A funnel is a model of a customer journey. It contains each step a person takes toward a specific goal, such as a purchase.

  Before getting started

  • Plan the upsell funnel to get a list of all the assets you need to build. 
    • Pro Tip: Use Kartra's Funnel Mapper to create a visual map of the purchase journey.
  • Integrate a payment processor to process customer purchases.

Example of a product funnel with an upsell

Example of a product upsell funnel design created in the Kartra Funnel Mapper


Step 1: Create the pages

Use your upsell funnel plan as a “to-do list” so you don’t miss any pages.

Go to Pages and click the add Page button in the lower right corner. You will create four (4) separate pages.


Create a sales page for the main offer.

  1. Add a checkout form section or a button that pops a checkout, depending on your preferred design. If you have not created a product asset yet, leave the component unconnected. You will come back to this later.
  2. Save and publish the page. Pages must be published to connect them with other assets, even if they are not finished yet.

Create a sales page for the upsell offer. Customers automatically arrive on this page after completing a purchase for the main offer.

  1. Add the details of the upsell, including images or video to support your pitch
  2. Add two buttons to the page – one to accept the upsell and one to decline it.
    • The accept button will be linked to the checkout for the upsell product. Leave it unconnected for now.
    • Edit the decline button and configure it to link to another Kartra page. Select the thank you page created just before this from the drop-down menus.
  3. Save and publish the page.

Create a thank you page for the main + upsell offer. Customers land here if they buy both offers.

  1. Customize the page to thank the customer for their purchase and add any helpful “next step” information. Remember, if the customer lands on this page, it means they bought BOTH the main and upsell offers.
  2. Save and publish the page.

Create a thank you page for the main offer only. Customers land here if they decline the upsell and only buy the main offer.

  1. Customize the page to thank the customer for their purchase and add any helpful “next step” information.
  2. Save and publish the page.

When you are finished with this step, you should have four (4) published pages.


Step 2: Create the products

Create the main product

Create a main product and give it a name

  1. Go to Products and click the add Product button in the lower right corner
  2. Select Main product as the new product type
  3. At the Basic info step, select the payment processing integration for the main offer and the upsell.
    • If you do not have a payment gateway integrated yet, click Configure later to complete the product setup and come back to this later.
    • Critical: Your checkouts will not work until a gateway is connected.
  4. At the Pages step, select the pages you created for the upsell funnel to link them to the product configuration:
    • Add the sales page for your main offer as the Product Page
    • Add the sales page for the upsell offer as the Thank You page. The page set as the “thank you page” for any product is where the customer is redirected after purchasing.
  5. Complete the product wizard. If you need help, follow the Creating Products guide.

Create the upsell product

Create a new upsell product

  1. Go to Products and click the add Product button in the lower right corner
  2. Select Upsell or Downsell as the new product type
    • Note: You will not be asked to configure a payment gateway for the upsell product. The gateway set in the main product configuration is automatically used for upsells or downsells created beneath it.
  3. At the Pages step, link the thank you page you created for people who buy both the main product and the upsell
    • Note: You will not be asked to specify the product sales page for an upsell or downsell. Kartra automatically detects this detail from the main product configuration.
  4. At the Checkout step, open the Express Checkout module to choose a checkout experience for the upsell. Because the customer already submitted their credit card information during the main offer purchase, you can activate a streamlined checkout option for additional offers.
  5. Finish the product wizard and make sure all sections are complete.

Edit the sales pages and connect the products

When all the pages and products are complete, it’s time to connect them.

Open the main offer page and locate the checkout form or button. Remember that there may be more than one depending on your design.

  1. Edit the checkout component or button and link it to the new product funnel and main product. (Shown below.)
  2. Apply your changes and re-publish the page.

Open the upsell offer page and locate the “accept” button.

  1. Edit the button and link it to the new product funnel and upsell product. (Shown below)
  2. Apply your changes and re-publish the page.

    Configure a button to pop up the checkout for your upsell

When you are finished with this step, you should have two (2) configured products.


Step 3: Test the funnel

Recommended: Take a break after building your funnel so you can complete your testing with fresh eyes. This will help you spot typos and other quality issues more easily.

Clear your cache and cookies before starting a test to make sure that your browser will see you as a new visitor to the funnel. Alternatively, you can use a different internet browser or run your test in incognito/private mode.

Go to the sales page and purchase the main product:

  • Confirm the page content is correct
  • Click any links on the page to confirm they’re correct
  • Make sure the checkout experience and pricing are correct
    • Use a real credit card to complete the purchase and test the payment processor integration.
  • After the purchase, you should be automatically redirected to the upsell offer page

On the upsell offer page:

  • Confirm the page content is correct
  • Click any links on the page to confirm they’re correct

Test both buttons on the upsell page (you will need to return to the page after testing the first one to click the second).

  • Click the “accept” button to buy the upsell offer
    • Confirm the checkout experience and pricing are correct and complete the purchase
    • After the purchase, you should be automatically redirected to the main + upsell thank you page
    • Confirm that the thank you page content is correct for a customer who buys both the main and the upsell offer
  • Click the “decline” button to reject the upsell offer
    • You will go to the thank you page for the main offer only
    • Confirm that the thank you page content is correct for a customer who buys only the main offer

Finally, if you configured your funnel with any automations or actions to segment your customers, check to confirm that all triggers and actions were completed correctly.