Add analytics before a site launches
Why I add tracking for the main visitor journeys while I build a site, not after it goes live.
If you add analytics after launch, the first weeks of traffic tell you very little. Decide what you need to learn first, then build the tracking with the features.
Name the journeys
List the few things a visitor comes to do. For a restaurant group that might be finding a store, reading the menu, ordering and booking. Each step in those journeys gets one named event.
Track the steps, not every click
Send a typed event for each step, with the details you will filter by later, such as the location. Leave out personal details. A small set of reliable events is more useful than a long list nobody trusts.
Check it on previews
Review the events on preview deployments before launch. When the site goes live, the team can already see where visitors drop off.
The franchise website case study on this site follows this approach.
Want this run for your operation?
This playbook comes straight from client work. If you'd rather have it done than do it, that's what JS Labs is for.
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