Self-Hosting Plausible Analytics: A Comprehensive Guide

Plausible Analytics is emerging as a popular, privacy-friendly alternative to traditional analytics tools like Google Analytics. This open-source platform enables users to gather website analytics without compromising visitor privacy. If you're considering monitoring your website's performance without relying on third-party services, self-hosting Plausible is a great option. In this article, we'll walk you through the process of self-hosting Plausible Analytics on your own server.

Why Choose Plausible Analytics?

1. Privacy-Focused: Plausible does not use cookies or collect personal data, which means it adheres to GDPR and CCPA regulations.
2. Simplicity: The user interface is minimalistic, making it easy to navigate and understand your website's metrics.
3. Open Source: Plausible’s source code is available on GitHub, allowing users to inspect and contribute to its development.
4. Self-Hosting Capability: Hosting Plausible on your server gives you complete control over your data.

Prerequisites

Before you start the installation, ensure you have the following:

• A server (VPS) with Docker installed.
• Basic knowledge of Linux command line.
• Access to your server via SSH.
• A domain name pointing to your server (optional but recommended).

Installation Steps

1. Update Your Server

After logging into your server, update the package manager:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

2. Install Docker and Docker Compose

If Docker isn't already installed, you can do so by running:

sudo apt install docker.io
sudo apt install docker-compose

Start Docker and enable it to run at boot time:

sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker

3. Pull the Plausible Docker Image

Plausible Analytics can be easily deployed through Docker. To pull the Plausible image, use the following command:

docker pull plausible/analytics

4. Create a Docker Compose File

Now, create a directory for Plausible and inside that directory, create a docker-compose.yml file:

mkdir plausible
cd plausible
nano docker-compose.yml

Add the following configuration to the file:

version: '3'
services:
  plausible:
    image: plausible/analytics
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://plausible:plausible@db:5432/plausible
      - SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key_here
      - PLAUSIBLE_APP_URL=https://your-domain.com
    depends_on:
      - db
  db:
    image: postgres:13
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=plausible
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=plausible
      - POSTGRES_DB=plausible

Make sure to replace your_secret_key_here with a securely generated key and your-domain.com with your actual domain name.

5. Start the Deployment

Run the following command in the directory containing your docker-compose.yml file:

docker-compose up -d

This command will launch both the Plausible Analytics and the PostgreSQL database containers.

6. Access Plausible

Once the containers are running, you can access your Plausible dashboard by navigating to:

http://your-server-ip:8000

If you set up a domain, you can access it via:

https://your-domain.com

Log in to your dashboard using the default credentials provided in the documentation, or configure your own.

7. Configure Your Domain (Optional)

To enable HTTPS, you can use tools like Nginx or Caddy in conjunction with Let's Encrypt. This step enhances security by encrypting the data between the server and visitors.

Conclusion

Self-hosting Plausible Analytics is an effective way to maintain control over your website's analytics while prioritizing privacy. With its simple setup and user-friendly interface, Plausible offers an attractive alternative to traditional analytics tools. For detailed installation steps and further customization, refer to the official Plausible documentation.

For additional insights and support, explore community forums or check out resources that can help maximize your use of Plausible Analytics. Start leveraging the power of self-hosted analytics today!