Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of internet data. In a nutshell, it is the study of website visitor behavior. It is the process of using online data to transform a organization from faith-based to data driven.
This type of software helps you generate a holistic view of your business by turning customer interactions into actionable insights. Using reports and dashboards, web analytics software lets you sort, sift and share real-time information to help identify opportunities and issues. Keeping track of web visitors, analyzing traffic sources, measuring sales and conversions are just some of the possibilities.
Google Analytics is an excellent well known free service that lets webmasters and site owners access web analytics data. The web service generates detailed statistics about a website’s traffic and sources. It helps marketers and is the most widely used website statistics service. But the biggest downside with Google Analytics is that your data is controlled and used for Google’s own purposes, not just by you. It is also not an open source solution, with a webmaster or site owner being denied access to the raw data.
There are also many other remote-hosted web analytics services that are well-designed and comprehensive. However, if you want an open source solution where the software is hosted on your own server, there are some good alternatives. Having the software installed on your server means that you retain full control over your data, with the possibility of integrating that data into your own system. This solution might, for example, be important to people who do not want to give Google (or another organization) the invitation to control a large portion of their online activity, or who want to be fully in control of visitor privacy.
To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled the following list of open source web analytics software. Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart.
Let’s explore the 8 web analytics tools at hand. Click the links in the table below to learn more about each program.
| Analytics Software | |
|---|---|
| Matomo | Web analytics platform available in 48 languages |
| GoAccess | Real-time web log analyzer and interactive viewer |
| Umami | Privacy-focused alternative to Google Analytics |
| Open Web Analytics | Add web analytics using simple Javascript, PHP, or REST based APIs |
| AWStats | Advanced web, streaming, ftp or mail server statistics, graphically |
| W3Perl | Logfile analyser based on logfiles parsing |
| Shynet | Modern, privacy-friendly, and cookie-free web analytics |
| Tianji | Website analytics, uptime monitor and server status |
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 Read our complete collection of recommended free and open source software. Our curated compilation covers all categories of software. The software collection forms part of our series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. There are hundreds of in-depth reviews, open source alternatives to proprietary software from large corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. There are also fun things to try, hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. |