Clickfunnels WordPress alternative

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 Let’s explore the possibility of replacing Clickfunnels platform with WordPress’s tools and features.

You want to implement funnels in your business, and you have done some research.

You came across ClickFunnels but found it costs $ 297 per month for the functionality you need.
This price can be hard to swallow, especially when you are just starting your business.
In this case, you need an alternative to the ClickFunnels platform.

So you are looking for an alternative that won’t ruin your account or skim your functionality?

In this article, you’ll learn step-by-step how to set up a WordPress system, which will be an alternative for ClickFunnels and will be cheaper, more flexible, and 100% your own. (important!)

You don’t have to be a developer or to hire a developer to follow these techniques.

What people like about ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels is famous for a reason, so let’s talk about what people love about this platform.

The first thing they love is that it is a hosted solution that offers an all-in-one answer for you.
Since everything is integrated, users assume that the platform’s users will less of a learning curve than other systems where you quite often have to put together several chunks into a working whole.

What Clickfunnels offers:

Hosting – you can start creating funnels right away – no need to look for a website hosting.

A drag-and-drop editor – you can build your pages and funnels using easy drag-and-drop functionality.

Email marketing automation – you can send a series of emails sent automatically, triggered by your subscribers’ actions.

Forms – you can create forms to collect information from subscribers, significantly to help build relationships with these subscribers.

Payment processing – you get a secure, reliable way to accept and process payments.

What people don’t like about ClickFunnels

The number one complaint we can hear repeatedly is that platform is buggy.

The problem especially applies to the email marketing module.

Often, things don’t work the way they should, which is one of the biggest reasons people quit.

Another big complaint about ClickFunnels is that some templates are ugly and sometimes outdated.

This can have an impact on how some potential customers may respond to a specific template or project.

 Another concern that people have about Clicjfunnels is that its features are limited.
Essentially what it means is if you need ClickFunnels to do something that it doesn’t currently do, you don’t have too many options.

As it is a hosted platform, your data is locked there. Clickfunnels have full control and are the owners of your data.
You can not export your data from Clickfunnels.
From your point of view, it’s a rent versus own scenario.

Finally, – the price. They have two plans, and the starter plan is $97 a month, but the plan that you really need to be on is $297 per month. It can be tough to afford, especially when you’re just starting your online journey.

Components you need to set up a ClickFunnels WordPress alternative.

Hosting: You will need hosting to power your WordPress site. There are many inexpensive choices on the market; for as little as $ 4 a month, you can have your hosting plan.

However, remember that expectations towards hosting are continually growing, and you will develop over time and need a better and better environment.

For as little as a few bucks more per month, you can have an account with Siteground, and the reason why I recommend Sitegroundis that they have phenomenal support, and their hosting is of the highest quality.

WP Theme

Now, the next thing you need to have is a WordPress theme.
There are many free options available on the market.
One of the deciding factors can be the field in which you operate, mostly if your website is not limited only to pages closely related to the sales funnel’s implementation.

Astra theme is the right choice here; it is one of the most popular WordPress themes. Astra has a paid version, but you don’t need it to have a ClickFunnels alternative, and you can go ahead and limit yourself to the free version.

You can use it on unlimited websites.

WP Page Builder

A page builder is a drag-and-drop WordPress tool to create websites effortlessly.

 I recommend using Elementor, the most popular and powerful tool.

There’s a free version of Elementor, but you’re going to use the paid version because it comes with some very powerful features that were going to need, including a form builder, WooCommerce options, a pop-up builder, and dozens of marketing elements.

It will cost you $ 49 / year.

CartFlows

CartFlows is a full-featured funnel building component with a checkout complete with templates, order bumps, one-click upsells, cart abandonment recovery, and more.
So you will have a fully built-out funnel with the design that you can edit in Elementor.

It will cost you $ 25 per month.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is another required WordPress component. It provides basic payment processing functionality, including a secure and reliable way to process payments.

Optional components for your ClickFunnels WordPress alternative setup.

SendinBlue – there are many email marketing services available, but I recommend SendinBlue for its features like automation, unlimited contacts on each plan, A/B testing, etc. The daily sending limit (300) is only on the free plan.

WooCommerce Subscriptions – you will need this plugin only if you want to sell automatic recurring subscriptions.

It will cost you $17 per month.

AffiliateWP – if you want to create your own affiliate program, this is a plugin you need.

It will cost you $8 per month.

How to connect all these pieces together?

1. Sign-up for your hosting account and install WordPress

Siteground’s WooCommerce hosting plan is dedicated to anyone running an online business using WordPress. It carries specific features to help you run your eCommerce business.

We recommend the GrowBig plan – it offers unlimited websites and more space than the StartUp plan.

Watch the video below to go through all installation details and initial setup.

Install Woocommerce component

To install WooCommerce, follow these steps:

1. Go to Plugins > Add New.
2. Search for “WooCommerce.”
3. Click Install Now.
4. Click Activate Now, and you’re ready for the WooCommerce Wizard.

Follow the wizard’s steps. If you need info, check the following documentation link:
Woocommerce Setup Wizard

Install Your Website Theme (Astra)

To install the theme, go to Appearance → Themes → Add New in your WordPress dashboard. Then, search for “Astra” and click the button to install it:

Install Elementor

Elementor is a very popular WordPress page builder that offers visual, drag-and-drop functionality.
In this stage, you’ll install and familiarize yourself with its interface so that you’re ready to use it to build your funnels later.

Install the Elementor Plugins
To get started, you’ll need to install two plugins:

Elementor – the core Elementor plugin is available for free at WordPress

Elementor Pro – the official, paid add-on. It adds necessary funnel features like forms and popups.
You’ll need to install the Premium Version you purchased.
Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin and upload the ZIP file that Elementor sent to you.

Watch the video below; learn how to use the Elementor and start building your first pages using this tool.

Install CartFlows Component

CartFlows comes in WordPress in both a free and a premium version. You’ll need to install both of then to set up your Clickfunnels WordPress Alternative solution.

To install the free core version, go to Plugins → Add New and search for it by name:

CartFlows Premium

Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin and upload the ZIP file that Elementor sent to you.

Start Your First Funnel

You start with CartFlows; a new funnel will be called here “Flow.”

Assuming you successfully installed all required components, go to CartFlows and select Add New option.

If you’re a beginner, I recommend that you use one of the pre-built templates. With time, when you get into practice, you will be able to start a new funnel from scratch.

In a typical initial template setup, you’ll see three separate steps:

Landing page

Checkout page

Thank you page

Adding New Steps in Your Funnel

If you want to add a new step to your funnel, you just click the Add New Step button.

You will be taken to Steps Library when you can choose your new step from “Ready Templates” or you can go for the “Create Your Own” option.

All templates are divided into five different categories:

• Landing
• Checkout
• Upsell
• Downsell
• Thank You

Changing the order of your funnel’s steps is easy – you drag the different content items around.
Once you are happy with your sequence, you have an option to edit each step.

There are two ways to edit your steps; using the Elementor interface or settings box option.

Settings Box
Use the Select Product tab to choose the product that you want to sell in your offer. The product can be your main product, or in other steps, you can assign different products as upsells or down-sells.
|All the products you create when configuring the Woocommerce plugin.

You can configure other essential elements, like any order bumps you want to add, checkout functions, any information you wish to collect, and more.

Elementor
In the Elementor component, you can edit any of the existing elements in your form. Using drag-and-drop functionality, you can add new pieces. For additional functionality, you can add Elementor’s widget elements.

Final Steps

Carefully go through all steps of your funnel. Check product setup, layout elements, and functionality.
Especially, pay attention to the order summary and payment options.

If you need more detailed information about the initial setting of Woocommerce and CartFlows, check the video below:

How to enrich your Clickfunnels WordPress alternative with other features

Congratulations!
You just built a funnel that can compete with funnels made with ClickFunnels.

What if you still want to enrich it? Is it possible?
Definitely yes!

Email Automation

One of the cool things about ClickFunnels is that it helps you set up email automation according to your needs.
If you want to add something similar to our ClickFunnels WordPress alternative, use the SendinBlue platform.

It enables your business to build and develop relationships through marketing automation, email campaigns, transactional emails, SMS, chat, CRM, Facebook advertising, and retargeting ads.

Besides being an overall excellent email marketing service, SendinBlue also includes a detailed WordPress plugin that helps you set up your email automation flows from within your WordPress dashboard.

SendinBlue has a free plan to get you started. The important thing is that there is no limit to the number of contacts. The price only depends on the number of emails sent and the features requested.

Subscriptions Options

If your business model includes subscription options, the WooCommerce Subscriptions component may be your solution.

With the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin, you can use your funnels to sign up people for automatic recurring subscriptions.

The plugin adds a new type of subscription product to the WooCommerce interface that you got to know while creating our funnel. Then you can add these subscription products to yours flows in CartFlows, just like any other WooCommerce product.

You can combine subscriptions and one-time payments.

For example, you can offer subscription membership as your main product and then attach an add-on sale or order to sell an ebook for a one-time fee (or vice versa).

WooCommerce subscriptions start at $ 199 per year.

Affiliate Program

Another option you can use when creating your funnel is your own affiliate program.

The AffiliateWP plugin is helpful here.

ClickFunnels offers this functionality through the Funnel’s Backpack feature.

However, by using the AffiliateWP WordPress plugin, you can add the same functionality and create your own affiliate program for your ClickFunnels WordPress alternative.

AffiliateWP has built-in WooCommerce integration, so it’s very easy to setup. You will also have granular control over commissions, including the option to set different rates on a per-product basis, control the tracking cookie expiration time, and much more.

AffiliateWP starts at $ 99 per year.

Conclusions

ClickFunnels platform is popular for a reason, but as we’ve shown, it’s not the only way to promote your products with funnels.

ClickFunnels WordPress alternative is just such an option.
You can save a lot of money with this solution.

The solution we presented will cost you between approximately $ 30- $ 80 per month (depending on the options you choose).
For the same setup at ClickFunnels, you need to pay $ 297 per month.

By using this Clickfunnels WordPress alternative, you have 100% ownership of your content, meaning you are never blocked from the platform as you would when using ClickFunnels.

You also have very flexible options to expand your website as much as possible.
Thinking about adding a blog to your website? No problem.
Membership site option? Easy.
ECommerce Store? There is no limit to extensibility and scalability
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The WordPress environment offers many flexible options and possibilities. If you need specific functionality for your website, you can hire a developer to implement it. This is something impossible when using ClickFunnels.

Create your own ClickFunnels WordPress alternative and enjoy more flexibility at a much lower cost.