Add Google Analytics to PHP

So your PHP website is up and running- but how can you improve its performance? Well, Google Analytics can give you valuable insights on the performance and traffic of your website. Here is how to add GA to your PHP website, step by step.

Let's dive in!

Before we dig in I want to show you something. I promise it's worth it...

Google Analytics is great, but also complex and a bit clunky. If you just want a straightforward dashboard with the insights you need, GA is not a great place to start. Additionally, Google doesn't care about privacy and GA requires an annoying cookie banner.

That's why I built Simple Analytics, a privacy-friendly and simple analytics tool - no personal data, no cookies, just the insights you need in a straightforward dashboard.

Here is how it looks vs GA. Feel free to check our live analytics to get an idea for your project. (It is free btw)

All right, enough about us. Now let's get into answering your question!

Can you spot the difference between the dashboards?

Integrating Google Analytics

Set up Google Analytics

Log into your GA profile (or create one, if you haven't already).
Create a GA property for your website.
Inspect the property and note down your Measurement ID. You will need it later.

Add the GA4 Tracking Code to Your Website

The tracking code should be added to every page you want to track. In a PHP website, this is often done by inserting the code into a header file that's included in every page.

Place the GA tracking script in the <head> tag of your header file (e.g., header.php):

<head>
  <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->
  <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX"></script>
  <script>
    window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
    function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
    gtag('js', new Date());
    gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX', { 'send_page_view': true });
  </script>
  ...
</head>

Make sure teplace G-XXXXXXXXXX with your actual Measurement ID!

Verify the Integration

After implementing the tracking code, visit your website and then check the real-time reports in Google Analytics to ensure that your visits are being recorded.

(Optional) Implement Event Tracking

Google Analytics 4 is highly event-centric. You may want to track specific actions on your website, like button clicks or form submissions. This requires adding additional JavaScript to trigger events. For instance:

document.getElementById("your-button-id").addEventListener("click", function() {
  gtag('event', 'click', {
    'event_category': 'Button',
    'event_label': 'Your Button Label'
  });
});

This snippet sends an event to GA whenever the specified button is clicked.

Create New Properties (Optional)

To track multiple websites, create more GA properties and use the corresponding Measurement IDs. This prevents GA from conflating the data.

Final Thoughts

Adding Google Analytics to your website can give you great insights. However, ask yourself: is Google Analytics the right tool for you?

GA is an overpowered solution for straightforward analytics. If you're looking for a simple and intuitive dashboard with the insights you need, there are better alternatives. Yes, I’m talking about my own product (Simple Analytics), but there are others out there as well.

I hated using Google Analytics for my projects. It's clunky, there are hundreds of dashboards and it doesn't look appealing. Also Google doesn't care about privacy or ethics. That's why I decided to build my own and more intuitive web analytics tool.

If this resonates with you, feel free to give Simple Analytics a spin. You just need to add the script to your site and off you go. This takes about one minute- and there is a free version as well!

Enjoy!

Google Analytics Glossary