A funnel is a sequence of 2 to 10 steps that visitors take in this order, for example landing page, pricing, sign-up. It shows how many reach each step, where they stop and how long they take.
Info
Funnels are available on the Pro plan and above. Pro includes up to 5 funnels. Scale and Enterprise have no funnel limit.
What are funnels?
A funnel follows visitors through your steps:
Step 1: Homepage 1,000 visits
↓ 600 stopped here (60%)
Step 2: Pricing 400 visits
↓ 250 stopped here (62.5%)
Step 3: Sign-up 150 visits
↓ 75 stopped here (50%)
Step 4: Welcome page 75 visits
Key numbers
| Number | What it means |
|---|---|
| Started | How many reached the first step |
| Finished | How many reached the last step |
| Conversion | Finished as a share of Started |
| Median time to finish | How long it usually takes from the first to the last step |
For each step you also see its share of the start and its share of the previous step.
Creating a funnel
Open the Funnels sub-tab
Open your website from Domains, select the Journeys tab, then the Funnels sub-tab.
Click New funnel
Click New funnel to open the funnel builder.
Name your funnel
Give it a clear name, for example "Landing page to sign-up".
Add your steps
Add 2 to 10 steps in the order visitors should take them. Click Add step for each one and choose its type: Page, Event or Goal.
Put the steps in order
Use the Move up and Move down buttons next to a step to change its position. Remove step deletes a step.
Choose the time window
Choose how long visitors have to finish: Same visit, Within 1 day, Within 7 days or Within 30 days.
Check the preview and save
While you edit, a live preview shows the funnel for the selected period. Optionally add a description, then click Create funnel.
Step types
| Type | Counts when a visitor... |
|---|---|
| Page | Opens a page whose address matches (with a match type, just like page visit goals) |
| Event | Sends a custom event with this name from your code |
| Goal | Completes one of your existing goals |
Page steps
Enter the address and choose a match type: Is exactly, Starts with, Contains, Ends with, Matches a pattern or Regular expression. The Pick button opens the list of your real pages, and a live check shows whether the address matches pages on your site. Upper and lower case, trailing slashes, www. and anchors never matter. See Page visit goals for all matching rules.
| Step | Match type | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Product page | Starts with | /products/ |
| Cart | Is exactly | /cart |
| Checkout | Is exactly | /checkout |
| Confirmation | Contains | /order/confirmation |
Event steps
Enter the name of a custom event your site sends with zenovay('track', 'event_name'). Upper and lower case do not matter, and spaces count as underscores.
| Step | Event name |
|---|---|
| Step 1 | video_started |
| Step 2 | video_50_percent |
| Step 3 | video_completed |
Goal steps
Choose one of your existing goals. Create the goal first if you don't have it yet.
| Step | Goal |
|---|---|
| Step 1 | "Add to cart" |
| Step 2 | "Begin checkout" |
| Step 3 | "Purchase completed" |
A goal that is used as a step in a funnel cannot be deleted until you remove it from the funnel.
Time window
The time window decides how long visitors have to finish the funnel, and whether the funnel counts visits or visitors.
| Time window | Counted per | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Same visit (default) | Visit: all steps happen in one visit | Most funnels |
| Within 1 day | Visitor: can finish on a later visit within a day | Short decisions |
| Within 7 days | Visitor | Decisions that take longer, like comparing plans |
| Within 30 days | Visitor | Long decisions, like B2B purchases |
Warning
On websites that run without cookies, a returning visitor gets a new anonymous ID every day. Funnels with a 7-day or 30-day window therefore count fewer finishers than really happened, and the dashboard shows a note about this. Same visit and Within 1 day are not affected.
How funnels are counted
- In order. A visitor counts for a step only after reaching the steps before it, in your order.
- One page view fills one step. A single page view never fills two steps in a row. A funnel "pricing, then pricing" needs two separate views of the pricing page.
- Calculated from your data when you look. Funnels are calculated from the data Zenovay already recorded, for exactly the period you selected. A new funnel shows results for the past right away, every period works, and when you edit a funnel, its numbers are recalculated for the past too.
Other ways to start a funnel
You don't always have to start from an empty builder:
- Funnel ideas: the Funnels sub-tab suggests funnels based on the paths visitors really took in the last 30 days (and paths that end in a goal). Click Use to open the builder with the steps already filled in. Nothing is created until you save.
- From a path: in Flows, the Top user paths table has a button Create a funnel from this path. See Page flows.
- From a goal: in a goal's details, click Build a funnel to this goal.
- From your code: developers can create a funnel with
zenovay('defineFunnel', 'name', [...]). See Multi-step funnel analysis.
Managing funnels
Every funnel has a … menu with these actions:
| Action | What happens |
|---|---|
| Edit | Opens the funnel builder |
| Rename | Changes the name only |
| Duplicate | Creates a copy you can change |
| Pause / Resume | Pauses or resumes the funnel |
| Delete | Deletes the funnel and its steps. Your visits and goals are not affected. This cannot be undone |
Common funnel examples
E-commerce purchase
| Step | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Page: /products/ (Starts with) | View a product |
| 2 | Event: add_to_cart | Add an item |
| 3 | Page: /cart | View the cart |
| 4 | Page: /checkout | Begin checkout |
| 5 | Page: /confirmation | Complete the purchase |
Time window: Same visit, or Within 1 day if your customers often come back later.
SaaS sign-up
| Step | Type |
|---|---|
| 1 | Page: /pricing |
| 2 | Page: /signup |
| 3 | Event: form_submitted |
| 4 | Page: /welcome |
Lead generation
| Step | Type |
|---|---|
| 1 | Page: your landing page |
| 2 | Event: cta_clicked |
| 3 | Page: your form page |
| 4 | Goal: "Contact form sent" |
Content engagement
| Step | Type |
|---|---|
| 1 | Page: /blog/ (Starts with) |
| 2 | Event: related_article_clicked |
| 3 | Event: newsletter_signup |
Viewing funnel data
Open Journeys → Funnels and pick a funnel from Your funnels. If you have more funnels than fit in one row, click Show all N funnels to list every one; the funnel you selected always stays visible. Choose the period at the top: Last 24 hours, Last 7, 14, 30 or 90 days, Last 6 months or Last 12 months (longer periods depend on your plan). Goals and Funnels share this period selector, and dashboard filters and saved segments apply too. Every number is compared with the period before.
The report opens with a ribbon chart of your steps: a bar for each step, with ribbons flowing from one step to the next, so you see at a glance where the funnel narrows. Hover a step to see how many reached it, the drop-off from the previous step, the conversion, how long the step usually takes after the previous one, and its top channels and countries. On phones the chart runs from top to bottom.
Click the chart, or Show steps and drop-offs under it, to open the step list. Between two steps it shows how many stopped, how long the next step usually takes, and a See why link that explains the drop-off. See Multi-step funnel analysis and Funnel drop-off analysis.
Optimizing funnels
A step with a high drop-off
- Open the step list (click the chart or Show steps and drop-offs) and click See why between the two steps
- Look at Where they went instead and Who stops most often
- Open some of the latest visits that stopped: each one links to that visitor's timeline
- Watch session recordings and check the heatmaps of that page (Pro)
- Change one thing and compare the next period
A slow step
If visitors take long to reach the next step:
- Check the page load time
- Review the content for clarity
- Simplify the step
- Ask for less information
General tips
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| High drop-off | Simplify, remove friction |
| Slow progress | Speed up, make the next step obvious |
| Low overall conversion | Review the whole path |
Best practices
Keep funnels focused
| Avoid | Prefer |
|---|---|
| Many steps (up to 10 are possible) | 3 to 6 steps |
| Several destinations in one funnel | One destination per funnel |
| Vague steps | Clear actions |
Name steps clearly
| Unclear | Clear |
|---|---|
| Step 1 | Homepage visit |
| Step 2 | Product viewed |
| Page | Checkout started |
Start with your key funnels
- Main conversion (purchase or sign-up)
- Lead generation
- Adoption of a key feature
Review regularly
- A quick weekly check
- A monthly deep dive
- After every major change to your site
Troubleshooting
Few visits enter the funnel
- Edit the funnel and use Pick to check that each page step matches real pages
- Check the period selector and any active filters or segments
- Choose a longer period
Visits don't count the way you expect
- Steps only count in your order. Check the order with Move up and Move down
- With Same visit, all steps must happen in one visit. Try Within 1 day in the report to compare
- One page view never fills two steps in a row
The last step is low
- Check that the tracking script runs on the final page
- Check for redirects that skip the final page
- Go through the path yourself