Rick Hellewell

<p>Google Analytics (GA) allows you to see what your visitors are doing on your site. The common installation is to run some JavaScript code in the client’s browser that reports back to GA. The problem with that is many ad-blockers will block that client-side (browser) action, resulting in incomplete GA data.</p>
<p>The Server Side Analytics plugin does all the work on your server. So GA is used on all site visits – even visitors using ad blocking. That gives you more accurate GA data.</p>
<p>Your site visitor’s IP address is anonymized (the last ‘octet’ is removed), so only the visitor’s city is known. The plugin only uses the client-side WordPress session ID, so complies with basic GDPR privacy, as long as your site has an acknowledged cookie policy. There is nothing additionally stored on the client side, so visitor privacy for this plugin and the generated analytics is assured.</p>
<p>All you need is a GA account – start here: https://www.google.com/analytics/ . Note that you will need to set up a “UA” type account. Help starts here: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9306384?hl=en   Make sure you set up a “Universal Analytics” account – which will result in a UA-xxxxxxx-1 value to use in the plugin.</p>
<p>If you use Google Analytics, then you should be aware of their privacy policy, which could apply to your use of GA; see it here https://www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html . You may also need a cookie policy and acknowledgement displayed on your site.</p>
<p>We suggest that you consult with your legal advisor for specific methods and messages needed for GDPR compliance on your site. We provide no warranty or guarantee of GDPR compliance. We are not providing any legal advice. We are not responsible in any way for your use of our suggested GDPR solution. Your mileage may vary. Objects in mirror are closer than you expect. All aspirin is alike. Professional driver on a closed course.  Your mileage may vary.</p>
<h3>Privacy</h3>
<p>This plugin does not save any personal information on your server. It will store cookies on your visitor’s browsers. If you have enabled Google Analytics, it will also store a randomly-generated ID value as a cookie; there is no personal information associated with that cookie. The plugin does not share information with others.</p>


CellarWeb Server Side Analytics

Allows using Google Analytics via server-side request. Many ad blockers block client-side Google Analytics, resulting in incomplete values.

Conva Ventures

<p>The best Google Analytics alternative for WordPress</p>
<p>Fathom Analytics is a simple-to-use, privacy-focused (GDPR-compliant) website analytics tool for your WordPress site. You don’t have to edit the code in your WordPress template to start using our software.</p>
<p>👉 <strong><a href="https://app.usefathom.com/demo" rel="nofollow ugc">Check out our live demo</a> or <a href="https://app.usefathom.com/register" rel="nofollow ugc">sign up for a free 30-day trial</a></strong>.</p>
<p>You’ll need a <a href="https://app.usefathom.com/register" rel="nofollow ugc">subscription</a> to Fathom Analytics to start collecting stats with this plugin, and our pricing starts at just $14/month. Instead of generating revenue from your visitors’ data, we charge a fair and sustainable price for all our plans. Our business model is privacy-first by design.</p>
<h3>Why use Fathom Analytics?</h3>
<p>Google Analytics is time-consuming to use and difficult to understand. Google also kills off its popular software far too often (like Universal Analytics). That’s why Fathom Analytics exists: to make website analytics easy and quick to understand.</p>
<p>Thousands of customers, from governments and banks to small businesses and bloggers, trust their website analytics to Fathom.</p>
<h3>Import from Google Analytics</h3>
<p><a href="https://usefathom.com/features/ga-importer" rel="nofollow ugc">We’ve got an importer</a> to save your UA (Universal Analytics) and GA4 data. Because we’ve got unlimited data retention, you can keep and view your stats forever.</p>
<h3>Setup in minutes</h3>
<p>Because Fathom Analytics is a <a href="https://usefathom.com/docs/script/embed" rel="nofollow ugc">single line of code</a>, and our WordPress plugin doesn’t even require any coding, you can go from starting a trial to seeing real-time data within a few minutes. <a href="https://usefathom.com/docs/integrations/wordpress" rel="nofollow ugc">Learn how to set up our plugin here</a>.</p>
<h3>Comply with privacy laws</h3>
<p>The best lawyers and legal minds worldwide regarding digital privacy have ensured that Fathom Analytics is fully compliant with <a href="https://usefathom.com/compliance" rel="nofollow ugc">GDPR, CCPA, ePrivacy, PECR and more</a>.</p>
<h3>No cookie banners are required</h3>
<p>We invented the now industry-standard method for anonymizing visitor data without using cookies. That means you don’t have to clutter your site or slow it down with cookie banner plugins or consent notices for your site’s analytics.</p>
<h3>Email reports</h3>
<p>Get a snapshot of your website or websites delivered to your inbox so you can see your critical stats without even having to log into Fathom Analytics. These reports can be set up for any dashboard (or all of them) and sent to anyone (at your company, to your clients, whomever you want).</p>
<h3>Shared or private dashboards</h3>
<p>Want to grant access to specific website dashboards for particular clients/employees? Or make your dashboard 100% public? Fathom Analytics lets you create private, public or passworded dashboards without needing an account.</p>
<h3>More features</h3>
<ul>
<li>Simple options page within WordPress admin</li>
<li>Ability to not track yourself or specific user roles with a single click</li>
<li>Search within dashboard boxes</li>
<li>Tiny, lightweight script that’s great for your SEO</li>
<li>Dark mode</li>
<li>All sites view to see all your sites at a glance</li>
<li>And much more</li>
</ul>
<h3>Setup this WordPress plugin</h3>
<p>To learn how to quickly setup this plugin, <a href="https://usefathom.com/docs/integrations/wordpress" rel="nofollow ugc">read our support doc</a>.</p>


Fathom Analytics for WP

I have been Google Analytics user but to be honest I do not spend much time going through all the data they provide. 

Fathom is simple, fast and GDPR compliant. It shows just the right amount of data. I have already started using it for 2 websites and could not have been happier. And this plugin makes adding your Fathom Analytics code to your website a breeze. 

For GDPR compliancy this is the best analytics software

I'm a big fan of Fathom and their mission. Not only is Fathom focused on privacy but the stats they provide are actually useful, and you don't need to have a doctorate in statistics to be able to make use of them! :)

Plus - they are GDPR compatible so there's no need to have a cookie/ privacy banner because of your analytics solution (you may still need one for other things you do).

Love Fathom

Unfortunately the devs have decided to break support with the open source version of the application, and now the only way to use this plugin is to manually download the older version of the plugin and install it (they couldn't even be bothered to publish a separate version for the open source users).

Latest version breaks support with open source Fathom

Love the product, love the ethos of the company. Looking forward to v3 of the web app.

Clean, simple, powerful.

I love Fathom Analytics, mainly because it's privacy-first approach but also because of it's clean and thoughtful interface.

The plugin it's easy to setup and works smoothly. 
Perfect for having the info inside the WordPress admin.

Easy and clean way to see your Fathom Analytics on WP admin


There is something so satisfying about having a website that doesn't load any third-party trackers or require consent to share my visitor's data. With Fathom Analytics, I don't have to invade anyone's privacy or break any privacy laws just to get real-time stats on my site traffic. Plus, it loads so fast it doesn't impact page load speeds. Want to slow your site down? Install Google Analytics. Want to get to know your website visitors without spying on them? Use Fathom Analytics.


Clean, private, and doesn't impact page load speed.

Fathom is a simple, GDPR compliant Google Analytics alternative.

CellarWeb Server Side Analytics vs Fathom Analytics for WP