ClickFunnels vs. Ion, by Rock Content

If you're wanting to do some digital advertising on Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or another network, and need a tool to quickly create landing pages on your own. This is a fairly affordable tool to get that done, and it has some nice gizmos and gadgets to make your pages look and function great. It's also a great tool if you have digital products to sell online such as courses, eBooks, or consulting services. You can easily set up sales funnels to capture leads with some content and then upsell them with a "ladder" of products.

Incentivized

I don't give 9 ratings easily. Anyone wanting greater user engagement would benefit from ion interactive. I can slap together a simple interactive tool for a social post easily. I also have a plan selector with complex logic built in that would have cost me $50k to build without ion. Now I'm able to duplicate it and make adjustments to use it for various other applications. We've created a couple dozen fun interactive tools for social posts and now we simply re-purpose them easily to create new ones frequently. I just created a new page for our website that we'll want to be fluid; so the site developers suggested we simply embed an ion tool to give us real-time flexibility. Marketers in other divisions are jealous when they see all the fun stuff we're doing--they're gradually becoming ion converts

Incentivized

• Intuitive Workflows: ClickFunnels makes it very easy for a non-technical person to build a gated content or other opt-in workflow. We’ve tried many different platforms, and ClickFunnels was definitely the easiest to use with the least learning curve.
• Built-in shopping cart and e-commerce features: Other softwares require an integration or custom coding; ClickFunnels keeps the process in-house, which saved us a huge headache.
• All-In-One Solution: ClickFunnels has the functionality of multiple pieces of software at one low price. We were able to keep our costs down and our process streamlined into one product.
• Lots of training materials: from the YouTube channel to the guides and templates, ClickFunnels sets you up for success with all the tools to get you up and running fast.

Incentivized

• I love that ion interactive autosaves. So many of these platforms leave me terrified of disconnection or closing my laptop.
• This WYSIWYG actually works. I've yet to have a translation or code glitch.
• Fast load times are a huge bonus, as well as mobile-optimized display.

Incentivized

• The initial setup can be confusing and a little time-consuming. The best thing we have learned is to not try to start a client from scratch with ClickFunnels, ideally, they should already be using it.
• The only other thing is integrating ClickFunnels in with a clients Domain, which can take some backend development.

Incentivized

• no revert option/revision history if you make a bad mistake
• some simple styles that should be just there for you have to be made through custom CSS
• some of their template options have some pretty bad designs and are not usable beyond a basic functionality level/have to be completely reskinned

Incentivized

I use the funnel on a daily basis and spent a significant sum to hire someone to set this up and design the funnel, there's no way I won't renew the funnel. It is easy to maintain, very cost-effective, and doesn't require a lot of my time to manage properly.

Incentivized

Because unless I find something better to replace it with, we're probably going to renew our contract. Ideally, Ion interactive can update Liveball so it's easier to use, more functionality that includes forms and javascript options currently not in place

It's decent, but the interior user experience and end user experience needs a lot of improvement. I would want some UX individuals to go through the site and make specific recommendations and changes: User navigation, user experience feels a bit cheap. It needs to be standardized with spacing, and sometimes the platform can be buggy as well. The user does need some education to use it - straight out of the box, it may or may not make sense

Incentivized

Usability is straightforward, with extensive documentation and tutorials provided to ensure landing pages are built to specifications and can be optimized for performance. Built-in platform funnels give insight into customer dropoff, success/failures, and conversions (at a glance). Setting up a landing page can be done quickly and easily, with numerous integrations (CRMs like SalesForce, for instance) supported

Incentivized

Sometimes the editor can be a little slow.

I don't think you should have to wait for more than an hour or two to get in touch with someone when you need support. Because they primarily have overseas help, it's typically at least until the next business day until you get help. Then there is the language barrier to deal with. It's not ideal. I have contacted support a few times and have gotten answers. However, I consider myself much savvier than most in terms of understanding all the behind the scenes issues that go on with building a website and online marketing funnels. So if I were a beginner or not as familiar with how to code and create websites, I would think the support is terrible.

Incentivized

The ION support team is amazing. There has not been a single issue they they could not solve for me. If there is a feature or request that they do not have, they have even, on occasion, created custom scripts for our team. *Update 6/5/17 - ION has continued to delight on multiple occasions. I appreciate their attention to detail and ability to solve whatever issue I have. After 3+ years of use and support, ION still has my full endorsement.

Incentivized

They offer a great amount of online training, videos, articles, etc. There is usually an answer available if you run into an issue. I would recommend taking advantage of the online training they offer. I wish I would have done it sooner.

Incentivized

Yes, I highly recommend you hire an expert for this. While CF claims that anyone can set up a funnel, there's a difference between having a funnel and having a funnel that works. Between the design and the copy you use, unless you have a marketing background, hire an expert.

Incentivized

There were a lot of things we learned about the tool once we really got in and got our hands dirty. Being hands-on was essential for our team to be able to utilize ION in the most effective manner.

Incentivized

ClickFunnels is second to none. The other software companies trying to replicate ClickFunnels do not even come close. ClickFunnels' ease of use over their competitors is levels above. Also, ClickFunnels' Live support line is quick, get the job done every time and goes over and above to get it fixed right the first time. And there rarely is anything wrong other than something you have created.

Incentivized

I haven't had a lot of experience with templated CMS systems and was not involved in the original selection, though I was part of the renewal discussions. Most of the templates I've used have been html and created in house on an as-needed bases

Incentivized

Separate client portfolios enable scalability, however, some elements are still grouped for all accounts so it's difficult to scale for an ad agency with multiple clients. Would prefer totally separate sections of the platform for all clients with each element housed separately.

Incentivized

• My clients make more money with it than without it
• Other builders aren't necessarily better...we've tried and keep coming back to CF
• If CF 2.0 (which launches around March I'm told) is anywhere near as impressive as Russell Brunson makes it sound, it will be a TOTAL game changer when compared to the current version...(which will still be available as well)

Incentivized

• So far the impact has been positive, but as we are new to the platform that opinion is based on relatively few interactive assets.
• There hasn't been any negative reactions or impact from Ion as of yet, but as I said before it's still early for us in terms of usage (less than a year).
• We do really appreciate the level of complexity and customization available in the platform.

Incentivized