You’ve probably heard a lot about the hype surrounding online sales funnels – how effective they are, and how they can save your business, but can ClickFunnels replace your website?
There’s been a lot of talk in the digital marketing community about funnels and whether or not you need a separate website.
Today I’m going to dispel the myths and get to the truth.
But did you know that ClickFunnels was specifically designed to make website building super easy for you?
And did you know that there are things that you may THINK you need and that need to be done by a traditional website, that can instead be done by ClickFunnels?
Can ClickFunnels replace your website?
Everyone wants their life to be easier when it comes to managing their business online.
I know I do!
So we naturally will look for places we can simplify things.
And that makes perfect sense to do that.
But when it comes to figuring out if you can replace your website with ClickFunnels, there are a few things to consider, so that’s what we’re going to talk about.
Which Is Better, A Website Or ClickFunnels? Do I Even Need A Website?
There is nothing at all stopping you from using ClickFunnels to power all of your online presence these days.
You don’t need to have WordPress, Squarespace, or any other platform if that’s what you prefer.
ClickFunnels is a really robust platform and can handle everything you need to build out virtually all of the features you need.
But before we just conclude this discussion at this point there’s more you need to know so you make the right decision for your long term online business goals.
Is ClickFunnels the right tool for the job?
When it comes to answering the question, “can ClickFunnels replace your website”, before you get too carried away you have to figure out if ClickFunnels is going to be up to the task of doing all the things that your website does.
And in order to do that you have to understand the purpose that ClickFunnels serves.
First and foremost, ClickFunnels is a online sales funnel marketing tool that was built for a very specific purpose.
The goal of ClickFunnels is to quickly and easily build out your online sales funnels.
And it really does a great job at that.
And because the goal of the ClickFunnels team was to build a fantastic online sales funnel tool, it’s by default, not great at a lot of other things.
Here’s the deal:
When you are creating a product for your own business there are some people that are going to be the perfect fit for what you offer.
You’ve developed your products and services to serve your dream customer, and if you did it right you eliminated those who are NOT your dream customer.
And that’s perfectly ok!
ClickFunnels did the same thing.
They created the perfect tool for online sales funnels & marketing that serves their dream customer well, and eliminated those who aren’t their dream customers and are used to working with more “traditional” approaches to online business.
Can I make a website with ClickFunnels?
Absolutely!
If your business revolves around online sales funnels, you can handle everything you need right in ClickFunnels.
You can design any kind of website that you can think of with ClickFunnels.
You can create information pages, about me pages, contact pages, service pages, and more.
But here’s the deal:
There are a couple reasons why this probably isn’t teh greatest solution
ClickFunnels wasn’t designed to build websites, but sales funnels
ClickFunnels can be very expensive if you’re using it only for a website
There are better tools to use when you need to build a website that are much cheaper.
But ClickFunnels really struggles once you need to build more complex features like creating a blog or hosting a podcast.
What should I use instead of ClickFunnels for my website?
Here’s something that’s completely under the radar, and few in the digital marketing world actually know about:
Russell Brunson still uses WordPress!
You read that right.
Russell himself, the one who coined the phrase, “websites are dead”, uses WordPress for marketingsecrets.com
And he’s not the only one.
In fact, there are a lot of high-level funnel hackers that have come to understand that ClickFunnels isn’t the only way to do things.
In fact that you actually need other tools in your toolbelt if you’re going to do it right.
Why do I need a website when I have ClickFunnels?
Here’s the thing:
Digital marketers and funnel hackers are slowly starting to understand the importance of building a brand online.
It used to be the case that all you needed was a funnel, a great offer, a great story, and a great hook.
But what they’ve found out is that there are a ton of people who, once they’ve seen the offer, go looking for more validation before they buy.
They go and search the person’s name, the name of their product, and are looking for reviews and validation before they click on the checkout button.
And what they learned was astonishing.
They not only were losing thousands and thousands in potential sales, but that crafty, shrewd marketers were raising the stakes in the competition and actually winning traffic away from them!
So they created a hub online where all their funnels, their lead magnets and all that they created would have one central place online.
That way when someone searched their name or their product name, they’d show up in the results and were able to recapture traffic that they’d previously lost.
And one of the central pillars of this new online hub is a blog.
Yep.
A blog.
A place where the content that they created could live on and attract traffic organically, but also be a resource that would provide validation for those who were looking to validate their offers.
And you can’t do that with ClickFunnels.
Simply put, ClickFunnels just isn’t a good fit for that type of site.
The funnel hub is a very specific kind of website that all digital marketers need.
And whether you’re an online business, a creator, or a digital marketer, this kind of website needs to sit front and center of everything you do online.
Without it, it’s like trying to drive a car on three wheels instead of four. It can work in certain situations, but it’s no long term solution!
How do I build a funnel hub?
A funnel hub is just part of what this kind of site should be – yes, it’s a hub for your funnels, but it’s also a hub for your personal brand, your own story, and the content that you create that positions you as an expert.
It’s really an expert hub more than a funnel hub.
Your online hub should be built on something like WordPress, where you have complete control over the features you need.
And on this hub website you’re going to use the things you learn about in Expert Secrets to create an engaging experience that draws people into your world, fast.
If you’d like to learn more about what you need to do to build your own funnel hub check out websitesarenotdead.com where you can download a guide that will help you uncover where your online business is losing traffic and money, and how to resolve it.
Making a website with ClickFunnels
So we’ve established a few things. ClickFunnels is:
The pros
- a great page builder
- easy to use
- an all-in-one solution
The Cons
- It can be expensive
- It can be challenging to use if you want to build something really custom
Related questions: Do I need a website to use ClickFunnels?
So, what about the opposite – do you need a website in order to use ClickFunnels? No, you most certainly don’t.
If your goal is to build an online sales funnel then ClickFunnels is definitely the best tool for the job.
But you don’t need to have a “traditional” website in order to use it.
But even if you do, ClickFunnels easily will integrate with most websites that are built using tools like WordPress.
Related questions: Is ClickFunnels good for SEO?
No, ClickFunnels isn’t good for SEO because one of the central concepts behind the ClickFunnels online sales funnel philosophy is to drive traffic using paid ads, so it wasn’t built with SEO in mind. Click here to learn more about the question, “Is ClickFunnels good for SEO”.
Related questions: Is ClickFunnels safe?
ClickFunnels is 100% safe to use. The company behind the ClickFunnels platform is its own best proof-of-concept and is very stable. Plus, ClickFunnels has been built with security in mind and processes millions of dollars in transactions every day. Click here to learn more about the question, “Is ClickFunnels safe”.
Next Steps
If you aren’t already a ClickFunnels user, you need to take it for a spin and see how it can work for you and your business.
You can do that here.
If you want to learn more about ClickFunnels and online sales funnels I’ve created this post which should answer all your questions.
If you want to learn more about building your own funnel hub then you will want to check out the resources I’ve created that will help you build your own.
You can do that here.
If you’d like some help implementing what you’ve learned here I want to invite you to join my free Facebook group, Digital Marketing Mastery – would love to have you over there.