data stream for a website
Tags: digitalworkplace, ga4, analytics
Published: 2023-09-18 05:11:43

**Once you've created your Analytics account and property, the next step is to create your data stream and start collecting business data. If you have a website, this means you'll want to create a web data stream.**
 

- To tag your website you'll first navigate to the data stream's creation screen, choose web, and then enter your website URL. This will generate a measurement ID and website tags specifically for your website. If you are using a website builder or a CMS system, you should copy the measurement ID and paste it into your website builder account. You can select your website builder to view instructions on how to add the measurement ID to your website.


- If you do not use a website builder, you'll need to install the Google tag on your website. There are two options to choose from. The first option is to use Google Tag Manager to install the tag. Google Tag Manager allows you to install code on your website pages and add to or change that code at any time using the account's interface instead of having to go back and edit the code itself. In addition, Tag Manager serves as a central place to manage and update all of your marketing and website tags. For this reason, we recommend using Google Tag Manager to install your Analytics tag. If you are already using Google Tag Manager for your website, you can easily add the Google Analytics tag in your Tag Manager account.



**Note that you can also use Google Tag Manager with a CMS or a website builder. So instead of entering your measurement ID directly into the website builder integration for Google Analytics, you would create the Google Analytics tag in Google Tag Manager.**



The second option is to manually install the tag on each page of your site. When you choose this option, you'll see the new website tag listed in the UI. This tag will need to be installed on every page of your website immediately after the head tag. Once you install the Analytics tag on your website, you'll start collecting many points of data automatically to the Google Analytics property. With a bit more implementation, you can even enhance your data collection with recommended and custom events, which we'll cover later.

**Let's review
To connect your website to Google Analytics, create a web data stream. That generates a new measurement ID and tag for your website. The tag is a small piece of JavaScript called the Google tag, and it needs to be added to every page of your website.**


To add this tag to your website's code, you have a few options:


- Use Google Tag Manager to add your Google tag
- Manually add your Google tag to your website's code
- Provide your measurement ID or Google tag to your website builder

Let's examine each option.


 

- Using Google Tag Manager If you already use or want to use Google Tag Manager, this should be the way you add your Google tag to your website. Google Tag Manager is a user-friendly solution for tag management. It allows you to efficiently add and update your own website tags in a web interface to better understand conversions, site analytics, and more — without the need for web development experience.




This makes tag updates much simpler for anyone who’s not familiar with coding their own Javascript. It works with both Google and non-Google tags. 




**Manually adding the Google tag**

- If you manage your website's own code, you can manually add the Google tag to your website by copying and pasting it in the code of every page of your website immediately after the <head> element. Once added, this establishes the connection between your website and your new Analytics property and starts collecting data.


Use this method if the following things are important to you:



- You’re a web developer and prefer hard-coding your own tags directly on your website instead of deploying them through an interface.
- You don’t have time or resources to invest in ramping up a tag management system.
- You only plan to set up a few simple tags on your website and don't plan to edit or deploy new tags often.

Adding your measurement ID or Google tag to a website builder
If you use a website builder or content management system, such as Wordpress or Shopify, to manage your website, your method may vary. For some website builders, all you need to do is copy the measurement ID and paste it in your account. Other website builders require more work to add the code.



When you're creating a new web data stream and reach the step to install your Google tag, choose Install with a website builder or CMS to find specific instructions for your platform.  


Enhanced measurement for web data streams
Finally, **"enhanced measurement"** is a setting that automatically measures many website interactions without requiring updates to your code. Keeping this option enabled lets you measure common web events like pageviews, scrolls, file downloads, and video views.



**You can always turn this option off later if you no longer want these events collected. You can also individually turn on or off specific enhanced measurement events at any point without needing to edit your code.**

see you soon to the next topic to talk about setting up a data stream for an app stay tuned.