A PDF link tells you nothing after the click. You don’t know whether anyone read past the cover, which pages they stopped on, or which product they went to look at. A flipbook can report all of that to Google Analytics, page by page.
This guide covers the Real3D Flipbook plugin for WordPress, version 5.7. Connecting Google Analytics is part of the PRO version.
Every event carries book_name, the flipbook’s name in the plugin, so you can tell your flipbooks apart in the reports.
| Event | Sent when | Also sends |
|---|---|---|
flipbook_lightbox_open | A reader opens a flipbook that is set to open in a lightbox | |
flipbook_page_view | A reader moves to a new page | page_number |
flipbook_page_link_click | A reader clicks a link on a page | page_number, url |
flipbook_page_video_play | A video placed on a page starts playing | page_number, url |
flipbook_pdf_download | A reader clicks the download button | url |
flipbook_zoom | A reader zooms in from the normal size | page_number, zoom |
flipbook_share | A reader copies the link or shares to a network | url |
When two pages are shown side by side on a desktop, page_number can hold both of them, like 4-5.
In Google Analytics, open Admin → Data streams, click your website’s stream and copy the Measurement ID. It starts with G-.
Open the flipbook in the editor and paste the ID into Google analytics tracking code on the General tab. To use it for every flipbook, set it once in the plugin’s global settings instead.
Then open the page with the flipbook and turn a few pages. In Google Analytics, the Realtime report should list flipbook_page_view within a minute or so.
Two things to check while you are there:
The event names show up in Google Analytics right away, but the details, such as which flipbook and which page, don’t appear in reports until you register them. In Admin → Custom definitions, click Create custom dimension, set the scope to Event and add these event parameters:
book_namepage_numberurlCustom dimensions only collect data from the day you create them, so do this when you connect the flipbook, not later when you want the numbers.
In Explore, start a free-form exploration. Add Event name and your new dimensions, add Event count as the metric, and filter on the flipbook you want. Some reports worth making:
page_number. Filter: flipbook_page_view. A steep drop after the first few pages says the cover or the opening spread isn’t pulling people in.url. Filter: flipbook_page_link_click. In a catalog this is a list of the products people went to look at.page_number. Filter: flipbook_zoom. Pages people often zoom into usually have text that is too small for a screen.flipbook_lightbox_open with flipbook_pdf_download to see how many readers read in the browser and how many still want the file.flipbook_lightbox_open counts the readers who chose to open it. Inline, lightbox or fullscreen compares the two.Yes. Connecting Google Analytics is part of the PRO version of the WordPress plugin. On Shopify, the app connects to Google Analytics on the Advanced plan.
No. Universal Analytics stopped collecting data in 2023. Use a Google Analytics 4 measurement ID, which starts with G-.
Yes. Register page_number as a custom dimension, then filter an exploration on flipbook_page_view to see views per page.
No. Google Analytics reports what visitors do, not who they are. To know who opened a publication, put it behind a login or sell it, as described in sell or protect a flipbook.
Check that the measurement ID is in the flipbook settings and starts with G-, then turn a few pages and look at the Realtime report. Ad blockers and declined cookie consent also stop events, so test in a normal browser window with consent accepted.
No WordPress, Shopify or Wix? The JavaScript library puts the same flipbook on any page. A working example in a dozen lines, then lightbox, deep links, phone settings and the two errors almost everyone hits.
Photos, scans and exported pages can become a flipbook without a PDF. When images are the better choice, which sizes and formats to use, and what you give up.
Two ways to put a flipbook on an Elementor page. The Shortcode widget costs nothing, the addon gives you a widget with live preview. Plus how to open the book from your own button.
Catalogs, magazines and brochures with a realistic page flip, on WordPress, Shopify, Wix or any website.
