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Smart PDF vs Traditional PDF

You can publish your lead magnet as either a 'Smart PDF' or a 'Traditional PDF'. So what's the difference?

Kevin McGrath avatar
Written by Kevin McGrath
Updated over a week ago

Desktop Version
When viewed on a laptop or desktop computer, both versions will look identical.

Videos
Videos can be played directly inside the Smart PDF. But in the Traditional PDF, you readers will be shown a thumbnail of the video instead. When they click the thumbnail, their web browser will open in another window and they can watch the video there.

Animated GIFs
In the Smart PDF animated GIFs will play inside the Smart PDF but in the Traditional PDF a still image is shown instead.

Mobile
When the Smart PDF is loaded on a mobile device, the design is 'responsive'. This means that the content will automatically be resized to fit the screen. Meanwhile, with the Traditional PDF, the design is just shrunk down to fit the screen. This means that people will have to pinch and zoom to read your content.

Sharing
The Smart PDF is shared with a link, much like a standard web page. This means that it is not possible to download a copy of the Smart PDF so your readers will always need an internet connection to view it. The Traditional PDF can be shared as a file so your readers can download it, keep it, and access it offline.

Analytics
Because the Smart PDF behaves more like a web page we can give you access to document analytics. Including - page views, popular pages, time spent reading, traffic sources and device type.

Summary
You should share the version which you think is most suitable for your audience.

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