Matomo Site Kit vs PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links

Matomo Site Kit is the ultimate WordPress plugin for integrating Matomo Analytics – the leading open-source, privacy-focused alternative to Google Analytics. Whether you use Matomo Cloud or self-hosted Matomo On-Premise, this plugin provides everything you need for comprehensive website analytics while respecting your visitors’ privacy. Why Choose Matomo Site Kit? Privacy-First Analytics – Full GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliance out of the box No Data Sampling – 100% accurate data, unlike Google Analytics You Own Your Data – No third-party data sharing Ad-Blocker Resistant – Server-side tracking bypasses most ad blockers WooCommerce Ready – Complete ecommerce tracking for your online store Three Powerful Tracking Methods Choose the tracking method that best fits your needs: Classic JavaScript Tracking – Traditional Matomo tracking with full feature support using _paq.push(). Best for most websites. Matomo Tag Manager (MTM) – Advanced tag management with dataLayer integration. Perfect for marketing teams who need flexible trigger and variable management. Server-Side PHP Tracking – Privacy-friendly tracking that works even when JavaScript is disabled or blocked. Ideal for GDPR-focused websites and bypassing ad blockers. Complete Feature List Analytics Dashboard * Real-time analytics overview in WordPress admin * Visits, page views, bounce rate, and session duration * WordPress Dashboard widget for quick stats * Per-post and per-page analytics metabox WooCommerce Ecommerce Tracking * Product view tracking with SKU, name, price, and categories * Category page view tracking * Add to cart and remove from cart events * Cart update tracking * Complete order tracking with revenue, tax, and shipping * Works with all three tracking methods Site Search Tracking * Automatic WordPress search tracking * Search keyword capture * Category filter detection * Search result count * Zero configuration required Automatic Annotations * Create Matomo annotations when content is published * Select which post types trigger annotations * Customizable format with variables: {post_type}, {title}, {url}, {author} * Live preview in settings Privacy & GDPR Compliance * Consent mode options (requireConsent, requireCookieConsent) * Privacy opt-out shortcode [matomo_opt_out] * Server-side tracking for cookieless analytics * Exclude tracking by user role * Compatible with cookie consent plugins Advanced Features * User ID tracking with SHA256 hashed email * Heartbeat Timer for accurate time-on-page measurement * DataLayer integration for Tag Manager (Matomo config + page context: page_type, post_type label, taxonomies, locale, login status, post_id) * AI Bot Tracking – Track visits from AI assistants (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, etc.) separately in Matomo (requires Matomo 5.7+) * Bot detection and filtering * Noscript fallback for JavaScript-disabled browsers * DNS prefetch and script preloading for performance * Matomo Cloud and On-Premise support Perfect For Bloggers who want simple, privacy-respecting analytics WooCommerce stores needing detailed ecommerce insights Agencies managing multiple client websites Enterprise organizations with strict data privacy requirements GDPR-conscious website owners in the EU Marketing teams using Matomo Tag Manager Matomo Cloud vs On-Premise This plugin works seamlessly with both: Matomo Cloud – Hosted solution at matomo.cloud, no server management needed Matomo On-Premise – Self-hosted on your own server for complete data ownership

PrettyLinks takes any long, ugly URL and turns it into a short, branded link on your own domain. So instead of sharing some endless affiliate string, you share yoursite.com/recommends/widget — clean, memorable, and unmistakably yours. No more renting your links from bit.ly, tinyurl.com, or whichever shortener raised its prices this year. Here’s the part people love most: your links and your click data live on your site, not someone else’s. You own the branding. You keep the analytics. And if a destination URL ever changes, you update it once and every link you’ve ever shared just keeps working. Why people pick PrettyLinks 🌠 If you share links for a living — affiliate marketers, bloggers, podcasters, social media folks — you want three things: links that look professional, the freedom to change where they point, and a real picture of what’s getting clicked. PrettyLinks does all three. Every click is logged with referrer, browser, OS, and host, so you’re never guessing about what’s working. And version 4.0 is a big one. We rebuilt the whole thing from scratch on a fast, modern React admin, then added smarter bot filtering, built-in privacy controls, and CSV link importing — all of it free. PrettyPay™ Links 💵 Want to sell something? PrettyPay™ lets you spin up a one-click Stripe checkout link and share it anywhere — e-books, courses, downloads, subscriptions, you name it. It all runs through your own domain and brand. Share the link, get paid. No store required. Lite Features ✔️ 🔗 Branded Short Links on Your Own Domain Turn any long URL into a clean, branded short link in seconds. 💰 PrettyPay™ Stripe Checkout Links* Create one-click payment links with Stripe. Share anywhere and start selling instantly. 🔃 301, 302 and 307 Redirects Choose between Permanent (301) and Temporary (302/307) redirects per link. ⚙️ Custom or Auto-Generated Slugs Pick your own slug or let PrettyLinks generate one. Reserved Slug Patterns protect critical WordPress paths from accidental collisions. 🔎 Click & Unique-Click Tracking Every click logged with referrer, IP, browser, OS, and host data. 🤖 Modern Bot Filtering Keep AI crawlers and bots out of your stats out of the box — with Cloudflare bot-header support and your own custom user-agent rules. 🔐 Built-In Privacy Controls IP anonymization and a configurable click-retention window help you stay GDPR-friendly. 📊 Customizable Click Reports Filter charts by date range, link, and unique vs. total clicks. ⬆️⬇️ CSV Import & Export Bulk-import links from a spreadsheet and export click history to CSV anytime — link importing is now free. 🖱️ One-Click Sharing & Copy Copy any link to the clipboard from the links list, the editor, or a Gutenberg block. 💡 Modern Admin Experience A fast, clean React-based admin UI with bulk actions, one-click duplicate, and auto-saving options. … and much more. Visit our site to see everything PrettyLinks can do. * Pro users pay no added processing fees. Free users have a small 3% per-transaction fee added on PrettyPay™ links. PrettyLinks Pro 💪 When you’re ready for more, PrettyLinks Pro adds the automation, advanced redirects, and deeper reporting that power users tend to grow into: Keyword & URL Replacements Map keywords to links and PrettyLinks automatically turns them into your branded links across your site’s content. Advanced Redirect Types Cloaked, JavaScript, Meta-Refresh, Tracking Pixel, and branded Splash Page redirects on top of the standard 301/302/307. Geographic, Device & Time Targeting Send visitors to different destinations based on country, device, browser, OS, day, or hour. Link Rotation & A/B Split Testing Distribute traffic across multiple destinations by weight or round-robin, and split-test which one converts. Expiring Links Set an expiry date or click limit and choose where expired traffic goes. Categories & Tags Organize and filter a large link library with full taxonomy-style grouping. Auto-Create Links for Posts & Pages A pretty link is created automatically every time you publish. Link Health Monitoring Scheduled scans flag broken destinations, with email digests so you can fix them fast. QR Codes Auto-generate a downloadable QR code for every link, with an optional inner logo. Pretty Bar Branding Frame third-party destinations in a branded top, bottom, or floating bar with your CTA. Advanced Reports & Conversions Rich click-history breakdowns, KPI cards, charts, and a conversion-tracking pixel for your thank-you pages. Redirect Turbo Mode Answer link requests before the rest of WordPress loads — built for high-traffic affiliate sites. Pro Add-ons 🧩 Pro plans come with a handful of optional add-ons. Install the ones you need, skip the ones you don’t: Link in Bio — Build customizable “link in bio” landing pages for Instagram, TikTok, and other social profiles, hosted on your own domain. Product Displays — Drop styled, responsive product cards into any post or page to showcase affiliate products. Splash Pages — Show a branded interstitial (with optional CTAs) before forwarding visitors, with a per-link conversion funnel report. UTMs — Build and append Google Analytics UTM parameters from a dedicated tab on the link editor. User Links — A front-end dashboard letting logged-in visitors create and manage their own pretty links. Developer Tools — API tokens and webhooks for integrating PrettyLinks with external systems. See Why Upgrade | Pricing Integrations ⚡ MonsterInsights — Surface PrettyLinks click data inside the MonsterInsights dashboard. CookieYes — Automatic cookie consent compliance for click tracking. Easy Affiliate — Use PrettyLinks as the affiliate link layer in your Easy Affiliate program. Gutenberg & Classic Editor — Native block + toolbar buttons for inserting links inline. What’s Next 🤩 Enjoying PrettyLinks? Check out our other plugins: MemberPress — Full-featured membership and course platform for WordPress with Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize.net support. Easy Affiliate — Run your own self-hosted affiliate program and grow your traffic with referral marketing. Members — Roles and capabilities management plugin for fine-grained access control.