Not everything is easier with WordPress(.org). I wanted to install Google Analytics on Maskil (it’s what I use to track my “legacy†Blogger blogs), but Google doesn’t provide a WordPress Plugin to manage the installation of the code on your blog. I had a look at the instructions for a “manual†install, and didn’t like what I saw:
Instructions for adding tracking
New Tracking Code (ga.js) Legacy Tracking Code (urchin.js)
Copy the following code block into every webpage you want to track immediately before the </body> tag.
If your site has dynamic content you can use a common include or a template.
While I can cope with copying and pasting snippets of HTML, etc., I’m very reluctant to get into customising the code directly in this way. Management of this copy ‘n paste coding becomes an issue over time, and I’d prefer to have a clear path to apply WP and theme upgrades without breaking anything.
I searched for 3rd-party WordPress Plugins for Google Analytics and came up with a few, but didn’t want to have to do a comparative analysis of them (in addition, the top SERP result hadn’t been updated in about 18 months and had some documented issues). I also have in my head various half-remembered warnings about untested 3rd-party plugins bringing your site down, or too many plugins slowing it to a crawl.
What to do? Fortunately, this forum thread gave me the clue. I had a look at my Thesis Options panel and, sure enough, found a “Stats Software and Scripts/Footer Scripts†field. Pasted the code in there, clicked on the B/A Save Button, and now we just wait for the reporting to start updating.…
