If you want more control over your WordPress website’s analytics—and you’re not comfortable handing over your data to big tech companies—then you may want to use Matomo.

Matomo is a powerful, privacy-focused analytics platform that provides the insights you need to grow your business while giving you full ownership of your data.

It’s a great option if you’re concerned about data privacy regulations like GDPR or just tired of sharing your visitors’ data with third parties. Plus, you can connect it with your WordPress website in just a few clicks.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to easily set up Matomo analytics on your WordPress website.

But before we begin the tutorial, we’ll cover the basics so you know exactly what you’re getting into.

If you’re already confident about your decision to use Matomo analytics with WordPress, then feel free to use the jump links below to skip ahead:

What Is Matomo Analytics?

Matomo is an open-source platform for tracking website traffic, user behavior, and more. It’s similar to Google Analytics, but it prioritizes privacy for both website owners and visitors.

How does it do that?

The answer is simple – with Matomo, you own all your data, it lives on either your own server or in the cloud, and you get complete control.

So, what can Matomo help you track?

Here are some of the most essential tracking features:

• Campaign Tracking – Track where your visitors come from using UTM tags, which are perfect for measuring ads, social media posts, and email campaigns.
• User ID Tracking – See how logged-in users move across devices and sessions, giving you a clearer view of their journey.
• eCommerce Tracking – Monitor sales, cart behavior, and product views to optimize your WooCommerce or online store.
• Form Analytics – Find out where visitors struggle with forms so you can improve sign-ups and conversions.
• Heatmaps & Session Recording – See where users click, scroll, and drop off with visual heatmaps and session replays.

Since Matomo lets you do all of this while giving you the added bonus of data protection, lots of people are making the switch from other analytics solutions.

If you’re one of those people and you’re thinking of switching from Google Analytics, keep reading to learn the differences.

Matomo vs. Google Analytics

When it comes to choosing between Matomo and Google Analytics, it’s all about which platform best fits your needs.

🔒 If keeping your data private is a top priority, then Matomo is the way to go. It’s an open-source platform that lets you host data on your own servers, giving you full control and helping with privacy compliance.

On the flip side, Google Analytics stores your data on Google’s servers, which might be a concern if you’re worried about data privacy.

📊 In terms of analytics features, both Matomo and Google Analytics offer a wide range of tools, including real-time data and visitor tracking.

Matomo provides extras like heatmaps and session recordings, though these require a premium plan.

Google Analytics, on the other hand, integrates seamlessly with other Google services, like Google Ads, Google Search Console, and Google Tag Manager. This can be super helpful if you’re already using these services.

It’s also a better option for advanced analytics and reporting, including custom funnels and predictive analytics. Plus, since Google Analytics is so popular, there is a large community of users and documentation if you run into any problems.

💸 In terms of costs, Google Analytics offers a free version packed with features. Meanwhile, its premium counterpart, Google Analytics 360, has a higher price tag.

Matomo offers flexibility with a free, on-premise version and a paid cloud-hosted option. This way, you can choose what suits your budget and hosting preferences.

How to Set Up Matomo Analytics in WordPress

Ready to set up Matomo? Let’s do a quick system check first!

Your WordPress website needs to be running WordPress version 4.8 or higher, along with PHP 7.2 or above. Plus, you’ll want MySQL 5.5 or greater, and we recommend having at least 128MB of memory available.

As you browse the WordPress plugin repository, you’ll notice loads of Matomo plugins.

For this guide, we’re going to use Matomo for WordPress. It’s an all-in-one solution that runs directly on your WordPress site. This way, you won’t need to create an external account or manage separate servers.

It’s the easiest way to get started, especially if you’re new to this. It’s maintained directly by the Matomo team, so you’ll get top-notch support and the latest features.

In the following sections, we’ll show you how to set up Matomo in WordPress.

Step 1: Installing the Matomo for WordPress Plugin

The first step is to install and activate the Matomo for WordPress plugin. Go to Plugins » Add New Plugin in your WordPress dashboard.

On the next screen, you can use the search feature to quickly find the plugin. Simply type in ‘Matomo for WordPress’ and hit enter.

Once you have the result, you can go ahead and click the ‘Install Now’ button.

Then, you’ll need to click the ‘Activate’ button.

For more detailed instructions, you can check out our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Step 2: Enabling Matomo Tracking on Your WordPress Site

Once you activate Matomo, you’ll be redirected to the Matomo Analytics » Get Started page.

From there, follow the setup wizard to configure the basic settings. You’ll need to complete 2 steps: updating your privacy policy page and enabling Matomo Analytics tracking. The plugin will then save and apply your new settings.

Now, let’s go through each step individually.

Update Your Privacy Policy

The first step is to update your Privacy Policy page.

Here, Matomo asks you to make sure that your Privacy Policy page reflects a commitment to user privacy and compliance with regulations like GDPR and ePrivacy.

This means including an option for users to opt out of tracking, which you can add using the [matomo_opt_out] shortcode or the ‘Matomo opt-out’ block.

⚠️ So, if you don’t have a ‘Privacy Policy’ page yet, then you’ll need to create one.

Simply head over to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Settings » Privacy.

In the dropdown menu, WordPress will tell you if it already has a privacy policy page in place for you. You can simply click on the ‘Use This Page’ button to make it live.

If you’d like to draft a new one, all you have to do is click on the ‘Create’ button.

WordPress will then create a draft for you.

On the other hand, if you already used this default and want to make adjustments, just click on the ‘Edit’ button.

This will open your Privacy Policy page in the block editor, ready for you to edit.

For details, see our guide on how to add a privacy policy in WordPress.

Enable Matomo Tracking

After updating your privacy policy, you should be ready to enable Matomo tracking on your WordPress site.

On the ‘Get Started’ page, go ahead and click the ‘Enable tracking now’ button to start the process.

Once enabled, you’ll see a green checkmark along with a success notification.

That said, Matomo needs a little time to start collecting data.

So, don’t worry if you don’t see analytics right away – you can check back in a few hours to see your first visitor statistics.

⚠️ Note: If you’re using a caching solution (either through a caching plugin or your hosting provider), then you’ll need to clear your cache for tracking to work properly. For details, see our tutorial on how to clear your cache in WordPress.

Step 3: Navigating Through the Analytics Dashboard

Now that you’ve set up Matomo, let’s take a look at the dashboard. This is where you’ll find all the important data about your website, including who’s visiting, what they’re doing, and how your site is performing.

In this section, we’ll go over 3 key areas: Summary, Reporting, and Tag Manager. Each one gives you different insights and tools to help you track your site’s activity.

Summary

The ‘Summary’ section offers a quick overview of your website’s performance directly within your WordPress admin area.

Simply go to Matomo Analytics » Summary to access this report.

Once inside the ‘Summary’ page, you can immediately track key visitor metrics like visits, countries, user devices, and user actions.

You can also choose a timeframe that works best for you. It can be today, this week, this month, this year, and so on.

As you scroll down, you’ll see more report widgets.

Some focus on user details, like the devices’ screen resolution, operating system, browser, entry pages, and exit pages. Others are conversion-related, showing data about goals, visits per hour (based on your site’s timezone), and outbound links.

If you run an online store, then you can track its performance in the ‘Ecommerce Orders’ section.

For example, you can see your online store’s general statistics, including total orders, visits with conversions, and purchased products. Plus, there are more specific data points like tax, shipping, and discount calculations.

Reporting

If you’re looking for deeper insights, the ‘Reporting’ section is where you’ll find all the details you need.

To access it, go to your WordPress admin area and navigate to Matomo Analytics » Reporting.

This will take you to the full Matomo analytics interface, where you can explore in-depth reports for different parts of your website, including:

• Visitor data – Get insights into who’s visiting your site and where they’re coming from.
• User behavior – See how visitors interact with your posts and pages.
• eCommerce – Monitor sales performance, order tracking, and customer journey.
• Marketing insights – Analyze acquisitions, conversion goals, sales funnels, and form tracking.
• Media performance – Measure engagement with images, videos, and other media content.
• A/B tests – Compare different page versions to optimize performance.
• Heatmaps and session recordings – Visualize how users navigate your site.

Each one has its own dedicated panel that you can explore.

For example, in the image below, the submenus are under the ‘Visitors’ section alone.

This page has detailed visit logs with real-time flows and maps. It also gives you insights into user locations, devices, software, IDs, and more.

This detailed analysis can help you make informed decisions to boost your site’s effectiveness.

Tag Manager

Matomo comes with its own tag manager.

Similar to Google Tag Manager, it simplifies the process of adding and managing tracking codes to your WordPress website. It allows you to set up analytics scripts and ad pixels on your site without touching a single line of code.

But Matomo’s Tag Manager takes this a step further by allowing you to setup and oversee multiple analytics and marketing tools from a single, centralized platform.

It also makes it easy to embed both first- and third-party application resources.

To access the ‘Tag Manager’ reports, simply go to Matomo Analytics » Tag Manager in your WordPress admin area.

This will take you to the ‘Tag Manager’ tab in your Matomo dashboard.

Once inside, you can switch between containers using the dropdown menu. Containers are collections of tags, triggers, and variables that help you organize and manage your tracking setup efficiently.

Matomo Alternatives: Top Analytics Plugins for WordPress Users

Matomo can be a great solution if privacy is your top priority. But if you’re looking for other analytics platforms, then here are some of our recommendations for Matomo alternatives:

• MonsterInsights – The best Google analytics plugin for WordPress. It focuses on simplicity and is ideal for beginners who want easy-to-read Google Analytics reports directly in their WordPress dashboard. We use it ourselves to track conversions, referrals, and more. See our detailed MonsterInsights review for more details about our experience.
• ExactMetrics – This plugin offers more detailed Google Analytics reports, catering to users who need in-depth insights without leaving WordPress. We’ve tested this tool extensively for our complete ExactMetrics review.
• OnePageGA – This beginner-friendly tool turns all your Google Analytics 4 data into a one-page analytics dashboard. It’s ideal for users who prefer a simple setup without extensive features. Learn more in our full OnePageGA review.
• HubSpot – An all-in-one CRM platform with built-in analytics to track website traffic, user behavior, and conversions. See our article on how to set up HubSpot analytics in WordPress for more details.

For a more extensive list of analytics solutions tailored for WordPress users, you might want to see our list of the best analytics solutions for WordPress users.

You may also wish to check out our ultimate WordPress security guide to protect your website and visitor data. 🔒 

We hope this article has helped you set up Matomo on your WordPress website. Next up, you can head over to our guide on how to see search analytics in WordPress and our expert picks of the best WordPress activity log and tracking plugins.

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