DSGVO-compliant web analytics with Virtualmin: How to host your visitor statistics yourself

Why you should do without Google Analytics

As a club, you want to know how many visitors your website has and which pages are popular. But Google Analytics is problematic from a data protection perspective: it transfers data to the USA and requires user consent. With the DSGVO, this becomes a challenge. The solution: Host your own web analytics solution like Matomo on your own server – with Virtualmin, this is easier than you think.

What is Virtualmin?

Virtualmin is a powerful web server management tool that makes administering your server easier. It provides a graphical interface for managing domains, databases, email accounts, and much more. For your club website, it is ideal for hosting DSGVO-compliant web analytics yourself.

Advantages of self-hosted web analytics

• Data protection: All data remains on your server – no sharing with third parties.
• Full control: You decide which data is collected and how long it is stored.
• DSGVO-compliant: With Matomo, you can anonymize IP addresses and obtain consent.
• Independence: You are not dependent on external services.

Matomo as an alternative to Google Analytics

Matomo (formerly Piwik) is an open-source web analytics software that you can install on your own server. It offers all the features you know from Google Analytics, but is DSGVO-compliant. With Virtualmin, you can install Matomo in minutes.

Step-by-step guide: Installing Matomo with Virtualmin

1. Preparation: Make sure you have a server with Virtualmin. If you don't have one yet, check out our Virtual Server.
2. Set up a new domain: Create a subdomain like analytics.yourclub.com in Virtualmin.
3. Activate SSL certificate: Enable Let's Encrypt for the domain to ensure a secure connection.
4. Create a database: Create a MySQL database for Matomo.
5. Download and install Matomo: Download Matomo, extract it into the subdomain's directory, and follow the installation wizard.
6. Configuration: Set up the database connection and create an admin account.
7. Insert tracking code: Add the generated JavaScript code to your website.

DSGVO-compliant settings in Matomo

After installation, you should make some settings to comply with the DSGVO:

• IP anonymization: Enable anonymization of IP addresses.
• Obtain consent: Use Matomo's consent management to get visitors' approval.
• Data deletion: Specify how long you want to store data and set up automatic deletion.
• Cookies: Reduce cookie duration or use cookieless tracking methods.

Club website and web hosting

If you want to host your club website on your own server, we offer suitable web hosting packages. For more flexibility and performance, our VPS servers are ideal. And if you don't have a domain yet, you can find affordable domain registration with us.

Conclusion

With Virtualmin and Matomo, you can implement DSGVO-compliant web analytics for your club website without relying on Google Analytics. You keep control over your data and build trust with your visitors. Try it out – it's worth it!