Creating Funnels
A funnel defines a sequence of pages that represent a key user journey on your site. Statalog measures how many visitors complete each step and where they drop off. Funnels are one of the most powerful tools for identifying friction in your conversion flow.
Creating your first funnel
Navigate to Funnels in the main navigation, then click New funnel. You will be prompted for:
Funnel name Give the funnel a descriptive name that reflects the journey it tracks. Good names are specific: "E-commerce checkout", "SaaS trial signup", "Lead gen form", "Pricing to purchase". Avoid generic names like "Funnel 1" — you will likely create multiple funnels and clear names keep them distinguishable.
Steps Add each step as a URL path. Steps are evaluated in the order you define them. A visitor must reach the steps in sequence for their session to be counted at each step — reaching step 3 without first reaching step 2 does not count as a step 2 conversion.
Defining steps
Each step is defined by a URL path and a matching rule. The same matching options available for goals apply here:
- Exact match — the page URL must exactly equal the path you specify (e.g.
/order-confirmed) - Contains — the page URL must contain the string you specify (e.g.
contains /checkoutwould match/checkout,/checkout/payment,/checkout/review)
Use exact match when the URL is stable and specific — confirmation pages, thank-you pages, and fixed-path pages work well with exact match. Use contains match when the URL may vary by product ID, query string, or sub-path — for example, /checkout would match any checkout step even if the path includes a dynamic order ID.
Minimum steps: 2. A funnel needs at least an entry point and a destination to be meaningful.
Recommended maximum: 8 steps. Funnels with more than 8 steps become difficult to read and analyse. If your user journey is longer, consider breaking it into multiple overlapping funnels that share intermediate steps.
Example funnels
E-commerce checkout funnel
| Step | URL | Match |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | /cart |
Exact |
| 2 | /checkout |
Contains |
| 3 | /order-confirmed |
Exact |
This funnel shows how many visitors who viewed their cart proceeded to checkout and ultimately completed an order. The drop from step 1 to step 2 measures cart abandonment. The drop from step 2 to step 3 measures checkout abandonment.
SaaS signup funnel
| Step | URL | Match |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | /pricing |
Exact |
| 2 | /register |
Exact |
| 3 | /dashboard |
Contains |
This funnel shows how many pricing page visitors converted into registrations, and how many of those successfully reached the app dashboard (indicating a successful account setup).
Content-to-lead funnel
| Step | URL | Match |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | /blog |
Contains |
| 2 | /resources/guide |
Contains |
| 3 | /contact |
Exact |
This funnel tracks whether blog readers navigate to your resources and ultimately reach your contact page, revealing whether your content is driving lead generation activity.
Retroactive data
When you create a funnel, it runs retroactively against all historical pageview data in your Statalog account. You do not need to have set up the funnel before traffic arrived — if visitors have been flowing through those pages for months, the funnel report will show that history immediately.
This is a significant advantage over tools that only start tracking funnels from the moment they are created. With Statalog, you can define a funnel today to understand what has been happening over the past 90 days, giving you an immediate baseline.
Editing and deleting funnels
To edit a funnel, open it from the Funnels list and use the settings or edit option. You can change the name, add steps, remove steps, or update URL matching rules at any time. Changes apply retroactively to historical data.
To delete a funnel, use the delete option in the funnel settings. Deleting a funnel removes the funnel definition but does not delete any underlying pageview data — the raw data remains and the funnel can be recreated if needed.
Tips for effective funnels
Start with your highest-value journeys. The checkout flow and the signup flow are usually the first funnels worth creating. High drop-off rates at known friction points are immediately actionable.
Keep steps to the key pages. You do not need to include every intermediate URL. Focus on the decision points — the pages where visitors make a meaningful choice about whether to continue.
Create separate funnels for different entry points. If visitors can enter your checkout from both a product page and a cart page, consider a funnel that starts at the product page and another that starts at the cart. The drop-off patterns will likely differ and the insights will be more specific.
Combine funnels with heatmaps. If a step has a high drop-off rate, use click heatmaps on that page to understand what visitors are doing instead of proceeding — are they clicking a back button, a navigation link, or ignoring the primary CTA entirely?