Matomo statistics for WordPress

It's important to keep an eye on a website's stats, because with certain knowledge and data points, you can make better investments. When you know more about which pages are performing best, you can create reports. There are many different parties and tools that can do this. The most popular are Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity. However, a big problem with these tools is that the data is also sent to them.

If you prefer to keep your data in your own hands and on our Dutch servers, you can now easily use Matomo Statistics in a WordPress plugin. Let's take a closer look at how this installation works and what other benefits it offers for tracking your website's statistics to get the most out of it!

With Google's forced move from Universal Analytics to version 4, many webmasters will be looking for alternatives. Matomo, formerly Piwik, is a tool that has long been used for collecting statistics. Of course, for those who were already familiar with Piwik, Matomo is just redesigned and will continue to be familiar. Users who are just getting started may need to get used to collecting data with Matomo. We always recommend a transition period with such tools. For example, a few months before you decide to install both tools at the same time. This may cause some delay, but gives you an overlap to get used to the new tool. Just as you can do with Google Universal Analytics and Analytics 4.

Installing Matomo statistics

Installing Matomo can be easily done through the WordPress plugin manager. Just search for the plugin in the search box and install it. You also need to make sure that you update the Matomo privacy policy. They already have a default text for you. This can be added with a simple tag. This also gives visitors the option to disable these cookies if they don't want them. Matomo is GDPR friendly and can be used with minimal effort. With the plug-in, you don't have to add things to your header like you do with Google Analytics. Or use it in any other way.

The last step after installing the plugin is to enable tracking, after that the website results will be tracked immediately. The reports are always visible after some time, they are created with a WordPress cron job and therefore updated every few hours. There is also a real-time feature. To immediately see who and how the website is visited in real time. This is useful, for example, if you have just shared a post on social media.

Use Matomo

Matomo is also easy to use for anyone familiar with a statistics tool. You can see page views, the number of daily visitors, and much more. You can study the reports in depth and engage with them as much as you want. You can also just take a look at the overview and see the most important metrics.

Moreover, the application can be used through the WordPress admin environment. In the left menu of WordPress, you will see a section created for this purpose. Here, all the data can be viewed. When you fully open the Matomo tool, it is best to open it in a new tab. This provides a better overview.

Biggest advantage, data in your own hands

The biggest advantage of using Matomo or similar tools is that you have control over your data and the data of your visitors. No data is sent to external servers. It is hosted in the WordPress hosting space itself and therefore uses the MySQL or MariaDB database of the WordPress website. This may have the disadvantage of creating an additional load. So if you want to keep it separate, you can also install Matomo on a subdomain and link it to the WordPress or other website. This way you can use a separate database and pull fewer resources from your production website. This can sometimes be a better idea.

Of course, this is your responsibility, and if something goes wrong, you'll have to fix it yourself. Externally hosted statistics tools have the advantage that you don't have to do it yourself.

So always look at your situation and consider what is best for you. Try Matomo on a subdomain or in a test environment first. Then you can always go back if you find that another tool works better. You have a free hand in this, that's another advantage of hosting from MijnHostingPartner.nl, it's a blank canvas that you can paint yourself as you wish! Get your hosting package now and start putting your online presence on the map right away.