Want to see how your website visitors are progressing through an analytics funnel on your website?
A GA4 funnel exploration report can show you how successful your funnel is, plus exactly where visitors are abandoning it. That makes funnel reports one of the most useful tools for figuring out how to improve your website and grow your business.
With a Google Analytics funnel report, you can analyze any funnel on your site, including for eCommerce purchases, signups, donations, and more. I’ve built these reports for plenty of WordPress sites, and the step where visitors drop off is rarely the one you’d expect.
However, building a funnel exploration report isn’t super easy. Especially for GA4 beginners, it can be pretty challenging!
In this article, we’ll show you step-by-step how to create a GA4 funnel exploration report. We’ll also go over an awesome shortcut for WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads users.
In This Article:
What is a GA4 Funnel Exploration Report?
A Google Analytics funnel exploration report is a visual report that shows you how your visitors are navigating a funnel on your website, including where they’re abandoning it.
For example, if you have an eCommerce website, your funnel might look like this:
View an item » click add to cart » view the checkout page » complete a purchase.
A funnel report will show you each step in your funnel and report how many users are abandoning it at each step.
If your goal on your website is to get users to submit a form instead, you might create a funnel with these steps: Landing on your site on any page » visiting the form page » visiting the thank you page.
How to Create a GA4 Funnel Exploration Report
Ready to create your Google Analytics funnel exploration? Let’s create one step by step.
Step 1: Create a Funnel Exploration
The first thing you need to do is head to Google Analytics, click on the Explore tab, then click on the Blank option:
There is a Funnel exploration template that you can start with if you’d like to see an example funnel, but it can be confusing to start with when trying to create the funnel that makes sense for your website. Google sets it up with a bunch of settings already set.
Step 2: Choose Report Options
Now, we’ll give our report a name and choose the date span, then choose Funnel from the Technique dropdown:
Step 3: Add Steps
Now, it’s time to build out the steps of your funnel. To do that, start by clicking on the pencil icon in the Steps box:
Here’s where you can create your funnel steps to build any kind of funnel you’d like. On the step building screen you’ll see where you can name your step, where to add a condition, and where to add another step:
The Summary card on the right-hand side will change as you go to show you how many of your users will be included in your funnel. It’s a great help to make sure you’re building a funnel that’s error-free.
When you click into Add new condition, you’ll notice that there are tons of options for building your funnel. While this is awesome for building funnels, it can be pretty overwhelming for someone just learning how to use the report!
In general, if you’re building a funnel for your eCommerce store, you can use events for your steps like view_item, add_to_cart, and purchase. Or, you can choose to use page URLs that follow the exact steps of your checkout process, such as visiting the cart page, then the checkout page, then the confirmation page.
Pro Tip: I’d lean toward events like view_item and add_to_cart rather than URL matching. Checkout page URLs tend to change with a site redesign, but standard eCommerce events usually don’t.
Let’s take a look at how the eCommerce funnel steps would look if we used the events:
You can see that using view_item in step one, add_to_cart in step two, and purchase in step three is going to result in about 1,000 users after applying the funnel in the report’s date range.
So, after we click Apply, we get our eCommerce funnel report:
At each step, you can see how many users completed the step and how many users abandoned your funnel at that point. So, in the example above, the abandonment rate is 79% at step one. That means that, of the users who viewed an item, 79% left without ever proceeding to add an item to their cart. Of the people who did add an item to their cart, 79.2% left without completing the purchase.
Step 4: Review Google’s Example
To really get an idea of what’s possible with funnel reports, let’s take a look at Google’s example. I like starting here because it shows what’s achievable before you build a funnel of your own from scratch. Head back to the Exploration tab, then click on Funnel exploration:
You’ll see a report that’s made automatically. Notice how they have Device category in the Breakdown box – that makes the funnel show the device category for each step:
This is super useful for seeing how traffic from each device is navigating your site. Does one have a much larger abandonment rate than the others? Maybe those users are finding it difficult or confusing to navigate your site.
They also have pre-loaded segments in the report. Try dragging two of them into the Segment Comparisons box to see how that changes the report:
Learn more about segments here: Google Analytics 4 Segments: Beginner’s Guide
There are so many possibilities with funnel reports! The best way to learn how they work is to just play around with building them.
Worth Digging Into
A funnel report tells you where visitors are dropping off, but not always why. Layering in a segment comparison, like device type or traffic source, is usually what turns that abandonment number into an actual fix.
eCommerce Funnels in WordPress the Simple Way
If you’re a WordPress and WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads user, there’s a much easier way to see an eCommerce funnel report. Just install MonsterInsights and we’ll make one for you!
MonsterInsights is the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. It allows you to easily connect your WordPress site with Google Analytics (with no need to touch any code) so you can view all the data that matters most right in your WordPress dashboard.
Plus, with the click of a button, you can set up sophisticated tracking features such as event tracking, eCommerce tracking, user journey tracking, form tracking, custom dimension tracking, outbound link tracking, and more.
Once you have MonsterInsights Pro installed and set up, it’ll automatically create an eCommerce funnel report for you, right inside your WordPress dashboard.
You’ll get a whole list of reports, including:
- Landing page conversions
- eCommerce summary
- User journey report for each purchase
- Campaigns
- Site speed
- Search Console queries
- And more!
Want to see this funnel without building it in GA4?
If you’re running WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads, MonsterInsights builds this exact eCommerce funnel report for you automatically, right inside your WordPress dashboard. No Explore tab, no manual steps — the report is just waiting for you.
See Your Automatic Funnel ReportTo recap: How do you set up funnel explorations in GA4?
To recap, start in the Explorations tab in Google Analytics and create a blank report. From there, give the report a name, choose a date span, and pick Funnel exploration from the Technique dropdown. Add the steps you want to track, then review Google’s example report to get a feel for everything funnel reports can do.
Video Tutorial: GA4 Funnel Exploration Reports
FAQs About GA4 Funnel Exploration Reports
What is a funnel exploration report in GA4?
A funnel exploration report is a visual GA4 report that shows how visitors move through a specific sequence of steps on your site, and where they drop off along the way. You build one using the Explore tab’s Funnel exploration technique, and it works for any multi-step process, like checkout, signup, or lead generation.
How do I create a funnel exploration report in Google Analytics 4?
Head to the Explore tab in GA4 and start a blank report, then choose Funnel exploration from the Technique dropdown. From there, add the steps you want to track using events or page URLs, and GA4 will show you completion and abandonment rates for each one.
What steps should I use for an eCommerce funnel?
Most eCommerce funnels work well with the view_item, add_to_cart, and purchase events, since they don’t depend on specific page URLs. If you’d rather match your checkout flow exactly, you can build the funnel from page URLs instead, though those need updating if your checkout pages ever change.
Why are visitors abandoning my funnel?
GA4 won’t tell you the exact reason on its own, but breaking the funnel down by device category or comparing segments often points to the cause. A high abandonment rate on mobile, for example, usually signals a usability problem specific to that device.
Can I compare different segments within a funnel report?
Yes. GA4 lets you drag pre-built or custom segments into the Segment Comparisons box on a funnel report, so you can see how different groups of visitors move through the same funnel side by side.
Is there an easier way to see an eCommerce funnel without building one in GA4?
Yes. If you run WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads, MonsterInsights builds an eCommerce funnel report for you automatically, right inside your WordPress dashboard, with no manual setup in GA4 required.
How many steps should a funnel have?
There’s no fixed number. Most funnels work best with three to five steps that map to a clear action, like viewing a product, adding it to a cart, and completing a purchase. Adding too many steps can make the report harder to read without giving you much extra insight.
We hope you learned a lot about creating GA4 funnel exploration reports. You might also want to check out:
- How to Create Google Analytics 4 Custom Reports (Step by Step)
- How to Track Add to Cart Events in Google Analytics (Easy Way)
- Best WordPress Sales Funnel Builder Plugins
- eCommerce Customer Journey Analytics: WordPress Guide
- Top eCommerce Metrics & KPIs to Track in Google Analytics 4
Not using MonsterInsights yet? What are you waiting for?
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