HighLevel’s Advanced Workflow Builder is transforming how marketers structure automations by making complex workflows easier to visualize and refine.
Topics covered in this article:
- Video Tutorial: HighLevel’s NEW Advanced Automation Workflow Builder
- What the Advanced Workflow Builder is and how it compares to the standard builder
- When to use it in your HighLevel account
- How to combine multiple workflows into a single canvas
- Best practices, limitations, and feature caveats
- Tips for triggers, goals, and step organization
- Keyboard shortcuts, formatting tools, and workflow documentation
- Recommendations for migrating existing workflows
- Real examples from our 3 Day Challenge campaign build
GoHighLevel’s new Advanced Automation Workflow Builder introduces a major upgrade to how teams build and manage automations. Instead of maintaining a stack of individual workflows, users can now combine several processes into one canvas and work inside a far more flexible interface. Kathrine Farris, owner of Marketecs, provides a walk through of how the builder works, what has improved, where to be cautious, and how these updates can streamline complex marketing systems like webinar funnels, challenge launches, and evergreen sequences.
Drawing from a full demonstration using our 3 Day Challenge campaign in Marketecs Engine, you will see how the standard and advanced builders differ, how to migrate workflows correctly, and which features matter most for daily operations.
Video Time Stamps
00:00 – Why Workflows Are the Heart of HighLevel
00:45 – What’s New: Advanced Automation Builder Overview
02:00 – Navigating the GHL Workflows
03:58 – Webinar Promotion Workflow Example
06:07 – Selective Unsubscribe Workflow Example
06:40 – Webinar Opt-In Workflow Example
09:11 – How to Sign-up for Your Own High Level Account
10:31 – Webinar Video View % Follow-up Workflow Example
11:07 – GHL Workflow Goal Actions Explained
12:12 – Converting Workflows from Standard to Advance Builder
14:20 – Advanced Builder Interface Overview and Tour
19:27 – Advanced Builder Sticky Notes, Action Pause, and Action Connections
21:00 – Shortcuts, Hand Mode, and Fit-to-Screen
21:27 – Combining Pre-Event Workflows on the Advanced Builder Canvas
25:22 – New Email Functions in the Workflow Builder
25:58 – Why Choose the Standard Builder or Advanced Builder
27:04 – Combining Post-Event Workflows on the Advanced Builder Canvas
27:48 – Managing Multiple Workflows on One Canvas
30:11 – Combining Pre & Post-Event Workflows all on one Advanced Builder Canvas
30:58 – Merging and Troubleshooting Complex Automations
32:28 – Review of Multi-Process Advanced Builder Automation, When (and When Not) to Use the Advanced Builder
34:38 – Best Practices & Final Thoughts
Links
Learn more about Marketecs Engine and its capabilities.
Need Help? Book a free consult.
Check out our YouTube Channel for more tips and tutorials.
Understanding the Advanced Automation Workflow Builder in GHL
The NEW Advanced Workflow Builder allows you to place multiple workflow processes on a single canvas instead of splitting them across separate automations. Users gain better visibility, easier navigation, and new tools that help keep workflows organized and maintainable.
HighLevel announced the builder at the Level Up Summit, and early testing shows clear benefits along with a few limitations that require strategic planning.
Key Updates That Matter
- Single canvas structure: You can place what used to be two, three, or four workflows into one canvas. This simplifies navigation and eliminates constant switching back and forth.
- Improved visual tools: The interface includes select and hand modes, sticky notes that resize and highlight sections of the canvas, and a Format Tree button that cleans up messy layouts instantly.
- Pause individual steps: Previously, you could only publish or unpublish an entire workflow. You can now pause individual messages or branches, which is extremely useful for evergreen and live event toggles.
- Workflow switcher: Switch among workflows without closing the one you are working on. This solves the previous need for multiple browser tabs.
- Comments and documentation: Sticky notes and workflow-level comments make team collaboration far easier. Notes transfer from the standard builder, but copying items across workflows may require re-saving each step.
Standard vs. Advanced Builder Differences
The underlying triggers and actions remain the same across both workflow builders. The change is in layout, visibility, and workflow management.
In the standard builder, our 3 Day Challenge campaign required four separate workflows:
- Promo email sequence
- Selective unsubscribe
- Opt in and event delivery
- Video view tracking
Each workflow had separate triggers, notes, and naming conventions. You could not see their relationships without opening each one.
In the Advanced Builder, all four can exist on one canvas. This tighter view helps identify where actions intersect, such as removing contacts from promo emails when they opt in.
However, the Advanced Builder treats the entire canvas as one workflow. This influences how goals, triggers, and remove/add actions behave. Because only one goal can exist per workflow, combining separate processes into one canvas requires deliberate planning.
Combining Workflows: Practical Steps and Caveats
Using our 3 Day Challenge example, the pre-event workflows (promo emails and selective unsubscribe) can be combined cleanly. You can copy the unsubscribe steps into the promo workflow using keyboard shortcuts, paste them onto the canvas, then update the “remove from workflow” actions so they point to the new combined workflow.
When you combine post-event processes, the same method applies. You can copy post-opt in steps and video-tracking steps into the same canvas, then replace “add to workflow” actions with “go to step” actions.
Critical Caveats:
- Only one goal is allowed per workflow. If your original workflows used multiple goals, you must consolidate or rethink trigger-based exits.
- Removing contacts from promo workflows becomes tricky when everything is merged. If you combine all four processes into one canvas, the standard remove-from-workflow action no longer works the same way.
- Previously enrolled data may not fully migrate. During tests, converting an existing workflow cleared historical “previously enrolled” records. Duplicating workflows before converting appears safer.
- Triggers may disconnect when copying. After merging workflows, always confirm that form triggers, page view triggers, and video triggers remain intact.
Advanced Builder Tools to Use Immediately
Fit to Screen: Helps you view large workflow maps without endless scrolling.
Format Tree: Automatically reorganizes elements into a clean layout.
Hand Mode (H) and Select Mode (S): Makes navigation far smoother in larger canvases.
Step-level Pause Button: Ideal for teams running both evergreen and live webinars.
Workflow Switcher: Minimizes tab clutter and speeds up editing.
When You Should Use the Advanced Builder in GHL
The Advanced Builder works best when:
- You want fewer workflows cluttering your system.
- Your team benefits from visual mapping in one place.
- You run campaigns that switch between evergreen and live formats.
- You use many notes and need everything documented in one view.
- You are starting a new workflow build.
The standard builder may still be a better fit if:
- You need multiple goals in a single campaign.
- Your existing workflows have complex enrollment history you want preserved.
- You prefer separate workflows for reporting reasons.
Final Workflow Automation Recommendations
The Advanced Workflow Builder in High Level brings meaningful improvements to visibility and efficiency. Combining workflows clarifies how processes interact, particularly when removing or moving contacts across sequences. The ability to pause individual steps alone can save teams hours every month.
However, be intentional when merging workflows. Duplicate existing automations before converting them, review every trigger and action, and test the workflow after migration. Over time, GoHighLevel will likely resolve the small inconsistencies, but for now, understanding how the system interprets combined workflows is essential.
If you build complex campaigns like webinar launches, challenge funnels, or multi-step nurturing sequences, the Advanced Builder can significantly streamline your internal workflow structure.
Ready to streamline your systems with the Advanced Workflow Builder? Explore the full tutorial and start refining your automations today!
