> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.hostinger.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.hostinger.com/reach/automations.md).

# Automations

Set up automated email flows in Hostinger Reach — triggers, delays and conditions, ready-made templates for welcome and ecommerce journeys, statuses, and reporting.

An automation is an email flow that runs on its own when something happens: someone subscribes, submits a form, buys something, or leaves a cart behind. Unlike a [campaign](/reach/campaigns.md), you set it up once and it keeps running.

Find them under **Automations**. Activating an automation requires a paid plan.

## Triggers

Every automation starts with one trigger.

| Trigger                            | Starts when                                               |
| ---------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| **New subscriber joins**           | Any contact is added to your audience                     |
| **New subscriber joins a segment** | A contact enters a [segment](/reach/segments.md) you pick |
| **Subscriber submits a form**      | A contact submits a [form](/reach/forms.md) you pick      |
| **Campaign is sent**               | A [campaign](/reach/campaigns.md) you pick goes out       |
| **Purchase is made**               | A customer completes an order in your connected store     |
| **Cart is abandoned**              | A shopper leaves items without checking out               |

The form trigger can fire for everyone who submits, or only for people who are new contacts. The purchase trigger can apply to any product or to a specific list of product URLs.

> **Note:** Contacts added by CSV import don't fire the new-subscriber trigger, so importing a list won't email everyone in it.

## Steps

After the trigger, a flow is built from three kinds of step, ending in **Exit flow**.

* **Email** — sends a template. Each email step reports separately.
* **Delay** — waits, either for a duration in hours, days, or weeks, or until a specific date and time. The date option suits event reminders: contacts who arrive after that date skip the email rather than receiving something stale.
* **Condition** — splits the flow on engagement. Choose **Didn't open email** or **Opened but didn't click**, then build the **Yes** and **No** branches. A condition can test any earlier email in the same automation, so a follow-up can react to the message before it.

## Ready-made flows

Reach offers a set of starting points, grouped by purpose. Each opens as a complete flow you can edit.

| Group           | Flows                                                                                                      |
| --------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **First steps** | A single welcome email, a multi-email welcome series, a promotional series, and a trust-building series    |
| **Ecommerce**   | Abandoned cart, product recommendations after a purchase, a review request, and a repeat-purchase discount |
| **Follow-up**   | Re-engage contacts who didn't open a campaign, or who opened without clicking                              |

**Build from scratch** starts with an empty flow and the trigger picker.

The ecommerce flows need a connected store — see [Integrations](/reach/integrations.md). Abandoned-cart timing is set by the store integration, not by a delay step: the store waits about an hour after checkout is abandoned before telling Reach, so the email typically arrives one to two hours later. Each contact gets at most one abandoned-cart email every eight hours.

## Statuses

| Status     | Meaning                      |
| ---------- | ---------------------------- |
| **Draft**  | Being built; not running     |
| **Active** | Live and processing contacts |
| **Paused** | Set up but not running       |

An active automation opens read-only so a live flow can't be changed underneath the contacts moving through it. Choosing **Edit automation** pauses it first.

## Reporting

The report for any non-draft automation shows how many contacts have **Started**, are **In progress**, have **Completed**, or have **Failed**, with failures explaining why.

Below that, **Step analysis** lists each email in the flow. Opening one shows the same performance figures and tabs as a [campaign report](/reach/campaigns.md#reporting), so you can see which message in a series is losing people.

## Related pages

* [Segments](/reach/segments.md) — segment-entry triggers
* [Forms](/reach/forms.md) — form submission triggers
* [Integrations](/reach/integrations.md) — connecting a store for ecommerce flows

***

*Last updated: August 21, 2026*