The privacy-first, self-hosted alternative to Google Analytics with integrated heatmaps and session recording.
Open Web Analytics (OWA) is a robust, open-source framework designed for the technical analysis of web traffic and user behavior without the privacy compromises of third-party SaaS platforms. Built primarily on a PHP/MySQL stack, OWA provides 2026-ready data sovereignty, allowing enterprises to maintain 100% ownership of their analytics data. Unlike many modern competitors that charge premiums for behavioral tools, OWA natively integrates heatmapping and mouse tracking as core features. Its architecture supports both Javascript-based tracking and server-side PHP event logging, making it highly resilient to ad-blockers and cookie-less environments. By 2026, OWA positions itself as a critical infrastructure component for organizations requiring HIPAA or GDPR compliance where data cannot leave the internal network. The platform features an extensible API and support for custom event tracking, enabling developers to build bespoke analytics dashboards that integrate directly with existing CMS platforms like WordPress or MediaWiki. While it requires more technical overhead for maintenance than SaaS solutions, its lack of data sampling and unlimited data retention make it a high-value asset for long-term strategic analysis.
Open Web Analytics (OWA) is a robust, open-source framework designed for the technical analysis of web traffic and user behavior without the privacy compromises of third-party SaaS platforms.
Explore all tools that specialize in behavioral heatmapping. This domain focus ensures Open Web Analytics delivers optimized results for this specific requirement.
Generates visual click maps by aggregating X/Y coordinates of mouse clicks relative to DOM elements.
Declarative tracking of clicks, form submissions, and UI interactions without manual JS code.
Uses server-side identifiers to set cookies under the user's own domain.
Records mouse movements and scrolls, allowing for a reconstruction of the user's session.
Structured data ingestion for orders, items, and revenue attribution.
Analyzes referrers to extract search terms (where provided by the engine) for SEO monitoring.
Allows for server-to-server tracking, bypassing the browser entirely.
Provision a Linux server (Ubuntu/Debian) with PHP 7.4+ and MySQL 5.7+.
Download the latest OWA release package from GitHub or the official site.
Create a dedicated MySQL database and user for OWA.
Upload OWA files to your web server's document root or a subdomain.
Run the web-based installer by navigating to your-domain.com/install.php.
Enter database credentials and administrator account details.
Configure the site domain and generate a unique Site ID.
Embed the generated Javascript tracking snippet before the closing </head> tag of your website.
(Optional) Enable the WordPress or MediaWiki plugin for deeper integration.
Verify data ingestion via the real-time 'Log' view in the OWA dashboard.
All Set
Ready to go
Verified feedback from other users.
"Highly praised for data ownership and heatmaps, though criticized for a steeper setup curve and a slightly dated UI."
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