I’m setting up analytics for my new website and trying to figure out which tool to use. Most developers I know just go with Google Analytics because it’s popular, but I’ve been hearing about other options lately. Some people are switching to things like Plausible or Umami because they’re supposed to be more privacy-friendly. Others mentioned PostHog for more advanced tracking. I’m wondering what everyone here is actually using for their projects. Are you happy with Google Analytics or did you switch to something else? What made you choose your current analytics solution? I’d love to hear about your experiences with different platforms and whether the switch was worth it if you moved away from GA.
Been running websites for 6 years and went through tons of analytics tools. Started with Google Analytics like everyone else, but got sick of the complexity and GDPR mess around 2021. Switched to Plausible for most client projects - way more refreshing. Data’s clean, loads fast, and clients actually get the dashboard without me explaining everything. Still use GA4 for e-commerce though since the conversion tracking beats everything else. Tried Fathom Analytics recently on a personal project - pretty similar to Plausible but real-time features are a bit better. Bottom line: simpler wins unless you actually need those advanced segments and custom dimensions from Google.
Used Google Analytics for years until GA4 ruined everything. The interface got way too complicated and half my historical data broke during migration. Now I run a combo setup - Cloudflare Analytics for basic traffic since I’m already using their CDN anyway. It’s surprisingly detailed without needing tracking scripts. For deeper user behavior stuff, I’ve got Matomo running on a few client sites. Self-hosting was easier than I thought and clients love owning their data. Reports aren’t as pretty as Google’s but cover what most businesses actually need. You lose some third-party integrations but honestly, most were overkill.