How do I install the Matomo tracking code on Backdrop CMS?

Backdrop CMS is an open-source content management system (CMS) used for building and managing websites. You can integrate Matomo with Backdrop CMS using the Matomo Analytics module to automatically add the Matomo tracking code to your site. The module is developed and maintained by the Backdrop CMS community.

Integrating Matomo with your Backdrop CMS pages enriches insights into visitor interactions, content performance, and website/app performance. This helps optimise content effectiveness, conversion drivers, visitor experiences and more! Before tracking, ensure compliance with data protection regulations by obtaining user consent where required.

Requirements

Before proceeding, ensure you have the following in place:

  • New Users: Create your Matomo account (Cloud or On-Premise).
  • Current Users: You have superuser access to add a new measurable to an existing Matomo instance.
  • A Backdrop CMS admin account.

Install the Matomo module

  1. Login to Backdrop CMS and click on Functionality > Install New Modules in the top menu.
  2. Search for Matomo and the module should appear in the search results.
  3. If you do not see the Matomo module, you can manually install it.
    • Go to the Backdrop CMS website to download the Matomo Analytics module.
    • In your Backdrop CMS admin account, open Functionality > Install New Modules.
    • Click on the Manual installation link under Installation queue.
    • Expand the section: Upload a module, theme, or layout archive to install.
    • Click Browse to locate the recently downloaded Matomo Analytics module in zip format.
    • Upload the file and click Install.
  4. Search for Matomo Analytics and click Add to Installation queue to install and activate the module.
    install matomo on backdrop cms
  5. The module will be added to the Installation queue.
  6. Click Install and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup.
  7. Once installation is done, select Matomo Analytics and click Enable Modules.
    enable matomo on backdrop cms

Configure Matomo tracking

  1. In your Backdrop CMS admin account, open Functionality > List Modules.
    2, Search for the Matomo Analytics module.
    configure matomo on backdrop cms
  2. Click Configure to open the General settings page.
  3. Enter the Matomo site ID, your Matomo instance URL (e.g., https://mysubdomain.matomo.cloud/) in the Matomo HTTPS URL field.
  4. Ensure mandatory fields are completed.
  5. To customise tracking, modify the Tracking scope, Page titles hierarchy, Custom variables, Consent, and Advanced settings as needed.
  6. Click Save Configuration.
  7. With tracking set up in Backdrop CMS, you can now test and validate your configuration.

Validate the configuration

Validate the integration by verifying that tracking is active and data is being sent to Matomo as expected. When testing, make sure tracking is not blocked by consent settings, ad blockers, or browser privacy features.

  1. Open your website and click on different pages as a test action.
  2. Navigate to your Matomo dashboard and view the Visits in real-time widget to verify your website visit appears in the log.
  3. Use the browser’s developer tools > Network tab and filter for matomo.php, which indicates tracking requests are being sent.

Troubleshooting

If no tracking data appears in Matomo, use the following resources to troubleshoot:

Next steps

For reporting and advanced tracking configurations, explore related topics:

Discover additional resources in the knowledge base, developer guides and community forums.

Happy Analytics!

Disclaimer: The use of any third-party tools (plugins, extensions, platforms, APIs, widgets, etc.) is at your own risk. Matomo does not own, control, maintain or support any third-party tools that integrate with our product. We recommend checking your privacy setup is correctly configured across your environment when using any third party tools.

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