Blog

Web analytics without the tracking.

Practical guides to choosing a tool, moving off Google Analytics, running your own and understanding what the numbers mean.

Comparison

Tidemark vs Plausible: an honest comparison

How Tidemark and Plausible differ on hosting, self-hosting, features and price, and who each one suits. Written by the Tidemark team, with the gaps stated plainly.

October 24, 2026 · 6 min read
Guide

A Google Analytics alternative for WordPress: add privacy-friendly stats in 10 minutes

Replace Google Analytics on a WordPress site with cookie-free analytics. Add one script without editing theme files, keep your caching plugin happy and check it works.

October 24, 2026 · 6 min read
Guide

How to add cookie-free analytics to Astro, Hugo, Next.js and other static sites

One script tag is all it takes. Where to put it in Astro, Hugo, Next.js, Eleventy and plain HTML, how single-page apps are handled and how to test it.

October 24, 2026 · 5 min read
Guide

How to import your Plausible history into Tidemark

Move from Plausible without losing your graph. Export your data, import it into Tidemark in your browser, and understand what comes across and what does not.

October 24, 2026 · 6 min read
Self-hosting

Run your own web analytics with Docker Compose: a copy-paste setup

Self-host Tidemark in one container with Docker Compose: the compose file, HTTPS behind a reverse proxy, MariaDB or Postgres, updates and backups.

October 24, 2026 · 6 min read
Comparison

10 best Google Analytics alternatives in 2026

Ten Google Analytics alternatives compared by what they are good at: privacy, simplicity, self-hosting, depth and price. Pick the one that fits your site.

October 23, 2026 · 9 min read
Guide

How to switch from Google Analytics to a privacy-friendly alternative

A step-by-step plan to move off Google Analytics: audit what you use, pick a tool, run both side by side, recreate goals and remove the old tag safely.

October 23, 2026 · 8 min read
Self-hosting

Best self-hosted web analytics tools in 2026

Six self-hosted analytics tools compared by what they need to run: PHP hosting, Docker, a database, or a single binary. Find one that fits your server.

October 23, 2026 · 7 min read
Privacy

Do you need a cookie banner for website analytics?

When analytics needs consent and when it may not: what cookies, identifiers and regulators' guidance mean for your site. A plain-language overview, not legal advice.

October 23, 2026 · 7 min read
Explainer

How cookieless analytics works (and what it can't tell you)

How a tool can count visitors without cookies: daily-rotating hashes, what is stored, why returning visitors are harder to spot, and the trade-offs you accept.

October 23, 2026 · 6 min read
Self-hosting

Self-hosted analytics on shared hosting: what you need and how to set it up

Run your own web analytics on ordinary PHP shared hosting: the requirements, a step-by-step install, a cron job, updates and backups, with no server skills needed.

October 23, 2026 · 7 min read
Explainer

Web analytics metrics explained: visitors, visits, pageviews, bounce rate and duration

What each core web analytics metric actually measures, how it is calculated, and which ones to trust when you read your dashboard.

October 23, 2026 · 7 min read
Guide

How to track outbound links, downloads and signups without cookies

Count clicks on outbound links, file downloads, form submissions and custom events like signups, with a cookieless script and no extra tag manager.

October 23, 2026 · 6 min read