Pavel Khloponin

SQMViews is a simple and lightweight tracking and analytics plugin that helps you understand how visitors interact with your WordPress content—without sending data to third-party services. 
Plugin adds very little overhead, capable of tracking millions of page views per day on a moderately sized website. 
Plugin includes sqm-views-pages.php drop-in script installation (Fast endpoint) to collect pageviews without loading WordPress core, reducing pageview request from 250 ms to 5 ms. If drop-in installation is not possible, the plugin falls back to the WordPress call (API endpoint).
<h4>Key Features</h4>
Tracking & Analytics:
<ul>
<li>Near real-time page view tracking</li>
<li>Engagement metrics (time on page, active time)</li>
<li>Shows user activity (clicks, scrolls, etc.) with privacy-friendly event counting</li>
<li>Interactive analytics dashboard with D3.js visualizations</li>
<li>Historical data with daily aggregation</li>
<li>Filter by date range, content type, and more</li>
</ul>
Performance:
<ul>
<li>Ultra-fast tracking endpoint (bypasses a core load)</li>
<li>Minimal overhead (~5ms per request with the drop-in script)</li>
<li>File-based batch processing (no database requests during the pageview event collection, only during cron processing)</li>
<li>Efficient data storage with automatic archiving</li>
<li>Configurable background processing via WP-Cron</li>
</ul>
Drop-in script 
* Created to minimize overhead 
* Uses exactly the same code as the API endpoint except two hooks for config modification (sqm_views_ping_interval, sqm_views_session_timeout) 
* Run strict JSON request schema validation to minimize attack surface. 
* Receives request, run validation, add it to a file for the later batch processing. Very low memory and CPU footprint.
Pageview lifetime 
JS code will send an <code>init</code> event, followed by <code>ping</code> events and completed by <code>exit</code> or <code>timeout</code> events. Unique ID is returned during <code>init</code> used for all the following events. During cron processing all the events with the same IDs are combined into a single pageview and stored in the database.
Privacy & Control:
<ul>
<li>100% privacy-focused (no external services)</li>
<li>All data stays on your server</li>
<li>Encrypted tracking payloads (you don’t need to reveal everything you track)</li>
<li>Full control over what gets tracked</li>
<li>GDPR-friendly (no personal data collected by default), we focus on pageviews</li>
</ul>
Flexibility:
<ul>
<li>Track custom post types and taxonomies</li>
<li>30+ developer hooks for customization</li>
<li>WP-CLI commands for automation</li>
<li>Translation-ready (i18n)</li>
<li>REST API for integrations</li>
</ul>
<h4>What Gets Tracked?</h4>
Content Types: 
* Posts and pages (configurable) 
* Custom post types 
* Category and tag archives 
* Custom taxonomy archives 
* Author archives 
* Date archives 
* Home page 
* Search results
Engagement Metrics: 
* Count – Total number of views 
* Time on Page – Total time spent on page 
* Active Time – Time user was actively engaged 
* High-Frequency Events – User browsing on the page (scrolling, mouse movement) 
* Low-Frequency Events – Deliberate actions (clicks, touches, typing)
<h4>Perfect For</h4>
<ul>
<li>Publishers monitoring content performance</li>
<li>Marketers analyzing user engagement</li>
<li>Developers needing custom analytics</li>
<li>Privacy-conscious site owners</li>
<li>Anyone wanting Google Analytics alternative</li>
</ul>
<h4>How It Works</h4>
<ol>
<li>Lightweight JavaScript tracker injected on tracked pages (inline or external)</li>
<li>Fast endpoint receives tracking data</li>
<li>File-based storage for raw data writes data to JSONL files (no database overhead)</li>
<li>Background processing via WP-Cron aggregates data hourly/daily and put them in the database</li>
<li>Interactive dashboard displays charts and metrics</li>
</ol>
<h4>Extensibility</h4>
30+ Developer Hooks:
<ul>
<li>Frontend Hooks – Control what gets tracked and how</li>
<li>Processing Hooks – Modify data before database storage</li>
<li>REST API Hooks – Customize chart data and permissions</li>
<li>Activation Hooks – Adjust default settings and storage</li>
</ul>
<h4>WP-CLI Support</h4>
<pre><code># Process statistics manually
wp sqm-views process
</code></pre>
<h4>Multisite Compatible</h4>
Planned
<h4>Why Choose SQMViews?</h4>
vs. External Analytics: 
* No external JavaScript libraries 
* No tracking cookies required 
* No data sent to Google servers 
* Faster page loads (no external requests) 
* Complete data ownership
<h4>Requirements</h4>
<ul>
<li>WordPress 6.0 or higher</li>
<li>PHP 8.1 or higher (PHP 8.2+ recommended)</li>
<li>PHP Sodium extension (for encryption)</li>
<li>MySQL 5.6 or higher / MariaDB 10.0 or higher</li>
<li>Write permissions for <code>wp-content/uploads/sqm-views</code> directory</li>
</ul>
<h4>Credits</h4>
SearchQueryMaster.com team
Powered by: 
* D3.js for visualizations 
* WordPress CMS 
* Sodium crypto library
<h3>Privacy Policy</h3>
SQMViews is designed with privacy in mind. The plugin:
Does NOT collect: 
* Personal information 
* Cookies not required for tracking 
* Sessions – there is no session tracking at the moment, only pageviews tracking 
* Usernames or emails 
* Browser fingerprints
IP address and user agents are: 
* collected in raw log files for troubleshooting, spam, bot, and system abuse prevention 
* removed from aggregated data and not used anywhere else
Does collect: 
* Page URLs being viewed 
* Tags and categories on the current page 
* Timestamps of visits 
* User interaction metrics (scrolls, clicks) counter 
* Browser user-agent string (for bot filtering) 
* Referrer URL (if available)
Data storage: 
* All data stored on your WordPress server 
* No data sent to external services 
* You control data retention and deletion
Your responsibilities: 
* Update your site’s privacy policy to mention analytics tracking 
* Implement cookie consent if required in your jurisdiction 
* Handle data subject access requests per GDPR/CCPA requirements 
* Configure the plugin to exclude personal data if necessary
<h3>Support</h3>
Free Support: 
* <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/sqm-views/" rel="ugc">WordPress.org Support Forum</a>
<h3>Developer Notes</h3>
Architecture: 
* Namespaced PHP code (<code>SQMViews\</code>) 
* PSR-4 autoloading via Composer 
* REST API endpoints for integrations 
* File-based queueing system
Database Tables: 
* <code>sqm_views_trackables</code> – Catalog of tracked content 
* <code>sqm_views_events</code> – Event type definitions 
* <code>sqm_views_records</code> – Individual tracking records 
* <code>sqm_views_daily</code> – Daily aggregated statistics
Hooks:
Hooks Reference:
Filters (apply_filters):
Tracking & Frontend: 
* <code>sqm_views_should_track</code> – Control whether tracking should occur (2 params: $should_track, $data) 
* <code>sqm_views_tracking_data</code> – Modify tracking data before encryption (1 param: $tracking_data) 
* <code>sqm_views_trackable_post_types</code> – Customize which post types can be tracked (1 param: $post_types) 
* <code>sqm_views_trackable_taxonomies</code> – Customize which taxonomies can be tracked (1 param: $taxonomies) 
* <code>sqm_views_data_taxonomies</code> – Modify taxonomies included in tracking data (1 param: $taxonomies) 
* <code>sqm_views_encryption_key</code> – Override the encryption key (1 param: $key) 
* <code>sqm_views_tracker_endpoint</code> – Customize tracking endpoint URL (2 params: $endpoint, $saved_endpoint) 
* <code>sqm_views_minified_js</code> – Control whether to use minified tracker JS (1 param: $use_min) 
* <code>sqm_views_tracker_script_path</code> – Customize the tracker script file path (2 params: $path, $use_min) 
* <code>sqm_views_tracker_script_url</code> – Customize tracker script URL (2 params: $url, $use_min) 
* <code>sqm_views_inline_js</code> – Control whether to inline tracker JS (1 param: $use_inline) 
* <code>sqm_views_show_debug_comment</code> – Show debug HTML comment (1 param: $show)
Processing: 
* <code>sqm_views_raw_record</code> – Filter raw record data during processing (1 param: $data) 
* <code>sqm_views_calculated_metrics</code> – Modify calculated metrics (2 params: $metrics, $records) 
* <code>sqm_views_session_timeout</code> – Customize session inactivity timeout (1 param: $timeout) 
* <code>sqm_views_ping_interval</code> – Customize the ping interval for session tracking (1 param: $interval)
Dashboard: 
* <code>sqm_views_dashboard_minified_js</code> – Control minified JS for dashboard (1 param: $use_min) 
* <code>sqm_views_dashboard_script_path</code> – Dashboard script file path (2 params: $path, $use_min) 
* <code>sqm_views_dashboard_script_url</code> – Dashboard script URL (2 params: $url, $use_min) 
* <code>sqm_views_dashboard_inline_js</code> – Control inline JS for dashboard (1 param: $use_inline) 
* <code>sqm_views_dashboard_default_filters</code> – Customize default dashboard filters (1 param: $defaults)
REST API: 
* <code>sqm_views_rest_permissions</code> – Customize REST API permissions (1 param: $capability) 
* <code>sqm_views_rest_chart_data</code> – Modify chart data in REST response (2 params: $data, $request) 
* <code>sqm_views_chart_cache_expiration</code> – Customize chart cache expiration time (1 param: $seconds) 
* <code>sqm_views_rest_chart_filters</code> – Customize available chart filters (1 param: $filters)
Activation & Settings: 
* <code>sqm_views_enable_dropin</code> – Enable/disable drop-in file creation (1 param: $enable) 
* <code>sqm_views_default_settings</code> – Customize default plugin settings (1 param: $settings) 
* <code>sqm_views_data_directory</code> – Customize data storage directory (1 param: $directory)
Actions (do_action):
Activation & Upgrade: 
* <code>sqm_views_activated</code> – Fires after plugin activation (0 params) 
* <code>sqm_views_upgraded</code> – Fires after plugin upgrade (2 params: $from_version, $to_version) 
* <code>sqm_views_before_upgrade</code> – Fires before the upgrade process (2 params: $from_version, $to_version) 
* <code>sqm_views_after_upgrade</code> – Fires after the upgrade process (2 params: $from_version, $to_version) 
* <code>sqm_views_uninstalled</code> – Fires during plugin uninstallation (0 params)
Tracking: 
* <code>sqm_views_before_tracker_output</code> – Before tracker script output (2 params: $tracking_data, $tracker_config) 
* <code>sqm_views_after_tracker_output</code> – After tracker script output (1 param: $tracking_data)
Processing: 
* <code>sqm_views_before_processing</code> – Before statistics processing starts (1 param: $verbose) 
* <code>sqm_views_after_processing</code> – After statistics processing completes (1 param: $processor_instance) 
* <code>sqm_views_record_processed</code> – After individual record processed (1 param: $record) 
* <code>sqm_views_daily_aggregated</code> – After daily aggregation completes (1 param: $result)
Cache: 
* <code>sqm_views_chart_cache_invalidated</code> – When chart cache is cleared (0 params)
Examples 
Frontend Hooks – Control Tracking Behavior:
Exclude logged-in administrators from tracking (will not work properly if you cache pages or use CDN):
<pre><code>add_filter( 'sqm_views_should_track', function( $should_track, $data ) {
 if ( current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
 return false;
 }
 return $should_track;
}, 10, 2 );
</code></pre>
Modify tracking data before sending:
<pre><code>add_filter( 'sqm_views_tracking_data', function( $data ) {
 // Add custom metadata
 $data['custom_field'] = get_post_meta( get_the_ID(), 'my_field', true );
 return $data;
} );
</code></pre>
Customize which post types are tracked (overrides UI settings):
<pre><code>add_filter( 'sqm_views_tracked_post_types', function( $post_types ) {
 // Add custom post type
 $post_types[] = 'portfolio';
 return $post_types;
} );
</code></pre>
Processing Hooks – Modify Data Before Storage:
Calculate custom engagement metrics:
<pre><code>add_filter( 'sqm_views_calculated_metrics', function( $metrics, $records ) {
 // Calculate engagement score
 $metrics['engagement_score'] = ( $metrics['active'] / max( 1, $metrics['on_page'] ) ) * 100;

 // Calculate bounce rate indicator
 $metrics['likely_bounce'] = $metrics['on_page'] < 5 ? 1 : 0;

 return $metrics;
}, 10, 2 );
</code></pre>
Filter records before processing:
<pre><code>add_filter( 'sqm_views_before_process_record', function( $record ) {
 // Exclude specific URLs
 if ( strpos( $record['url'], '/test-page/' ) !== false ) {
 return null; // Skip this record
 }
 return $record;
} );
</code></pre>
REST API Hooks – Customize Chart Data:
Modify chart permissions:
<pre><code>add_filter( 'sqm_views_rest_permissions', function( $has_permission ) {
 // Allow editors to view analytics
 return current_user_can( 'edit_posts' );
} );
</code></pre>
Activation Hooks – Adjust Default Settings:
Set custom default settings on activation:
<pre><code>add_action( 'sqm_views_activated', function() {
 // Set default processing interval
 update_option( 'sqm_views_cron_interval', 'hourly' );

 // Enable external JavaScript by default
 update_option( 'sqm_views_js_mode', 'external' );
} );
</code></pre>
Cron Hooks – Custom Processing Schedules:
Run custom tasks after processing:
<pre><code>add_action( 'sqm_views_after_process', function( $processed_count ) {
 // Send notification if processing high volume
 if ( $processed_count > 10000 ) {
 wp_mail(
 get_option( 'admin_email' ),
 'SQMViews High Volume Alert',
 sprintf( 'Processed %d records', $processed_count )
 );
 }
}, 10, 1 );
</code></pre>
REST API: 
* <code>POST /wp-json/sqm-views/v1/track</code> – Submit tracking data through WordPress API endpoint 
* <code>POST sqm-views-pages.php</code> – Submit tracking data through Fast endpoint 
* <code>GET /wp-json/sqm-views/v1/charts</code> – Retrieve chart data
WP-CLI: 
* <code>wp sqm-views process</code> – Process pending statistics
License:
GPLv3. See LICENSE file for details.

SQMViews

Lightweight, privacy-focused plugin for real-time page view analytics. All data stays on your server. Focuses on PageViews tracking.

Vahid Behnam

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