How to Create a Cart Funnel

Published: Mar 19, 2025Updated: Nov 10, 2026

A Cart Funnel is designed specifically for e-commerce businesses and physical product sellers to showcase one core product, offer strategic upsells, and drive conversions—without overwhelming visitors with too many options. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of creating your own Cart Funnel in ClickFunnels using our pre-built templates.

Requirements

An active ClickFunnels account
Products created in your ClickFunnels workspace
Payments AI connected to the workspace (to use Stripe, connect it through Payments AI), or an existing direct Stripe connection

What is a Cart Funnel

A Cart Funnel is a pre-structured sales funnel designed to help you sell physical or digital products online. It focuses on offering a single front-end product and uses strategic follow-up pages to maximize each customer’s value.

Unlike a traditional e-commerce store that showcases many products at once, a Cart Funnel simplifies the shopping experience by guiding your customers step by step toward a purchase decision, minimizing distraction and increasing conversions.

This type of funnel is ideal for sellers who want to highlight one core offer, make additional recommendations, and streamline the checkout process.

Example: Selling a Physical Product with a Cart Funnel

Imagine you’re selling a premium water bottle. Instead of directing visitors to a storefront with multiple items, you guide them to a dedicated Order Page highlighting the water bottle with engaging copy, a product video, and a two-step order form.

After entering their information, customers see an Order Bump offering a cleaning brush specifically designed for the bottle. With one click, they can add it to their purchase. Next, they’re taken to an Upsell Page promoting a discounted bundle of three additional bottles—ideal for family or travel use. Finally, they land on a Confirmation Page that thanks them for their purchase and provides an order summary.

This structure keeps the buying process focused and encourages additional purchases along the way.

Cart Funnel Structure

A traditional Cart Funnel includes a series of core pages that work together to guide your customers through a focused sales process, present additional offers, and confirm their purchase.

Funnel Overview:

Each Cart Funnel template in ClickFunnels includes a pre-configured page structure that supports your sales strategy. This structure typically includes:

Order Page (2-Step Tripwire Page) – Captures customer information and showcases your core offer. You can also include an optional order bump.
Upsell Page – Offers an additional product after the initial purchase using a one-click upsell feature.
Confirmation Page – Confirms the customer’s order and provides purchase details or next steps.

Creating a Cart Funnel in ClickFunnels

Follow these steps to quickly create your Cart Funnel using one of the available templates:

Go to Funnels and click Create Funnel. The Funnel Templates page opens.
Use Search, or open Filters and pick a Funnel Type (Lead Funnels, Product Funnels, Presentation Funnels, Appointment Funnels or Challenge Funnels), to find a template that fits your Cart Funnel. Click Preview to look through it, then click Use This Template. ClickFunnels installs the funnel and opens it in the funnel editor.
Prefer to build it yourself? Click Start From Scratch, or let Build with AI create the funnel for you.

For the full steps, see How to Create a New Funnel.

Once your funnel is created, update each page by editing the text, images, videos, and connecting products where needed.

Adding Products to the Order Page

Adding products to your Cart Funnel is an essential step that allows you to process payments and fulfill orders. Without connecting a product to your Order Page, your order form will not function, and customers won’t be able to complete their purchase.

To attach your product, open the Order (Cart) Page’s Three-Dot Menu (⋮) and select Add Products (or click the green Products icon on the step card), then select your product. To offer an add-on, such as a cleaning brush for the bottle, attach it to the same step and turn on Product is an order bump in its settings (⚙). If you create a new product from the product selection window, it opens in a new browser tab and isn’t attached automatically, so return to the funnel and select it. For the full steps, see Adding Products in a Funnel Step.

The Cart Funnel template features an upsell page that also requires product additions. Please repeat the previously mentioned process on the upsell page to include the upsell product appropriately.

Sending Automated Emails Using a Workflow

To ensure your customers receive important order information and post-purchase follow-ups, it’s essential to send automated emails using a Workflow in ClickFunnels.

Common Email Types:

Order Confirmation Email: Sent immediately after the purchase is completed.
Upsell Follow-up Email: Encourages buyers to consider additional products they may have missed.
Shipping or Access Details: Provide digital product access or shipping confirmation for physical goods.
Abandoned Cart Email Sequence: Remind customers who started the checkout process but didn’t complete it to return and finish their purchase. These emails can include product highlights, limited-time discounts, or urgency messaging.
Post-Purchase Promotions: Offer discount codes, product care tips, or referral incentives.

Attaching Workflows to a Funnel Step

Once your email workflow is ready, you can connect it to your Cart Funnel so that contacts automatically enter the sequence based on their activity.

To attach a workflow, open your Cart Funnel and click the Lightning Bolt (⚡) icon on the step where the automation begins (e.g., the Order Page). In the Choose a workflow dialog, select an existing workflow or click New Workflow, then choose the events that trigger it. For the full steps, see Adding Workflows to Funnel Steps.
The Cart Page step card with the Lightning Bolt (⚡) icon highlighted, and the Choose a workflow dialog with New Workflow and Select highlighted

Make sure the workflow is enabled: open the workflow’s Settings, turn on Status, then click Update Workflow. Disabled workflows don’t run when triggered.
The Workflow Settings window with the Status toggle turned on and the Update Workflow button

Fulfilling Customer Orders After Purchase

If you’re using a Cart Funnel to sell physical products, it’s important to define how those orders will be fulfilled after purchase. ClickFunnels supports multiple order fulfillment methods depending on your setup and product type.

Order Fulfillment Methods in a Cart Funnel:

ShipStation Integration: If your business uses ShipStation for logistics and shipping, you can connect your account in ClickFunnels. When a customer completes a purchase, order data is automatically sent to ShipStation for processing, packaging, and shipping.
Shippo Integration: ClickFunnels also integrates with Shippo, which allows you to generate accurate shipping labels, compare live carrier rates, and access discounted shipping prices. When connected, Shippo can automatically display calculated shipping costs at checkout, helping you streamline fulfillment while offering cost-effective shipping options for your customers.
Zendrop Fulfillment: If your product was imported from Zendrop, ClickFunnels automatically sends the order data to Zendrop when the purchase is made. Zendrop then handles the packaging and delivery of the product on your behalf.
Manual Fulfillment: If you’re fulfilling orders manually, you can manage and track customer purchases inside your Orders tab. You’ll need to mark orders as fulfilled manually or use internal processes to ship products and notify customers.

To give you a general overview of how order fulfillment works in a Cart Funnel, here are the most common scenarios depending on your business needs:

Automated Fulfillment with Shipping Services: If you want to fully automate shipping—including label generation, packaging, and delivery—you can use integrated services like ShipStation or Zendrop. These platforms handle logistics after the order is placed.
Manual Fulfillment with Live Shipping Rates: If you prefer to fulfill orders yourself (e.g., from your home or warehouse) but still want to charge accurate shipping fees, consider using Shippo. It allows you to display live carrier rates during checkout and print shipping labels manually.
Creating Shipping Profiles: You can set up domestic and international shipping profiles in ClickFunnels to display calculated shipping prices automatically when the customer enters their address during checkout.
Manual Order Management: You can also manually manage your entire fulfillment process by reviewing orders in the Orders tab, handling packaging and shipping yourself, and marking each order as fulfilled.

Summary

To successfully set up and manage a Cart Funnel in ClickFunnels, here’s what you need to do:

Import a pre-built Cart Funnel template to get started with the essential funnel structure.
Create a product and attach it to the Order Page to enable payment processing and fulfillment.
Customize each funnel page to reflect your product’s messaging, branding, and offer strategy.
Set up workflows to automate email communication, including order confirmations, upsell reminders, and abandoned cart sequences.
Define your fulfillment method—whether through ShipStation, Shippo, Zendrop, or manual order handling.

This setup helps you sell your products efficiently while creating a high-converting, customer-friendly checkout experience.