How to build a sales funnel in 7 steps, with an example

What is a sales funnel?

A sales funnel is a path made of several pages, each with a single job: leave an email, read the offer, pay, accept an extra offer. It’s called a funnel because many visitors come in at the top and only some of them reach the purchase.

What sets it apart from a sales page is scope. A sales page presents one offer on one page. A funnel organizes what happens before it (capturing the email) and after it (checkout, extra offers, the thank-you page, the emails). The sales page is one step of the funnel, often the most important one.

The steps of a sales funnel, from opt-in to thank-you page

The opt-in page

It offers something free (a checklist, three recipes, a mini guide), called a lead magnet, in exchange for an email address. The page needs a headline, the promise of the freebie and a short form: nothing else should distract. This page is optional: an audience that already knows you, on TikTok or Instagram for example, can go straight to the sales page.

The sales page

This is the page that convinces: promise, contents, proof, price, guarantee, then a repeated buy button that always leads to checkout. A preview and a few real reviews help people decide. For a block-by-block breakdown, see what a sales page should include.

Checkout and the order bump

The checkout page should stay short: order summary, total price, as few fields as possible. It can include an order bump, a checkbox right above the payment button that adds a small extra product before paying. In the UK and the EU, the final button must make clear that ordering means paying, with the words “order with obligation to pay” or an equally clear phrase (EU Directive 2011/83, Article 8(2); in the UK, Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 14).

The upsell and the downsell

The upsell is an offer shown right after checkout, when the buyer has just said yes. With a tool that saves the card at checkout, they accept it in one click, without typing their details again. The downsell only appears to those who decline the upsell: a shorter or cheaper version of the same idea. One useful offer beats three filler ones.

The thank-you page

It confirms the purchase and says exactly how to get the product: download link, delivery email, timing. It can also suggest one simple next step, such as following your account. The buyer has just paid: this is the page that reassures them about the purchase.

The emails

After a sign-up: delivery of the freebie, two or three useful messages, then the offer. After a purchase: delivery, then a review request. For a visitor who leaves checkout without paying: an abandoned cart reminder, provided they agreed to receive your emails.

How many steps do you need?

In pages, three are enough to sell (sales page, checkout, thank-you page); a complete funnel has five to seven. Guides that talk about four stages or more often describe the buyer’s state of mind (awareness, interest, decision, action), not the pages to build.

Do you need an email list? What the consent rules say

No. A funnel can sell directly, from the sales page to checkout. A list is for visitors who aren’t ready to buy today: you stay in touch and show them the offer later.

If you collect emails to send offers, the rules depend on where your subscribers live. In the US, the FTC’s CAN-SPAM compliance guide lists what every marketing email must do: no misleading header or subject line, identify the message as an ad, say where you’re located, explain how to opt out and honor opt-out requests within 10 business days. The law makes no exception for business-to-business email, and its listed requirements focus on opting out rather than on prior consent.

The UK is stricter. The ICO says you must not send marketing emails to individuals without specific consent, and sole traders count as individuals. The “soft opt-in” exception covers existing customers who bought, or negotiated to buy, a similar product from you, if you offered a simple way to opt out when you collected their details and in every message. It is tied to a purchase, so be careful with people who only downloaded a free lead magnet: ask for consent with a box they check themselves. The ICO notes this guidance is under review. In the EU, consent rules are set by each country under a common directive; in France, the CNIL requires prior consent from individuals and rules out pre-checked boxes. For a specific case, ask a lawyer.

In Shoplit.io, someone who downloads a free product is only subscribed to your emails if they check the box provided. Buyers, on the other hand, are subscribed by default: to let them say no at checkout, turn on the consent checkbox in Settings, on the Email Marketing tab. Abandoned cart reminders only go to visitors who checked that box themselves (set to “Unchecked”), and every campaign ends with an unsubscribe link.

How to build a sales funnel in 7 steps

In Shoplit.io, you build a funnel by hand in a block editor, or all at once with the AI funnel. You describe your product, or use the My products button to pick an ebook or a video course you already created. The AI asks two to four questions, then shows the funnel plan: sales page or opt-in page, checkout with an order bump, upsell, downsell, thank-you page. You ask for changes in one sentence, for example removing the downsell, then start the build; the funnel opens on its overview, and everything stays editable in the editor. Payments go through your own Stripe account.

The Free plan lets you build 3 funnels by hand, with a sales page, checkout and thank-you page. The Pro plan, at €29/month, adds the order bump, email capture forms, email marketing and automations, including abandoned cart reminders. The Business plan, at €59/month, adds the AI funnel and one-click upsells and downsells.

Which tools can you use to build a sales funnel?

Systeme.io and ClickFunnels are the funnel builders that come up most in guides on the topic, and LearnyBox comes up often in French ones. All three handle funnels with checkout and emails; they differ mostly on entry price and the role of AI.

• Yes
• Partly
• No

Platform commission, excluding payment processing fees. Prices checked on October 20, 2026 on the official websites. Sources: Systeme.io (1, 2, 3, 4), ClickFunnels (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), LearnyBox (1, 2, 3, 4)

Systeme.io’s free plan is unusually generous: no commission, 3 funnels, a one-click upsell, an order bump, one automation rule and email sending to 2,000 contacts. Its terms cap the lifetime revenue you can make on that plan, and paid plans start at €17/month (the same amount in dollars on its English pricing page). Its AI Chat, which writes page content for funnel steps, is limited to the Unlimited plan for now. Its site is available in English and French.

ClickFunnels is a funnel specialist: one-click upsells, multiple one-time offers, order bumps, A/B tests on funnels and emails, several payment gateways and an AI assistant that designs pages. It has no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and its first plan costs $97/month. Our Shoplit.io vs ClickFunnels comparison goes into the details.

LearnyBox is a French tool: support based in France even on the free plan, a compliant invoice generated for every sale, and VAT handling built for France and the EU. Its free plan is limited to one funnel of 10 pages, with a cap on sales. Paid plans start at €39/month excl. tax on its French pricing page; its English page lists separate prices in dollars. No AI page writing among the features listed on its site as of October 20, 2026.

Shoplit.io starts one step earlier: it also creates the product, the ebook, with AI, then its sales page and the funnel that sells it, in English or French, and takes payments through your own Stripe account. There’s nothing to copy over from a writing tool.

Systeme.io suits a free start with funnels and email; ClickFunnels, advanced funnels with multiple one-time offers and several payment gateways; LearnyBox, courses with invoicing built for France and the EU. If you want AI to create the product, its sales page and the funnel, choose Shoplit.io.

A complete example: a funnel for a recipe ebook

Take a meal prep ebook, “A Month of Sunday Meal Prep”, sold to parents who follow a cooking account on Instagram.

Step	What the visitor sees	What it’s for
Opt-in page	“5 recipes you can prep in one hour” for an email, unchecked box to receive offers	build the list
Emails after sign-up	the freebie, two planning tips, then the ebook	build trust
Sales page	who it’s for, what’s inside, a two-page excerpt, an FAQ, the guarantee	sell the ebook
Checkout and order bump	a “printable shopping lists” checkbox right above the button	grow the order
Upsell	four more weeks of meals, added in one click	offer what comes next
Downsell	one week of holiday meals, cheaper	recover a no
Thank-you page	the download link, an invitation to follow the account	reassure, stay in touch
Emails after purchase	delivery, then a review request a week later	keep the customer

You don’t have to build everything at once. Start with the sales page, checkout and thank-you page, then add the order bump and the upsell after your first sales: by then, you’ll know what your buyers ask for. In Shoplit.io, on the Business plan, the AI funnel builds the pages of this funnel from the ebook; if an offer is missing, such as the shopping lists, it suggests a product idea that you then generate from the funnel.