FREE ClickFunnels 101 Course: Introduction & How to Get Started

Most people who sign up for ClickFunnels quit in the first week. Not because funnels are hard. Because they never got a clear starting point. They watched scattered YouTube videos, got confused by the jargon, and gave up before they built a single page. This free ClickFunnels 101 course was built to close that gap.

In this introduction video, Alston Godbolt walks through exactly what this course covers, who it’s for, what tools you need, and why a plumber is the case study that ties the whole thing together. If you’ve been sitting on a ClickFunnels account or thinking about starting one, this is where you begin.

What You’ll Walk Out With

A clear understanding of what ClickFunnels is and why businesses use it
The complete seven-section course roadmap so you know what’s coming
A list of everything you need before you start (and what you can skip)
How to build a sales funnel, a sales page, a membership site, and a web page inside ClickFunnels
How to connect ClickFunnels to a WordPress site
Access to done-for-you funnels you can download and customize
Clarity on whether your current skills and product type are a good fit for funnels: find your best path at finder.platformproof.com

What This Course Is and Why It Was Built

The ClickFunnels 101 course on Udemy was designed to give you the foundation for using ClickFunnels all in one place. As Alston puts it in the video, the goal is to keep everything from being “scattered around YouTube or Facebook.” You get the core knowledge you need to get your business up and running, grow it, and scale it, all in one place.

The course lives on Udemy, which means it’s available as long as you have your account. Alston also commits to adding new sections and information as they become relevant, so it grows alongside the platform.

Who Is Alston Godbolt?

Before you commit time to any course, you want to know whether the instructor actually knows the tool. Here’s Alston’s background from the video itself:

He has been teaching both online and offline for five years, including adult students in accelerated formats: eight-week programs and six-week programs. He has been building sales funnels for small and medium-sized businesses. His formal education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, an MBA from 2012, and a BS in Computer Science. He also works as a freelancer, an internet marketer, and a software developer.

That combination matters for this course. The technical background means he can explain how the software actually works under the hood. The communications and marketing background means he can explain why each funnel element exists and what it’s supposed to do for your conversion rate. The teaching experience means he’s used to explaining complex tools to people who are starting from zero.

The Seven Sections of the Course

The course is broken into seven sections, with more planned as additional content gets added. Here is what Alston outlines in the introduction:

Section 1: Introduction. This is the video we’re covering in this post. It establishes what the course is, who Alston is, what you’ll need, and how the content is structured.

Section 2: ClickFunnels Introduction. This section explains what ClickFunnels actually is. Before you touch the builder, you need to understand the concept: what a funnel is versus a website, why the distinction matters, and what kinds of businesses benefit most from using one.

Section 3: Building a Sales Funnel. This is a step-by-step walkthrough of building a full funnel from scratch. Alston builds it with you, covering everything that goes into a sales funnel inside the ClickFunnels platform.

Section 4: ClickFunnels as a Website. ClickFunnels isn’t just for funnels. In this section, Alston shows how to use it as a full website or web page for a business that wants a simple, clean online presence without needing a separate hosting setup.

Section 5: ClickFunnels as a Sales Page. This section covers using ClickFunnels specifically to sell a product or service. The focus is on digital products, but the approach applies to physical products and services as well. Any type of product or service can be sold with ClickFunnels.

Section 6: Building a Membership Site. For anyone selling a course, a coaching program, or ongoing content, this section walks through building a membership site inside ClickFunnels so paying customers can access their content in a protected area.

Section 7: Conclusion and What’s Next. The final section wraps the course up and points you toward what to do once you’ve got the foundation. It also includes bonuses: done-for-you funnels you can download and customize.

The Course Objective: From Nothing to Something

Alston is direct about the course goal: get you up and running with ClickFunnels as fast as possible. He specifically wants to help you avoid the frustration that trips people up in the beginning, because the early stages of using any new software are where most people bail.

The promise is a step-by-step experience that starts with signing up. You watch Alston sign up. That might not sound exciting, but if you’ve ever clicked around the wrong button during onboarding and wasted an hour figuring out where you ended up, you understand why watching someone do it first saves time.

The goal is for you to be “absolutely comfortable” with getting started in ClickFunnels before moving into the more advanced builds.

The Plumber Case Study Explained

One of the smartest things Alston does in this course is pick a deliberately unsexy case study: a plumbing business. Throughout the course, he builds a sales funnel, a membership site, a web page, and a sales page all for the same fictional plumbing service.

Why a plumber? Because if ClickFunnels works for a plumber, it works for anyone. Plumbing is not a digital product. It’s not a course or a coaching offer. It’s a local service business, the kind that most people assume can’t use funnel software. By building all four funnel types around a plumbing business, the course proves that the tool is flexible enough to handle whatever your business actually is.

It also makes the learning concrete. When every example uses the same business, you’re not context-switching between different industries. You can follow the logic from section to section and see how each piece connects to the one before it.

Not sure if ClickFunnels (or funnels in general) fits your situation?

Answer six questions and get a specific recommendation at finder.platformproof.com.

What You Need to Start the Course

Alston lists four things you need before you begin:

ClickFunnels itself. The platform comes with a two-week free trial. Alston links to it in the course description. You don’t need to pay before you’ve had a chance to build something and decide whether it’s the right tool for you.

A desktop or laptop. This is a firm recommendation, not a suggestion. ClickFunnels doesn’t work well when you’re trying to use the builder on a mobile device. A tablet can work, but you may run into frustration. Desktop or laptop is the right tool for the job when you’re in the builder.

An autoresponder. ClickFunnels captures leads. Your autoresponder is what sends follow-up emails to those leads. Without one, you’re collecting email addresses with no way to reach the people behind them. Alston links to his recommendation in the course description.

A pen and a notepad. Alston is self-aware enough to mention that he tends to move fast when he’s excited about building funnels. Having somewhere to write things down means you can keep pace without rewinding constantly.

Helpful Tools That Are Not Required

Beyond the four essentials, Alston mentions two additional tools that can help but aren’t required to complete the course.

A WordPress website. WordPress is a content management system that sits on top of a hosting account and makes it easy to manage a website. Alston covers how to connect ClickFunnels to a WordPress site in the course, so having one already is useful. But you can build everything in ClickFunnels without one.

A funnel example resource from Russell Brunson. Russell Brunson, co-creator of ClickFunnels, put together a resource showing over 100 examples of successful funnels. The value here is in seeing what high-converting funnels actually look like before you build your own. Alston links to it in the course description for anyone who wants to study examples before starting. Again, it’s helpful but not necessary to complete the course and get results.

The Done-for-You Funnel Bonuses

One of the most practical elements of the course is the bonus library of done-for-you funnels. Alston plans to continuously add funnels that you can download directly and customize: change the colors, swap in your own copy, and adjust the offer to match your business. Each funnel comes with a short description so you can understand what it’s built to do before you use it.

This matters because building your first funnel from a blank page is intimidating. Starting from a template that already has the right structure (the right number of pages, the right page order, the right elements in place) cuts the learning curve significantly. You can focus on understanding why each piece is there instead of wondering whether you forgot something important.

How to Approach This Course as a Beginner

A few practical recommendations based on how Alston structures the material:

Watch the introduction first, then set up your ClickFunnels account before moving to Section 2. The free trial starts when you sign up, not when you open the builder, so starting early gives you more runway.
Have your autoresponder account ready before you build your first funnel. You’ll need to connect them at some point, and it’s easier to do that setup once rather than pausing mid-build.
Keep that pen and notepad close. Alston moves fast on sections he finds exciting, and the builder sections move faster than the conceptual ones.
Use the plumber case study as-is even if your business is completely different. The goal is to learn the tool, not to build your actual final funnel in week one. Once you understand the mechanics through the case study, translating it to your own business becomes straightforward.
Download the done-for-you funnels early and look through them before you start building. They give you a sense of what a finished funnel looks like, which helps you understand what you’re working toward in each section.

Find Your X

ClickFunnels is a powerful tool, but it’s not the right answer for every business or every stage of growth. Before you commit to learning a new platform, it’s worth knowing whether funnels are the right move for where you are right now. Answer six questions at finder.platformproof.com and get a straight answer on what your next move should be based on your skills, your product, and your starting point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to pay for ClickFunnels before starting the course?

No. ClickFunnels offers a two-week free trial, and Alston links to the sign-up in the course description. The introduction section shows you how to sign up so you can watch the process before you do it yourself.

Can I follow along on my phone or tablet?

Alston specifically recommends against using a mobile device. The ClickFunnels builder requires drag-and-drop interactions that don’t translate well to a touchscreen. A tablet can work but may cause frustration. A desktop or laptop is the right tool for building inside ClickFunnels.

What is an autoresponder and why do I need one?

An autoresponder is an email marketing platform that sends automated follow-up emails to people who join your list. ClickFunnels collects the email address; your autoresponder uses it. Without one, the leads you generate through your funnel have nowhere to go. Alston includes a link to his recommendation in the course description.

Do I need a WordPress site to use ClickFunnels?

No. WordPress is listed as helpful but not required. The course covers how to connect ClickFunnels to WordPress for anyone who already has a site, but you can build and run everything (funnels, sales pages, membership sites) entirely inside ClickFunnels without a separate WordPress install.

What types of businesses can use ClickFunnels?

Alston is direct on this: any type of product or service can be sold with ClickFunnels. The course uses a plumbing service as the case study specifically because it’s a local, offline business, proving that the tool isn’t limited to digital products or online courses. If you have something to sell, ClickFunnels can be built around it.

How long is the course and how many sections does it have?

The course is structured into seven sections at launch: introduction, ClickFunnels overview, building a sales funnel, using ClickFunnels as a website, using it as a sales page, building a membership site, and a conclusion with bonuses. Alston committed in the introduction video to adding more sections as needed.

What are the done-for-you funnels in the bonus section?

Alston plans to include downloadable funnel templates in the course bonus section. Each one comes with a short description explaining what it’s built to do. You download it, customize the colors and copy for your business, and have a working funnel without starting from a blank page. He committed to continuing to add new ones over time.

Is this course still relevant if ClickFunnels has been updated since it was recorded?

The core concepts (what a funnel is, how pages connect, how to structure an offer) don’t change when the platform updates its interface. Specific button locations may look different in newer versions of ClickFunnels, but the logic of what you’re building and why each element exists remains the same. Use the course for the foundation, and reference current ClickFunnels documentation for any interface-specific steps.

Sources

Alston Godbolt, “FREE ClickFunnels Course: Introduction & How to Get Started!” at youtu.be/qmB5nM2N9g0
ClickFunnels official platform: clickfunnels.com
Udemy course platform: udemy.com