PLAUSIBLE ANALYSIS: A privacy-focused GA4 alternative to WP
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With privacy considerations being discussed This shift has created an enormous gap in the market for solutions which prioritize user-friendliness as well as privacy to take root.
Plausible is certainly a solid contender worthy of consideration. It offers a lightweight, privacy-centric solution that works in conjunction with WordPress and does not require any technological skills to install and use.
Unlike GA4 that has mangled the process of analytics, Plausible provides a straightforward and accessible platform that guarantees that it is in compliance with the latest data protection regulations and focuses only on essential metrics without becoming overwhelming.
However, enough of the hype. Let's examine the main reasons why Plausible is an analytics alternative that's worth considering.
Why Plausible is a strong alternative to GA4
First things first, let's examine the options Plausible offers and why they are superior to GA4's offerings. GA4 provides.
Data privacy and security
Plausible Analytics is distinguished by its clear stance regarding privacy. It does not use cookies. This means that it inherently respects visitor privacy by not collecting or storing information about the user's personal details.
Simple and user-friendly
Plausible's design philosophy prioritizes simplicity and clarity, offering an intuitive dashboard and simple to use.
The contrast is stark with GA4's complexity. Plausible focuses on essential measures, while avoiding the excessive bloat which is common to other platforms for analytics. It's a great choice for those who need straightforward analytics without the need for extensive configuration or setup.
Other interesting aspects
It will also please you to know that Plausible provides a live-time dashboard, which allows tracking of goals for conversion, revenue, and campaign effectiveness using UTM parameters.
It also supports custom events and dimensions.
The features can be a great fit for businesses that need detailed and practical analytics, yet want to maintain a minimal digital footprint.
Not to be missed? Plausible runs a tiny script--they purport it to be 45 times larger than GA4. It means faster site loading times, and no chance of slowing down the website as happens with other analytics scripts.
Pricing
Prices for Plausible are transparent and scalable, starting at just $9/month ($90/year) with more than 10,000 pageviews. Prices keep growing based on the amount of pageviews. This is a model that benefits companies in all sizes, ranging including bloggers who are just individuals to big corporations.
Plausible Analytics has three primary pricing plans that are designed to meet a variety of needs:
- Growth. This plan is compatible with up to 10 websites and three team members and is ideal for teams with smaller websites. It also includes features like Slack and email reports, Google Analytics import, and the option of three years' retention.
- Business. Aimed at larger teams with greater portfolios of websites this plan allows the creation of up to 50 websites as well as 10 members of the team. This plan extends Growth options by allowing access to the Stats API, ecommerce revenue allocation and five years of data storage.
- Enterprise. This plan can be customized for large-scale organizations or those with specific needs which are beyond the scope of the plan for Business. This plan includes the same features as the prior plans as well as improved API access, a greater number of teams and websites, as well as technical onboarding assistance.
Overall, Plausible offers compelling packages for people seeking to change to GA4, especially for anyone who is concerned about privacy, ease of use, and straightforward pricing.
How to set up the Plausible feature for your WordPress site
This mini-guide will help you begin:
Install the plugin
Log into your WordPress dashboard. Click Plugins > Add New Plugin and search for "Plausible Analytics." Select "Install Now" and after that activate to make the plugin active.
Install the plugin
When you've activated it, you'll be able to access Plausible Analytics on the Settings tab. There, you'll be able to set different settings that allow you to customize your analytics according to your site's requirements.
The first step is to read the Getting Started Guide to guide you through the setup process.
Select Next and then confirm your domain name. If everything looks good, click next.
In the next step, you'll have to create an API token and then paste it into the correct field. To create an API token, simply follow the link to Make an API token.
It will then open a new tab where you'll be asked to enter the email address you have associated with your account as well as your password. If you haven't created an account with us yet, now's the time to do so.
Once you sign up for Plausible, you'll receive the API token. Enter this information to the relevant field of WordPress. Then click Connect.
Once the process is complete You should then notice the button changing to connected..
This is the base setup done!
Configuring enhanced measurements in Plausible
Setting up enhanced measurements with the Plausible Analytics WordPress plugin allows users to gain greater insight on how visitors interact with your website.
This is a detailed breakdown of each measurement, how to set them up, and what you should know:
404 error pages
You can enable this option in your plugin's settings so that you can track visitors to other pages. Simply toggle the feature on.
This will help you find the broken links and fix them or content that is missing, enhancing your user experience and SEO.
Outbound links
Utilize this feature to monitor visits to external websites in order to understand which outbound links capture your audience's interest. This could be especially useful for assessing the effectiveness of affiliate links or external partnerships.
File downloads
Custom events
Particularly, you'll need to set up custom goals for events in your account on Plausible and reference them in the appropriate places on your site.
Ecommerce revenue
Custom events to track ecommerce transactions. Within the WordPress editor, you can mark elements such as buy buttons using specific CSS classes that Plausible will recognize and track as custom events.
For example, you might add a class like plausible-event-name=Purchase for a purchase button.
Authors and categories
Hash-based routing
Enabling this feature ensures that interactions with URL fragments (like #contact) are recorded for sites using hash-based URLs giving a more clear image of the way users use your site.
IE compatibility
Then, turn on this feature for visitors who use Internet Explorer. It adapts the tracking code to make it compatible with previous technology in browsers, which ensures complete data capture.
Examining the improved web analytics available in Plausible
Once you have installed and set up Plausible and configured, you will be able to enjoy the benefits this integration offers. You'll be able to analyze and view web traffic data directly within your dashboard.
Analyzing and viewing the web traffic data
When installed, Plausible makes its analytics accessible directly on the WordPress dashboard. Site administrators, by default, have access to the statistics. However, permissions can be adjusted to permit other users including editors and writers, to access the dashboard too.
To ensure the analytics can be viewed, go to Settings > Possible Analytics and switch on the view stats within WordPress option.
Then, to set the roles of users who have access to the analytics feature, click Show stats dashboard to other user roles and then select which roles should have access to analytics.
You can also adjust if visits by people with certain role are being tracked. Look down the page that says Monitor analytics of user roles. Turn off (or off) permission for each role of the user according to your preference.
Integration of Google Search Console
Setting up traffic spike notifications
Another feature worth mentioning is that you can set alerts for spikes in traffic through email or Slack. This is especially useful for keeping tabs on rapid increases in traffic. It gives you an alert and allows you to react swiftly to viral potential or a sudden surge of interest for your website.
What is the best way to transfer information from GA4 to practical
Moving your data that you have stored in GA4 to Plausible takes a few steps to ensure a smooth change. Here's a general guide on how you can import your data from GA4 to Plausible
Access Plausible site settings
Log into the account you have created with your Plausible Analytics account, then go to the site settings for the site you want to import data.
Start the process of importation
In the site settings, look for in the settings for Imports section. In this section, you'll see the Import Data panel that allows you to begin the process by linking your Google account with Plausible. This is necessary as it will allow Plausible to gain access to your GA4 information.
Select from the Google Analytics property
When you've verified that your Google account is connected to your Google account, you'll be able to see a list of the Google Analytics properties that are associated with that account. Select the GA4 property you wish to transfer by using the drop-down menu.
Verify the source
After selecting the property, follow up by confirmation of the import. For this, you must press Confirm import. It will begin the transfer of data, which can take between a couple of minutes and a couple of hours, dependent on the amount of historical data.
Integration and completion
You will receive an email when the import process is completed. Afterward, the imported data will appear in your Plausible dashboard and be integrated with any previously stored information.
It is important to remember that Plausible uses aggregate information to make sure there's no duplication of visits, especially if you're transitioning from using GA4 alongside another service.
It's also possible to import multiple Google Analytics properties into a one Plausible dashboard, but bear an eye on the maximum of five properties so as to avoid the possibility of data duplicates and confusion.
Are you using Plausible Analytics as your privacy-focused GA4 replacement?
In this post We've examined Plausible's intriguing capabilities, particularly its capacity to serve as a robust alternative to GA4. We've also looked at how it functions in conjunction with WordPress and its ease of setup, and its enhanced analytical capabilities.
Plausible stands out due to its simplicity, attention to privacy as well as its commitment to provide users with a simple and user-friendly platform for analytics. It is a great choice for WordPress users, especially ones that are hosted on a fast platform such as, Plausible provides a lightweight and efficient method to analyze and improve the visibility of their site without affecting the speed of their website or jeopardizing privacy for users.
Jeremy Holcombe
Content and Marketing Editor at , WordPress Web Developer, and Content Writer. In addition to everything related to WordPress, I enjoy golf, the beach, and watching movies. Also, I have height difficulties ;).