Variables & dynamic content

Variables let you capture and display user data throughout your funnel. When someone enters their name, selects their age group, or arrives with tracking parameters - variables store these values so you can use them anywhere.

How Variables Work

User provides input → Variable stores it → You display it anywhere Variables are like personalized placeholders. They get replaced with actual values when your funnel runs, creating unique experiences for each visitor.

Most common use: Showing users their own responses. “Thanks for your interest in the {{plan-type}} plan, {{name}}!” feels personal because it uses their actual selections.

Quick Example

User selects: "25-34" for age group
Variable created: {{age-group}}
You can now use: "80% of people in {{age-group}} love our product"
User sees: "80% of people in 25-34 love our product"

Types of Variables

User Input Variables

Created automatically when users interact with input elements:

Text Inputs & OAuth
Options
Date Picker

Element: Text Input with ID “email” or OAuth button Creates: {{email}} Contains: Whatever user typedExample: User types “john@example.com” → {{email}} displays “john@example.com”

Element: Options with ID “age-group” Creates: {{age-group}} Contains: Selected option’s labelExample: User selects “25-34 years” → {{age-group}} displays “25-34 years”Multiple selections become comma-separated: “Heart, Gift, Star”

Element: Date Picker with ID “birthday” Creates: {{birthday}} Contains: Selected dateFormat depends on locale:

European: DD-MM-YYYY
American: MM-DD-YYYY

URL Query Variables

Automatically captured from your funnel URL:

URL: https://your-project.fnlfx.com/funnel?utm_campaign=summer&promo=SAVE20

Available variables:

{{query.utm_campaign}} → “summer”
{{query.promo}} → “SAVE20”

Testing hack: Add ?title=New Headline Test to your URL and use {{query.title}} in your funnel to quickly test different headlines without editing.

System Variables

Built-in variables provided by FunnelFox:

Variable	What it contains	Use case
`{{user.id}}`	Unique profile ID	Track users across sessions
`{{user.session_id}}`	Current session ID	Debug specific visits

For understanding profiles vs sessions, go to Core Concepts. To match these IDs against webhook events, go to Matching user profiles.

Using Variables

Text Elements & Lists

Type the variable name with double braces anywhere in your text:

Welcome back, {{name}}!

Based on your selection of {{plan-type}}, you'll save {{discount-amount}}.

Join {{percent}}% of {{age-group}} year olds who upgraded today!

Actions

Use variables in action parameters:

External Links
Purchase Actions

Pass data to external sites:

URL: https://example.com/signup?email={{email}}&plan={{plan-type}}

Pre-fill Stripe promo codes:

Variable name: {{query.promo_code}}

User arrives with ?promo_code=SAVE20 → Promo code field auto-fills

Plan Pickers

Use variables in Plan Picker title, badge, and price:

Welcome Offer
Special for {{name}}

Buttons

Use variables in button labels:

Continue as {{name}}

Options

Use variables in option labels to personalize choices:

Recommended for {{age-group}}

Timers

Use variables in timer button text to personalize urgency:

{{name}}, your offer expires in

Processing Elements

Use variables as loader labels on processing elements:

Setting up your {{plan-type}} plan…
Creating your {{industry}} dashboard…
Almost done, {{name}}!

Charts

Use variables in chart badges and axis labels:

Badge: {{age-group}}
X-axis label: Months since {{plan-type}} signup

Raw HTML

Use variables inside Raw HTML elements:

<div id="greeting"></div>

<script>
    document.getElementById('greeting').textContent = 'Hello {{name}}'
</script>

Screen Header Title

Use variables in the screen header title to personalize navigation:

Welcome, {{name}}

Variable Rules

Naming Requirements

✅ Allowed:

Letters and numbers: name, email2, step1
Hyphens and underscores: first-name, user_age
URL-friendly characters only

❌ Not allowed:

Spaces: user name won’t work
Special characters: email@address won’t work
Unicode: 用户名 won’t work
Reserved prefixes: user, query, inputs

Case Sensitivity

Variables are case-sensitive:

{{name}} ≠ {{Name}} ≠ {{NAME}}
Be consistent with your element IDs

Missing Variables

When a variable doesn’t exist:

The literal text {{variable-name}} displays
Analytics logs a variable_not_found event
User sees the brackets and all

Always test your funnel flow to ensure variables are collected before they’re used. You can’t display {{email}} before the user provides it.

Common Patterns

Personalized Feedback

Show users how they compare to others like them:

"People in {{age-group}} who selected {{plan-type}} save an average of ${{savings}} per year"

Progressive Profiling

Build understanding across screens:

Screen 1: Collect {{industry}}
Screen 2: “As someone in {{industry}}, you’ll appreciate…”
Screen 3: Collect {{company-size}}
Screen 4: “{{industry}} companies with {{company-size}} employees typically…”

Campaign Tracking

Maintain attribution throughout the funnel:

Arrived with: ?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=summer
Use throughout: "Exclusive {{query.utm_campaign}} offer for our {{query.utm_source}} community"

Dynamic Testimonials

Match testimonials to user context:

"Just like you, Sarah was looking for a {{plan-type}} solution. 
She's now saving {{percent}}% on her {{category}} expenses."

Relationship with Dynamic Actions

Variables and dynamic action states are closely related:

Variables: Display data as text ({{age-group}} shows “25-34”)
States: Control flow logic (if age-group = “25-34”, navigate to screen X)

Both use the same underlying data - user inputs create both a displayable variable and a state for dynamic actions.

Key difference: Variables are for showing content, states are for controlling behavior. Same data, different purposes.

Limitations

No Transformations

Variables display exactly as stored:

Can’t uppercase/lowercase
Can’t truncate or substring
Can’t format numbers
Can’t calculate with them

Need transformations? Use custom JavaScript.

No Default Values

Variables don’t support fallbacks:

Can’t do {{name|"Friend"}}
Empty variables show as {{name}}
No conditional display

Need defaults? Collect the data earlier or use custom code.

Session Scope

Variables are bound to one session:

Persist throughout the funnel visit
Lost when session ends
Can’t pass between different funnels
Restored if same session continues in new tab

Best Practices

Name Meaningfully

Use clear, descriptive IDs:

✅ first-name, plan-type, budget-range
❌ input1, field2, var3

Test Your Flow

Always preview with test data:

Add test parameters to URL: ?name=Test&plan=Premium
Go through entire funnel
Verify all variables display correctly
Check what happens with missing data

Examples

Personalized Pricing Page

URL: ?source=podcast&code=SAVE20

Headline: "Exclusive {{query.source}} listener discount!"
Subtext: "Use code {{query.code}} at checkout"
After selection: "You've chosen the {{plan}} plan"
Confirmation: "Thanks {{email}}, your {{plan}} plan is ready!"

Quiz Funnel Personalization

Question 1: "What's your age?" → {{age-group}}
Question 2: "Main goal?" → {{goal}}
Question 3: "Experience level?" → {{level}}

Results page:
"Perfect! For someone in their {{age-group}}s looking to {{goal}}, 
with {{level}} experience, we recommend..."

Multi-Step Form

Step 1: {{first-name}}, {{last-name}}, {{email}}
Step 2: "Hi {{first-name}}, let's set up your account..."
Step 3: "{{email}} will receive a confirmation..."
Final: "All done, {{first-name}} {{last-name}}!"

Troubleshooting

Variable shows as {{variable}} instead of value

The variable doesn’t exist yet. Check:

Element ID matches exactly (case-sensitive)
User has actually provided input before you use it
Query parameter exists in URL
No typos in variable name

Special characters not working

Variables must be URL-friendly:

Remove spaces (use hyphens or underscores)
Remove special characters
Use only letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores

Can't use 'user' as variable name

These are reserved prefixes:

user (for system variables)
query (for URL parameters)
inputs (for user inputs)

Choose different names for your elements.

Next Steps

Actions & Triggers - Use states for dynamic navigation
Element Reference - See which elements create variables
Custom Code - Transform variables with JavaScript

​How Variables Work

​Quick Example

​Types of Variables

​User Input Variables

​URL Query Variables

​System Variables

​Using Variables

​Text Elements & Lists

​Actions

​Plan Pickers

​Buttons

​Options

​Timers

​Processing Elements

​Charts

​Raw HTML

​Screen Header Title

​Variable Rules

​Naming Requirements

​Case Sensitivity

​Missing Variables

​Common Patterns

​Personalized Feedback

​Progressive Profiling

​Campaign Tracking

​Dynamic Testimonials

​Relationship with Dynamic Actions

​Limitations

​No Transformations

​No Default Values

​Session Scope

​Best Practices

​Name Meaningfully

​Test Your Flow

​Examples

​Personalized Pricing Page

​Quiz Funnel Personalization

​Multi-Step Form

​Troubleshooting

​Next Steps

How Variables Work

Quick Example

Types of Variables

User Input Variables

URL Query Variables

System Variables

Using Variables

Text Elements & Lists

Actions

Plan Pickers

Buttons

Options

Timers

Processing Elements

Charts

Raw HTML

Screen Header Title

Variable Rules

Naming Requirements

Case Sensitivity

Missing Variables

Common Patterns

Personalized Feedback

Progressive Profiling

Campaign Tracking

Dynamic Testimonials

Relationship with Dynamic Actions

Limitations

No Transformations

No Default Values

Session Scope

Best Practices

Name Meaningfully

Test Your Flow

Examples

Personalized Pricing Page

Quiz Funnel Personalization

Multi-Step Form

Troubleshooting

Next Steps