WordPress, as one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) in the world, provides a variety of plugins to assist website owners in tracking and analyzing their site's statistics. WP Statistics is a popular plugin for this purpose.
This article will cover WP Statistics features, strengths, and weaknesses. But there's more! We'll introduce you to an exciting alternative. This innovative solution offers a fresh perspective, empowering you to make informed decisions.
- WP Statistics
- WP Statistics Reviews
- Simple Analytics: A flexible alternative
- Comparison features between WP Statistics and Simple Analytics
- Conclusion
- FAQs: A Better Alternative to WP Statistics
WP Statistics
WP Statistics is a popular WordPress plugin that allows website owners to measure metrics and visitors straight from their WordPress dashboards. It includes many capabilities for monitoring website traffic, analyzing visitor behavior, and learning about the performance of a WordPress website. Let's look at some of its advantages and disadvantages:
Pros of WP Statistics
- Works well with WordPress
- Affordable
Cons of WP Statistics
- Works only with WordPress
- It lacks advanced features
WP Statistics Reviews
*Long-time user, recent bugs I have been a long-time user of this plugin and used to install it on all my WordPress websites because (other than Jetpack and Wordfence), it was the best tool for capturing 100% of all site visitors. It is so nice to have a trustworthy counter for visits and visitors based on server-side analytics.*
That said, I bumped this down to a 4-star review because of recent bugs in the last few years — the plugin caused my websites to crash and the issue wasn’t resolved with an update for quite a few days.
With some better support and more stable updates, I would consider returning to using WP Stats as my primary visitor tracking plugin.
theomajors, (@theomajors)
Source: WordPress
*Pretty good – and the best of the bunch. Getting it to work with caching isn’t easy, regardless of what the checkbox says.*
The accuracy is suspect, as compared to things like Analytics from Google and Clarity from Microsoft. It seems to err on the side of it being a bot and not counting it? I dunno, I didn’t author the plugin.
So, I give it a 4 star rating.
Of the stats plugins available, it’s easily the best of the bunch – for counting humans. If you want bots and the likes counted, pick a different plugin.
uninvolved, (@uninvolved)
Source: WordPress **
Simple Analytics: A flexible alternative
Simple Analytics is an easy-to-use analytics tool that gives you the insights you need while being 100% GDPR-compliant.
It was founded by Adriaan van Rossum shortly after the GDPR was approved. Since its inception, Simple Analytics has had customers of all sizes, notable ones being: Michelin, Havas Media, Nomadlist, and the UK Government.
Though Simple Analytics might sound like a simple minimal analytics tool, it does pack some powerful features that many marketers love, such as automated event collection, goal tracking, e-commerce analytics, bypassing ad blockers (as it’s privacy-friendly), and much more.
Let's explore a few reasons why it's become a preferred choice for businesses seeking reliable and affordable analytics tools.
Pros of using Simple Analytics
- Simple UI: Simple Analytics is one of the easiest analytics tools. The dashboard is built in a way to easily understandable to non-marketers.
- Affordable: Tracking website and product metrics is pretty affordable with Simple Analytics. For just $9/month, you can track 100,000 data points (pageviews + events). Additionally, you get features that you would find in much more expensive tools.
- Privacy First: The world is moving in a direction where privacy is becoming increasingly important. Google Analytics has been declared illegal in multiple EU countries. You would rather avoid getting caught up in this mess. Take privacy or compliance with regulations into account.
- Mini Websites: Have you ever seen “t.co” as a referrer in your web analytics? If you have, you must have broken your head trying to find the source. Simple Analytics helps you find the exact tweet that referred/mentioned to your website.
- Lightweight: Your website is your storefront on the internet. Providing the best possible experience matters. Installing an analytics script has an impact on page speed. Choose an analytics tool that won’t slow your website down. Even Google recommends having a website that loads quickly.
- Integration: Installing and integrating Simple Analytics is also super easy. It has 20+ integrations to select from, so you can get it added quickly.
Cons of using Simple Analytics
Due to privacy laws, Simple Analytics doesn’t store IPs and user identifiers, which makes it lack a couple of metrics, such as bounce rate, but it does have time on page to give you an idea of user stickiness.
Pricing of Simple Analytics
Simple Analytics offers one of the most affordable pricing structures in its segment. The plans start at just $9/month, which lets you track 100,000 data points.
If you need more features, such as team access, the pricing goes up to $49/month, increasing the data points limit from 100,000 to 1,000,000.
Comparison features between WP Statistics and Simple Analytics
| Simple Analytics | WP Statistics | |
|---|---|---|
| Account Management | ||
| Trackable Items | Unlimited | |
| User Seats | 1 to Unlimited users | Unlimited |
| User Roles | N/A | N/A |
| Account Security | Single Sign-on | N/A |
| Data Processing | ||
| Data Retention | Unlimited | |
| Data Center Locations | European Economic Area (EEA) | Your web host |
| Data Import | GA importer included | CSV File |
| Data Ownership | You | You |
| Software Hosting | Public Cloud | Public Cloud/Private Cloud |
| Compliance | GDPR, PECR | GDPR |
| Data Freshness | Realtime | Realtime |
| Data Export | As CSV or via API | TSV, XML, and CSV |
| Cookieless | Simple Analytics is cookieless by default | WP Statistics doesn’t store any cookies |
| Reporting | ||
| Funnel Reporting | Available | Available |
| Device Reporting | Available | Available |
| Segmentation | Available | Available |
| Trend Reporting | Available | Available |
| Alerts & Automation | ||
| Integrations | 20+ Available | Available |
| Email Reports | Weekly, monthly | N/A |
| Customizability | ||
| Annotations | Available | Not Available |
| Custom Events | Available | Available |
Conclusion
While WP Statistics is a popular choice for tracking and analyzing statistics among WordPress website owners, it's important to examine its limitations.
Simple Analytics is a much better solution as you can use it everywhere, not just WordPress. Plus, you get access to a better analytics tool overall. Feel free to give it a try!
FAQs: A Better Alternative to WP Statistics
How do WP Statistics and Simple Analytics differ in terms of data privacy?
WP Statistics captures and retains data that includes IP addresses and user-agent information by default, which may create privacy concerns. On the other hand, Simple Analytics prioritizes user privacy by anonymizing or removing sensitive data, respecting user privacy rights, and following data protection standards.
Is it easier to use simple analytics solutions than WP Statistics?
Compared to WP Statistics, simple analytics solutions provide a more streamlined and user-friendly experience. They concentrate on presenting key information without overloading users with complicated setup options, making them accessible to users of various technical levels.
Can I use WP Statistics on any WordPress website?
Yes, WP Statistics is a WordPress plugin that can be installed on any WordPress-powered website.