When you want to take full control of your website analytics and data without using third-party solutions, like Google Analytics, then Matomo is a great place to start. Matomo is the only analytics platform that gives you full control over your data and more:

Free open-source software 100% data ownership User privacy protection User-centric insights Customizable and extensible Easy to use No data limits

This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to install Matomo on Ubuntu 16.04 / 17.10 and 18.04. For more on Matomo, please visit its home page

Install Apache2 HTTP Server on Ubuntu

Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server in use. so install it, since Matomo needs it. To install Apache2 HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below. After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots. To test the Apache2 setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see the Apache2 default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Apache2 is working as expected.

Install MariaDB Database Server

MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers to use with Magento. To install MariaDB run the commands below. After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots. Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Run these on Ubuntu 17.10 and 18.04 LTS After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access. When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter Set root password? [Y/n]: Y New password: Enter password Re-enter new password: Repeat password Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]:  Y Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]:  Y

Restart MariaDB server To test if MariaDB is installed, type the commands below to logon into the MariaDB server Then type the password you created above to sign on. if successful, you should see MariaDB welcome message

PHP 7.1 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. to install it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories. Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.2 Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2 Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules. After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open the PHP default config file for Apache2. Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is great setting to apply in your environments. After making the change above, save the file and close. After installing PHP and related modules, all you have to do is restart Apache2 to reload PHP configurations. To restart Apache2, run the commands below To test PHP 7.2 settings with Apache2, create a phpinfo.php file in the Apache2 root directory by running the commands below Then type the content below and save the file. Save the file. then browse to your server hostname followed by /phpinfo.php You should see the PHP default test page.

Create Matomo Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required for Matomo to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create a blank Matomo database. To log on to the MariaDB database server, run the commands below. Then create a database called matomo Create a database user called matomouser with a new password Then grant the user full access to the database. Finally, save your changes and exit.

Download and Install Matomo

Run the commands below to download Matomo content. Next, run the commands below to change the root folder permissions.

Configure Apache2 Matomo Site

Finally, configure the Apache2 configuration file for Matomo. This file will control how users access Matomo content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called matomo. conf Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your domain name and directory root location. Save the file and exit. After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below

Enable the Matomo Site and Rewrite Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below, then restart the Apache2 server. Next, open your browser and go to the URL. and continue with the installation. Click Next to start the installation wizard. Type in the database connection info and create an administrator account to manage the platform in the backend. and continue After entering the info above, click Next to create a superuser account to manage the platform. You’ll then be given the tracking code to add to the website you want to track. To track your web traffic with Matomo you need to make sure some extra code is added to each of your web pages. In most websites, blogs, CMS, etc. you can use a pre-made plugin to do the technical work for you. If no plugin exists you can edit your website templates and add this code to thetag which is often defined in a ‘header.php’, ‘header.temple, or similar template file.

JavaScript Tracking Code

Make sure this code is on every page of your website. We recommend pasting it immediately before the closingtag. You’ll find the private website configuration system at http://example.com/index.php Enjoy! You may also like the post below: