Understanding the path a visitor takes makes every other setting in the plugin obvious.
Step 1: The squeeze page A visitor lands on the funnel URL, for example yoursite.com/reports/FunnelName/. The plugin serves the report's opt-in page as a virtual page. It is not a WordPress post or page, so nothing appears in your posts list and your theme is not loaded. The plugin records a page view, then injects the opt-in form for whichever email provider that funnel is set to use.
Step 2: The opt-in The visitor enters their email address, plus their first name if you have turned that field on. For API connected providers the form submits by AJAX without leaving the page. For the direct post providers the form posts to the provider and comes back. Either way the lead is also written into the plugin's own database table, so you keep a local copy even if the provider call fails.
Step 3: The download page The visitor is redirected to the funnel's download page, at /reports/FunnelName/download.html. The plugin records the opt-in on this page load, which is why the count works for every provider mode, including the ones that post directly to the provider. The page shows the PDF download link plus your recommended resource cards and banner images.
Step 4: The offer click The offer buttons on the download page, and the call to action page inside the rebranded PDF, all point at one smart URL: /reports/FunnelName/go. When someone clicks it, the plugin works out their country, picks the right offer link for that country, records the click as an offer-click event and redirects them.
Why the smart link matters:
Because the PDF contains the smart link rather than a raw offer URL, you can change the destination offer at any time in the settings and every PDF already in circulation follows the new destination. You never have to rebuild or resend a PDF to change where it points.
So the three places you control money flow are the download page resource cards, the download page banners, and the PDF call to action page. All three can be set globally and overridden per funnel.