The short answer: to know how many people visit your site you do not have to hand the data to Google. Matomo does the same job and runs on your own hosting, because it is only PHP and a database. Plausible is simpler to read, but needs a VPS. In both, the data stays on servers of yours.
We measured that this server’s Softaculous has Matomo (it shows under the old name, Piwik, or the new one): it installs like WordPress, in a few clicks. See What the installer does for you.
The three options, side by side
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Google Analytics |
Matomo |
Plausible (on a VPS) |
| Where the data lives |
On Google’s servers |
On your server |
On your server |
| Where it runs |
Nowhere of yours: only the code on the page |
On shared hosting, or on a VPS |
On a VPS with Docker, and more memory |
| Effort |
Low to start |
Medium: install, update and keep backups |
Higher: Docker, a database and updates |
| What for |
Very complete, with many links to advertising |
Complete, similar to Google |
Simple: one page with the essentials |
Matomo, step by step
| 1 |
Install it with the cPanel application installer, preferably on a subdomain such as stats.your-domain.
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| 2 |
Create the “site” inside Matomo, with the address you want to measure. It gives you a piece of code to put on the pages.
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| 3 |
Put that code before the closing </head> tag, or use a Matomo plugin for WordPress, if your site is WordPress.
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| 4 |
Check after a little while: your own visit should show up in the Matomo dashboard.
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| 5 |
Keep it updated. It is a program that sits on the internet and stores data: new versions bring security fixes.
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Plausible, in two lines
It runs in Docker on a VPS with its own database and is heavier to set up than Matomo. The right route is the project’s documentation, which changes with versions, so we do not copy it here. Anyone with a VPS who already uses Docker finds the basics in Docker Compose: an application with its database.
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Measuring visits still calls for care with privacy, even on your own server. If you store data that identifies people, or use cookies, you may need a notice and consent. What applies to your site is in The cookie notice and consent.
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Want to install Matomo and cannot find the installer in your account? Open a ticket with the domain.
Open a support ticket
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