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Matomo Server-Side vs Client-Side

Decision Matrix

  • Compare the pros and cons of server-side versus client-side collection for Matomo.
  • Include considerations for latency, consent enforcement, data fidelity, and maintenance cost.
  • Note contractual or compliance obligations that push toward one approach.
  • State the default approach for this engagement and why it was selected.
  • Diagram data flow at a high level, including intermediaries like Segment, CDPs, or ETL jobs.
  • Record which environments (production, staging, beta) follow the same architecture.

Implementation Notes

  • Document tooling requirements (cloud functions, tag manager templates, edge workers).
  • Outline authentication, API keys, and credential storage practices for server-side setups.
  • Capture bundling, performance, or caching tips when running client-side collection.

Monitoring & Maintenance

  • List dashboards or alerts that watch for ingestion failures, latency spikes, or payload errors.
  • Define processes for rotating keys, updating SDK versions, and validating releases.
  • Assign owners responsible for reviewing architecture decisions quarterly.

Outstanding Decisions

  • Track experiments comparing data fidelity between approaches and note pending results.
  • Record future enhancements (hybrid collection, offline upload pipelines) to revisit later.