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Events

An event is something a user did at a point in time, such as viewing a page, starting a session, signing up, or completing a purchase. Events are the raw material for everything in JourneyLayer: analytics, funnels, trends, segments, and the activity timeline on each profile.

Every event has:

  • A name (for example, Page Viewed or Order Completed).
  • A timestamp (when it happened).
  • A user it belongs to (anonymous or identified).
  • Optional event properties — extra JSON details about that specific occurrence. See Properties.

System events vs custom events​

JourneyLayer recognizes two kinds of events.

System events​

JourneyLayer seeds a catalog of roughly 34 system events out of the box. These cover standard lifecycle activity such as page views, session start and end, and other common behaviors. They are available the moment your project is created — you do not need to define or send anything special to get them, and many (like page views and sessions) are captured automatically by the SDKs.

Custom events​

A custom event is any event specific to your product that you send yourself, such as Signup Completed, Plan Upgraded, or Cart Abandoned.

You do not need to predefine custom events. The first time a custom event is ingested, JourneyLayer auto-registers it in your event catalog, along with the properties it carries. From then on it appears everywhere a system event would: in analytics, segment builders, and funnels.

tip

Because custom events register on first use, the fastest way to add a new event is simply to start sending it. Just be deliberate about the name — see Naming conventions below.

How events flow in​

Events reach JourneyLayer through the Website SDK and the Mobile SDKs.

  • Page views are auto-tracked. Once the SDK is installed, page-view and session events are captured for you with no extra code.
  • Custom events are sent with track(). Call track(name, properties) from your application whenever a meaningful action occurs.
// Website SDK
journeylayer.track("Order Completed", {
  plan: "pro",
  amount: 4999,
  currency: "USD",
});

For full details and platform specifics, see:

Naming conventions​

Event names are how you and your teammates find data later, so consistency matters more than any single choice. A few guidelines that scale well:

  • Use Title Case for event names: Order Completed, not order_completed or orderCompleted.
  • Name the completed action, usually Noun + Past-tense Verb: Signup Completed, Plan Upgraded, Invite Sent.
  • Be consistent. Pick one name per action and reuse it everywhere. Order Completed and Purchase Done will be treated as two different events and split your reporting.
  • Keep properties on the event, not in the name. Send Plan Upgraded with a plan property rather than creating Pro Plan Upgraded, Team Plan Upgraded, and so on. This keeps your catalog small and your breakdowns flexible. See Properties.
caution

Renaming an event later does not retroactively rename historical data. Agree on names with your team before you ship, and check the event catalog to avoid accidental duplicates.

Where to see your events​

Once events are flowing, there are two main places to work with them.

Event catalog (Settings)​

The event catalog in Settings is the source of truth for known events. It lists every event JourneyLayer has seen — system and custom — and, for each one, the properties observed on it. Use it to:

  • Confirm a new custom event registered after you started sending it.
  • Review the exact event names in use (and spot duplicates or typos).
  • See which properties each event carries before building a report.

Analytics​

Open Analytics -> Events to explore behavior: counts over time, breakdowns by property, and comparisons across events. From there you can branch into funnels and trends. For an overview of what is available, see Analytics overview.

Next steps​