Build a workflow
Create an automation that starts on an event such as a purchase or a signup, add emails, delays and conditions on a canvas, publish it and test it.
A workflow reacts to an event, for example a purchase, a form signup or a tag, and then runs steps for that person: send an email, wait, check a condition, add a tag, grant access. When you finish these steps, you have a published workflow that runs by itself.
Plan
Workflows are available on every plan. Emails sent by workflows count toward your plan's monthly email allowance.
Create and publish
Open Workflows
In the sidebar open Workflows (/workflows) and click New workflow. The arrow next to the
button offers two ready recipes: Recover abandoned checkouts and Re-engage cold
subscribers.
Choose what starts it
The window What should start this automation? lists triggers in groups: Sales & checkout,
Subscriptions & access, Customers and Milestones & referrals. Pick one, for example
New purchase, or choose Start with an empty automation and add the trigger later. The
builder opens at /workflows/<id> with a canvas and one Trigger card.
Name it
Click the gear next to the name Untitled workflow. Workflow settings holds the Name and the Description.
Narrow the trigger
Click the trigger card. Under Trigger event the Products field limits the trigger to chosen products: "The trigger fires only for events from the selected products. Leave empty to react to every product." The card then reads, for example, 1 product(s) instead of All products. A Form submitted trigger has a Signup forms field instead, and Tag added to a customer has Tags. Click Save changes.
Add steps
Drag a step from the left palette onto the canvas, or use Add step on a card. The picker groups steps into Messaging, Customers, Access, Logic, Email marketing, Social media and Other apps. Click a step to configure it. A Condition splits the flow into a yes and a no branch; a Delay waits before the next step. Tidy layout arranges the cards.
Publish
Click Publish. If something is missing, a red bar lists the problems ("The workflow has 2 issue(s)") and names the step. After a successful publish you see Workflow published, the status next to the name turns into Live, and the button reads Published.
Test it
Click Test. The window Test run data lets you choose the trigger to test and fill in the Test client email, name and, depending on the trigger, the product, checkout or form. The test runs the published version and executes real actions, so emails are really sent and webhooks are really called; use an address you control. The run appears in Runs with a Test tag.
Draft, live version and pausing
Every change in the builder is saved automatically as a draft. The draft does not affect people already in the workflow until you publish it.
| Status next to the name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Never published. Nothing runs. |
| Live | Published and active. The button reads Published. |
| Live · unpublished edits | Active, but the draft differs from the live version. Click Publish changes. |
| Paused | Published but not reacting to new events. |
| Paused · unpublished edits | Paused, with a draft that differs from the published version. |
Click the status to Pause or Activate the workflow. Pausing asks for confirmation, because it also cancels every run in progress: "contacts waiting in a delay step will not receive the remaining steps, even after you resume."
The list at /workflows filters by Active, Paused and Draft, by Trigger and by Product, and shows the last run and the number of runs this month. The row menu offers Duplicate, Pause or Activate, and Delete. Deleting removes the workflow and its draft; past runs stay in the runs history.
Other places workflows appear
- The Workflows tab of a product lists the workflows that can run for that product and offers Create first workflow.
- In the checkout editor, the After purchase view has an Automations section with Build a workflow for purchases through that checkout.
- A link in an email campaign can start a workflow when clicked: see Campaign reports and link actions.
Good to know
A workflow can have more than one trigger (Add another trigger) and up to 50 cards in total (triggers and steps). A step can be switched off with Step active: the run then skips it and continues along its outgoing connection. Delays use the workspace time zone set in Settings → Workspace.
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