Piwik, also known as phpMyVisits, is a powerful PHP and MySQL-based web analytics application, similar to Google Analytics. It offers real-time data insights, including visitor statistics over various time periods (hour, day, week, month, year), visitor frequency (new vs. returning users), entry and exit pages, and a geographical breakdown via an interactive world map. Additionally, Piwik provides technical details about users, such as their operating system, browser, and screen resolution, as well as traffic sources (search engines, direct access, referral websites, newsletters), visit duration, pages viewed, and keywords used. Installation is straightforward: upload the files to your server via FTP, complete the setup wizard, and add a JavaScript code snippet to the site you wish to monitor. Piwik is an excellent choice for those seeking a dynamic, interactive, and easy-to-install web analytics solution.




Piwik has its pros and cons. I love the data analysis part, but I struggle with some of the features that aren’t very intuitive. Overall, it's nice, but I may look for something simpler next time.