Web analytics is the process of collecting, measuring, analysing and reporting on website data to understand visitor behaviour and improve the performance of a site. Analytics turns raw traffic data into actionable insights: what content performs best, where users drop off, which channels drive conversions.
Core Web Analytics Metrics
- Sessions — A group of interactions (page views, events) from one user within a defined time window (typically 30 minutes of inactivity resets the session).
- Users / Unique visitors — The number of distinct individuals who visited the site in a period.
- Page views — Total number of pages loaded or reloaded.
- Bounce rate — Percentage of sessions where the user left after viewing only one page without interacting.
- Average session duration — Mean time users spend on the site per session.
- Conversion rate — Percentage of sessions that complete a desired goal (purchase, sign-up, form submission).
- Traffic source / Channel — How visitors arrived: organic search, direct, referral, paid, social, email.
Popular Analytics Platforms
- Google Analytics 4 (GA4) — The industry standard. Event-based model, cross-platform tracking, free.
- Plausible / Fathom — Privacy-focused, cookieless, GDPR-friendly alternatives.
- Matomo — Open-source analytics you can self-host for full data ownership.
- Cloudflare Analytics — Server-side analytics, not affected by ad blockers.
Analytics and Privacy
Traditional analytics rely on cookies and JavaScript tracking. GDPR and browser privacy features (ITP, Firefox Enhanced Tracking Protection) have reduced tracking accuracy. Privacy-preserving analytics tools use cookieless, server-side or aggregated approaches to comply with regulations.