just a sales funnel builder BUT an all-in-one platform for running your business.
Plans & Pricing
There are three price options you can choose from – ClickFunnels Basic plan, ClickFunnels Pro plan, and ClickFunnels Funnel Hacker. Though pricier than other landing page software, ClickFunnels offers a 14-day free trial to decide if you want to make the purchase.
The key difference between the plans is that the basic one has some restrictions, such as the number of pages, visitors, payment gateways, domains, etc. A few features, such as the follow-up funnels and weekly peer review, are restricted to the ClickFunnels Pro and Funnel Hacker customers only.
However, all plans share a few similarities, too, such as funnel templates, a builder, advanced funnels, unlimited contacts, members, A/B split page test, etc.
The Hacker plan also provides unlimited funnels, a Backpack feature, SMTP integrations, unlimited pages and visits, custom domains, priority customer support, etc.
Here is a table of the two price plans and the offered features:
Features | ClickFunnels Basic | ClickFunnels Pro | ClickFunnels Funnel Hacker |
---|---|---|---|
Monthly Pricing | $147 per month | $197 per month | $297 per month |
Annual Pricing (discounted) | $127 per month (Save $240/year) | $157 per month (Save $480/year) | $208 per month (Save $3,468/year) |
Funnels | 20 | 100 | Unlimited |
Websites | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Admin Users | 1 | 5 | 15 |
Contacts | 10,000 | 25,000 | 200,000 |
Pages, Products, Workflows, Emails | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Share Funnels | No | Yes | Yes |
Analytics | Basic | Basic | Advanced |
Affiliate Program. API Access. Liquid Theme Editor. CF1 Maintenance Mode Plan | No | Yes | Yes |
Support | Basic | Priority | Priority |
The Hacker plan gives you the best deal, you can save up to $3,468/year when you choose to be billed yearly. Learn more about ClickFunnel pricing plans here.
Pros and Cons
Here is the ClickFunnels review highlights in a nutshell:
ClickFunnels Pros
- Automatic mobile optimization
- Very intuitive and easy to use (you don’t need to be a web developer!)
- Can duplicate pages easily
- WordPress Plugin allows you to add ClickFunnels funnels to WordPress sites
- Lots of useful integrations to make running an online business easy
- No need to have knowledge of coding, such as CSS etc.
- A lot of educational marketing content and online courses are offered
- The software integrates with common digital marketing platforms
- Apart from the sales funnels, other marketing tools are also great for digital marketing business
- Constant software updates to fix bugs and add more marketing tools
- Membership sites feature can let multiple users moderate your website
- A/B testing makes it easy to try out new changes and choose the best-performing one for funnels, advertisements, web pages, etc.
- Supports 3rd party integrations and plugins for a complete website
- 14-day free trial before purchase
- Helps make more money online by generating and targeting leads
- Sales analytics available for making business decisions
- The funnel scripts feature removes the hassle of writing content
ClickFunnels Cons
- Pricing plans are quite expensive – not affordable for small businesses
- Support could use some improvements
- Email marketing is clunky and not easy to use (you are better off using 3rd-party email integrations)
- You cannot customize too much since the software focuses on being simple
Key Features (The Good)
Here is a thorough review and explanation of all the ClickFunnels features and functionalities:
Easy-to-Use UX Interface
A simple user interface is an attractive feature of ClickFunnels, coming second only to the innovative funnel-building process. The software has been made to be as easy to use as possible.
Everything is intuitive and easy to figure out. At the same time, there are enough options provided to make a complete landing page.
The funnel design interface is very simple and modern. There are predetermined widgets in place, in which you will have to place elements when building a page.
Funnel steps are easy to create using drag/drop:
Making your first sales funnel will also be quite easy since there is a funnel cookbook guiding you along the way. The simple ClickFunnels dashboard makes the experience even better, as it shows everything you’d need in an organized manner.
Funnel Builder
As ClickFunnels specializes in making all different types of funnels for their clients, their funnel builder is extensive. It covers many types of funnels, each having its own use. There are many templates available for each type, too.
Lead Magnets
If your goal is to generate leads and have a list of prospects you can reach out to, try the leads funnel. The basic squeeze page funnel helps you get email and Facebook messenger leads.
Using it, you can get a list of email addresses of prospects or a messenger list. To make one, choose one of their offered Squeeze page templates to get started.
There is another funnel meant for leads called the application funnel. This type of funnel gives you more details about your prospects apart from just their email address.
It uses a reverse squeeze page, pop-up, application page, and a thank you page to get the name, phone numbers, geographic regions, company details, etc.
You can get the specific types of information you want from your leads. Again, there are templates available for application funnels, too.
Usually, most businesses use the squeeze funnel because it is easier to generate leads this way.
Sales Funnels
There are several types of funnels created with the aim of generating sales. They are:
1. Tripwire Funnels
For selling lower-priced products that are easy to advertise, a tripwire or unboxing funnel is the best option. This funnel makes creating two-step sales pages a breeze.
The first page, or home page, has a flashy advertisement for the product. When a customer makes a purchase, the second page, called the OTO (one-time offer), comes up.
Here, the customer is given a special offer on another product based on their purchase. This is where the actual profit comes in. It is also called 1-click upsell; because to get this offer, the customer just has to click one button. No additional information filling out is required.
After the customer makes the purchase, a final ‘Offer Wall’ page comes up. Here, a thank you note shows up, along with a list of other products you want to showcase.
Here are tripwire funnel template examples from ClickFunnels:
2. Sales Letter Funnels
This is for products that are more expensive and require more persuasion or explanation to sell. Here, a video is added to the first page, called the sales letter page. Under that, the credit card information fields are given.
You can add the OTO page and the Offer Wall page of the tripwire funnel here for increasing sales using 1-click upsells.
This is what a typical sales letter funnel looks like –
3. Product Launch Funnels
You need a marketing campaign when launching a new product or service to gain the attention of your target customer group. Instead of a marketing agency, you can use the launch funnel to do your own marketing.
A launch funnel is more complex than all the other funnels we have discussed till now. It comprises a squeeze page, survey pop-up, product launch pages, and product launch order form.
You have to build sales funnels of this type by adding a new informative video of the product every few days, with up to 4 product launch videos. This creates hype for the product as well as educates the leads more about it.
Here is a basic product launch funnel:
Event Funnels
You can also run events and webinars using ClickFunnels webinar funnels. There are two kinds of funnels for this:
1. Live Webinar Funnels
For this, you have to use a 3rd party webinar software such as Zoom to conduct a live webinar. ClickFunnel’s role here is to increase conversions to the webinars and maximize profits.
It gets people to register for the webinars, show up for the actual event by sending out reminders, and get them excited through sharing promotional videos. There is a replay page too for those who registered but missed the live webinar.
2. Auto Webinar Funnels
This funnel runs automated webinars recorded inside the ClickFunnels software. Much like the previous funnel, this one also takes registrations, sends promotional content, and plays recorded events.
Landing Page Builder and Editor
The simple drag/drop landing page maker is another thing ClickFunnels is loved for. Landing pages are the individual pages inside a funnel.
These pages are made to get the attention of your leads, get information such as email ids, advertise products, sell products, etc. The builder itself is extremely easy to use, so much so that some people use ClickFunnels just for this feature.
If you are not used to building pages from scratch, ClickFunnels has a lot of great templates. Select one, customize it to your needs, and add it to your funnel.
The drag/drop feature makes customization very easy, as all the widgets and elements are right at the side for use. Simply choose the ones you need and drag them to your desired location on the page.
The ClickFunnels marketplace gives you lots of free and premium starter landing pages that you can use and customize.
However, this may get clunky sometimes, as widgets don’t always stay where you drop them. They may shift locations ever so slightly, a few centimeters off. It is not a big issue, and it does not happen very often. But it is something to note.
Third-Party Integrations
You can use ClickFunnels with many 3rd party software integrations for ease of use. These tools are offered to make your e-business and sales process as easy as possible.
There are many third-party integrations to choose from, such as:
- ActiveCampaign
- Mad Mini
- Drip
- GoToWebinar
- Market Hero
- Ontraport
- ShipStation
- Zapier
- ConvertKit
- SalesForce
- Avalara
- Constant Contact
- YouZign
- HTML Form
- Hubspot
- Zoom
- Twilio SMS
- Kajabi
- WebinarJam
- Shopify
- Ever Webinar
- Mailchimp
And CF integrates with payment gateways such as:
- Stripe
- Infusionsoft
- Warriorplus
- JVZoo
- ClickBank
- Taxamo
- Ontraport
- Blue Snap
- Easy Pay Direct
- NMI
- Recurly
Adding these integrations is as easy as could be, with just the click of a button. These tools help with everything related to marketing & selling items online, such as payment gateway, email marketing tool, SMS marketing, social media, online events, etc.
A/B Testing
Want to evaluate different versions of your pages in a funnel? This feature will come in handy for you. With A/B split testing, you get to evaluate multiple versions of a page to find the poor-performing elements. It also assists in locating the important elements of a particularly successful page.
This evaluation helps you make a perfectly optimized funnel that will ensure the most leads.
WordPress Plugin
This is another useful feature for people whose websites are made and hosted on WordPress. With this plugin, you do not have to switch between ClickFunnels and WordPress anymore.
You can make pages and add them to your website much easier than before. Editing and managing the pages can also be done without any hassle.
This plugin is very highly rated in WordPress, with over 20 thousand active users.
Affiliate Programs
ClickFunnels offers an affiliate program called backpack. It makes affiliate marketing funnels extremely easy by using something called ‘sticky cookies.’ Setting up affiliate programs the traditional way takes a lot of time and effort.
With the sticky cookie method, once a customer uses an affiliate link, the customer’s information sticks to the affiliate. This means, for all future purchases of the customer, the affiliate gets commissions, even when the customer does not use a special affiliate link anymore.
This makes the affiliate program more attractive since the affiliates earn commissions on all purchases of a customer. That, in turn, makes the affiliates plug your website more into people, increasing your visitors and buyers.
Follow Up Funnel
This is a very useful and important funnel people often overlook. Follow up funnel makes more money compared to the typical front-end sales funnel.
ClickFunnel’s follow-up funnel builds your lead lists from sources such as opt-in pages, registration pages, order forms, etc. To create lists in your follow-up funnel, find the ‘Add New List’ button under ‘Email Lists’ in the dashboard.
You can also create smart lists, which segment your customers based on different parameters. Customers can be segmented on their geographic location, demographic attributes, buying behavior, the step they are in inside the sales funnel, number of followers, interests, income, recent purchases, and more.
Having different segments like this helps you better target your customers based on their information for advertisements and campaigns. The better you are at targeting the right group of prospects, the more successful your campaigns will be.
You can send emails, text notifications, and broadcasts to your smart list prospects.
Key Features (The Not-So-Good)
To make this ClickFunnels review comprehensive, I also have to discuss the negatives of the SaaS. Here are the things I do not like about ClickFunnels:
ClickFunnels is Too Expensive
Compared to similar services, ClickFunnels is too expensive. Even the basic price package costs almost 4 times as much as other popular landing page builders.
The restrictions of 20,000 visitors and only 20 funnels for the standard plan are also low for the cost. That being said, everything else you get makes the money worth spending.
If you are on a small budget, then here are better alternatives to ClickFunnels to consider.
Some Templates Are Outdated
Sure, there is a huge template library for you to choose from, but that does not guarantee that they all look good. Some templates are boring and not the most attractive. But there are plenty of good ones too.
Websites May Look Very Similar
Since you and all of ClickFunnel’s other clients all make funnels from the same given templates, websites can end up looking too similar. Customization helps ensure this does not happen, but you do not get to customize too much.
To help you stand out from the crowd you can hire a ClickFunnels expert.
How Do Sales Funnels Work?
To understand what ClickFunnels is and does, the concept of sales funnels must be understood properly. Also known as marketing funnels, sales funnels are simply a process of categorizing prospective customers based on their position on the buying journey.
There are several steps in a sales funnel. As a customer goes through each of them, their chances of becoming a buyer increase.
The first level is awareness, where prospects first become aware of your business, services, or products. This might be done by seeing an ad for your products or website, coming across your business’s social media pages, etc.
If you manage to capture the attention of the visitors through successful online marketing or attractive landing pages, the prospects move towards the interest stage. Here, the visitors will evaluate your products and learn more information about them.
After gaining enough information, if the prospects have decided to make a purchase, they enter the decision stage. Here, they dig deeper into your products, find alternative sales pages, and evaluate prices. Brand image and proper marketing help in making your business look like the best option.
Finally, in the action stage, the leads make the final decision of making the purchase. They may or may not choose your brand ultimately. But you can continue nurturing this group for future purchases.
Naturally, not all people who visit your website will want to learn more about your products. Similarly, not everyone who learns of your products will want to make a purchase decision. As the number of prospects lessens at each level, the sales funnel becomes narrower.
This is why it takes on the funnel shape. Your own funnel may look different, but it usually fits the generic shape.
Head over to ClickFunnels.com and start to build your own sales funnel now!
Common Questions Answered
Our Verdict ⭐
ClickFunnels is a highly successful tool to increase website traffic and make sales. Unless you are low on budget and want high levels of customization, this software is worth a shot, especially for an e-business.
ClickFunnels gives you everything you need to market, sell, and deliver your products and services online using funnels and landing pages! Without ever having to hire or rely on a team of developers, designers or marketers!
It is an all-in-one marketing solution for online pages and businesses. Right now it’s hands-down the best landing page and sales funnel building tool out there. But with a major caveat, it’s expensive to use.
I hope you have found this expert ClickFunnels review helpful. Thanks for dropping by.
Recent Improvements & Updates
ClickFunnels is constantly updating its funnel builder and digital marketing tools with more and better features for users. Here are some of the most recent updates (as of November 2024):
- Launch of Marketing.AI Platform:
- ClickFunnels introduced Marketing.AI, an AI-powered marketing platform created by Todd Dickerson, co-founder of ClickFunnels and founder of Marketing.AI.
- This platform, currently in beta and available on ClickFunnels 2.0, is designed to save time and effort in generating high-converting copy and other marketing assets using AI technology.
- Marketing.AI offers a Chatbot feature, enabling users to create effective sales copy and content easily within ClickFunnels.
- Acquisition of Bryxen Software Products:
- ClickFunnels acquired Doodly, Toonly, Voomly, Talkia, and Automatic Script from Bryxen, Inc. forming Voomly LLC.
- This acquisition is part of ClickFunnels’ mission to provide comprehensive solutions for its members, enhancing its capability to offer more sophisticated marketing tools.
- Introduction of Funnel Images:
- Funnel Images, a new free tool, was launched to help entrepreneurs create custom graphics and images for their sales funnels.
- The tool includes hundreds of sales-funnel specific templates, making it easier for users without expert design skills or a large design budget to create professional visuals.
- Integration with Zapier in ClickFunnels 2.0:
- ClickFunnels 2.0 now seamlessly integrates with Zapier, connecting users with thousands of other apps to streamline workflows and automate processes.
- Countdown Funnels in ClickFunnels 2.0:
- Countdown Funnels feature was introduced in ClickFunnels 2.0, adding urgency to marketing campaigns with deadline events, customizable visitor experiences, and trigger-specific workflows.
- Store Funnels Feature for E-commerce:
- Store Funnels, a new feature in ClickFunnels 2.0, simplifies selling and shipping physical products. It combines e-commerce capabilities with ClickFunnels’ marketing strategies, enhancing customer buying experiences.
- Community and LearningHub on ClickFunnels 2.0:
- The platform introduced Community and LearningHub, fostering user engagement and collaboration within structured hierarchical systems like Groups, Topics, Posts, and Comments.
- These features provide an enhanced user experience with in-line video playback, media embeds in posts, and community-wide feeds for content discovery.
Reviewing ClickFunnels: Our Methodology
When we dive into testing sales funnel builders, we’re not just skimming the surface. We’re getting our hands dirty, exploring every nook and cranny to understand how these tools can truly impact a business’s bottom line. Our methodology isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about experiencing the tool just as a real user would.
First Impressions Count: Our evaluation begins with the sign-up process. Is it as easy as a Sunday morning, or does it feel like a Monday morning slog? We look for simplicity and clarity. A complicated start can be a big turn-off, and we want to know if these builders understand that.
Building the Funnel: Once we’re all set up and in, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and start building. How intuitive is the interface? Can a beginner navigate it as smoothly as a pro? We build funnels from scratch, paying close attention to the variety of templates and customization options. We’re looking for flexibility and creativity, but also efficiency – because in the world of sales, time is indeed money.
Integrations and Compatibility: In today’s interconnected digital world, a sales funnel builder needs to be a team player. We test integrations with popular CRMs, email marketing tools, payment processors, and more. Seamless integration can be the make-or-break factor in a funnel builder’s usability.
Performance Under Pressure: What’s a great-looking funnel if it doesn’t perform? We put these builders through rigorous testing. Loading times, mobile responsiveness, and overall stability are under our microscope. We also delve into the analytics – how well can these tools track user behavior, conversion rates, and other critical metrics?
Support and Resources: Even the most intuitive tools can leave you with questions. We evaluate the support provided: Are there helpful guides, responsive customer service, and community forums? We ask questions, hunt for solutions, and gauge how quickly and effectively the support team responds.
Cost vs. Value: Lastly, we evaluate the pricing structures. We weigh the features against the costs, looking for value for money. It’s not just about the cheapest option; it’s about what you get for your investment.
For more information about our review process, click here.
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What
ClickFunnels
Customers Think
I’ve been really impressed with ClickFunnels!
I’ve been really impressed with ClickFunnels. Its user-friendly design is perfect for those not tech-savvy like me. The platform combines everything – email marketing, payment processing, you name it – which is super convenient and saves time. Yes, it’s $127 per month, but for the ease and all-in-one features, it’s a worthy investment for anyone serious about growing their online business efficiently.
Disappointing Experience with ClickFunnels
Unfortunately, my experience using ClickFunnels has not been great. While the templates and editing tools were easy to use, I found that the pages I created were slow to load and did not look as professional as I had hoped. I also had issues with the A/B testing and analytics features, as they did not seem to be accurate or helpful in improving my funnel’s performance. Additionally, the pricing felt steep for the value I received. Overall, I was disappointed with my experience using ClickFunnels.
Great Tool, But Pricey
ClickFunnels has been a great tool for my business. I love the ease of use and the ability to create professional-looking sales funnels quickly. However, I do find the pricing to be a bit steep, especially for someone just starting out. I also wish there were more integrations with other tools I use, but overall, I am satisfied with my experience using ClickFunnels.