How to Set Up Google Analytics 4 on Your Website (and Check It Works)
You want to know how to set up Google Analytics 4 on your website — create the property, get the G- measurement ID, install it on WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, or a custom site, and confirm it is really counting visitors and form submissions.
Common signs of this issue
- You need to know how to set up Google Analytics 4 because the site has no analytics at all, or nobody remembers who set it up.
- You have an old Universal Analytics ID starting with UA- and no G- measurement ID anywhere.
- Someone asked how many visitors or leads the website brings in and you had no way to answer.
- You launched a new site or switched platforms and the old tracking did not come across.
- Your Analytics account shows a property but no data, or you can't tell whether the code is actually installed.
- You want to count contact form submissions or calls, not just page views.
Safe checks you can do yourself
None of these require sharing passwords with anyone.
- Go to analytics.google.com and sign in with a Google account the business controls — ideally a shared business account, not a former employee's or web designer's personal one. If an account already exists, check Admin first so you don't create a duplicate.
- Create the account and property: in Admin choose Create, then Property. Use your business name, and set the correct time zone and currency, because reports use them for daily totals.
- Add a Web data stream: enter your site address and a name. Leave Enhanced measurement switched on — it automatically records page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, file downloads, and some form interactions.
- Copy the Measurement ID shown on the stream details. It starts with
G-followed by letters and numbers. This is the only piece most website platforms need. - Install it the simplest way your platform allows. Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify each have a built-in Google Analytics or Google integration area where you paste the G- ID or connect your Google account (names and menus change, so check the platform's current help page). On WordPress, the free Site Kit by Google plugin connects Analytics and Search Console by signing in. On a custom site, paste the Google tag snippet from View tag instructions into the
<head>of every page, or add it through Google Tag Manager if you already use it. - Install it once only. If a theme setting, a plugin, and a pasted snippet all load the same ID, every visit is counted twice. Pick one method and remove the others.
- Check it works: open your site in another browser or on your phone, then open Reports, then Realtime in Analytics. Within a minute or so you should appear as an active user and see the page you visited. For more detail, the free Tag Assistant from Google shows whether the tag fires on each page.
- Set up form tracking as a key event (Google renamed conversions to key events). The most reliable method for small sites is a thank-you page: send the form to a page like
/thank-you, then in Admin, then Events, create an event from page views whose page location contains that address and mark it as a key event. - Finish with three quick settings: raise data retention from the default two months to the longest available option, link Search Console in the product links section, and add your office IP as internal traffic so your own visits don't inflate the numbers.
What this usually means
Google Analytics 4 is the only version of Google Analytics still running — the older Universal Analytics stopped collecting data in 2023, and its UA- codes do nothing today. A GA4 setup has three parts: an account (usually your business), a property (your website's reports), and a data stream (the connection to the site, identified by the G- Measurement ID). Most confusion comes from mixing these up, or from the property being owned by a designer or agency who has since moved on.
GA4 counts events rather than sessions and pageviews in the old sense, which is why reports look unfamiliar. For a small business, a handful of numbers are enough: users and sessions by channel (where visitors come from), your most-visited pages, and key events such as form submissions or clicks on your phone number. Setting up key events is the step most sites skip and the one that actually connects the website to leads. Without it, you know how many people visited but not whether any of them contacted you. If leads are the real question, website not getting leads is the next read.
Two things change often, so check the current rules rather than relying on old tutorials. Menu labels in GA4 and on website platforms move around. And privacy rules affect what you can collect: if you have visitors from the European Economic Area or the UK, or work in a regulated field, you may need a cookie consent banner and Google's Consent Mode, and some U.S. states have their own privacy laws. Consent requirements depend on where your visitors are and what you collect, so if you are unsure, get advice rather than guessing. Also expect GA4 to show fewer visitors than your server or host stats — ad blockers and declined cookies mean analytics never catches everyone.
What not to do
- Don't set up Analytics under a web designer's or employee's personal Google account. Use an account the business owns and add others as users.
- Don't install the tag in more than one place. Duplicate tags double-count visits and make every number wrong.
- Don't paste a UA- code from an old setup. Universal Analytics no longer collects data; only G- IDs work.
- Don't judge the setup on day one. Standard reports can take a day or more to fill in; use Realtime to check it is working.
- Don't treat Enhanced measurement form tracking as a lead count. It can record interactions that aren't real submissions, so use a thank-you page key event instead.
When to get help
Most owners can get basic GA4 tracking running in under an hour using a platform integration or Site Kit. It is worth asking for help when the tracking needs to answer real business questions: counting form submissions that don't go to a thank-you page, tracking phone and email clicks, separating paid ad traffic, running through Google Tag Manager, or recovering an Analytics property locked inside someone else's account. It also helps when a consent banner is involved, because a banner configured wrongly can block tracking entirely or collect data you should not be collecting.
Glenn, who runs WebsiteSelfHelp, sets up and checks Google Analytics 4 for small business websites, including key events for forms and calls. Describe your site and what you want to measure and you will get a straightforward answer on what is needed — no passwords required to begin.
Not sure what to do next?
Answer a few short questions and we'll point you to the safest next step — DIY, a freelancer, or a direct review. No passwords required.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set up Google Analytics 4 on my website?
Create a GA4 property at analytics.google.com, add a Web data stream for your site, copy the G- Measurement ID, and add it through your platform's Google integration, the Site Kit plugin on WordPress, or the Google tag snippet. Then confirm it in the Realtime report.
Where do I find my GA4 measurement ID?
In Google Analytics, go to Admin, then Data streams, and click your website stream. The Measurement ID starting with G- is shown at the top of the stream details.
Why is Google Analytics 4 not showing any data?
Most often the tag is not actually on the site, it was added to the wrong property, or it is being blocked by a consent banner or ad blocker. Check the Realtime report while visiting the site yourself. If still nothing, see our guide on Google Analytics not tracking.
How long does it take for GA4 to show data?
Realtime shows visits within a minute or so of installation. Standard reports usually take up to a day or two to populate, so don't judge the setup from them on the first day.
How do I track contact form submissions in GA4?
The simplest reliable method is sending the form to a thank-you page, creating an event for visits to that page in Admin, then Events, and marking it as a key event. Tag Manager can track forms without a thank-you page but takes more setup.
Do I need a cookie banner for Google Analytics?
It depends on where your visitors are and what laws apply. Visitors from the European Economic Area and the UK generally require consent before analytics cookies are set, and some U.S. states have privacy rules too. If you are unsure, get advice for your situation.
Is Google Analytics 4 free?
Yes. The standard version of GA4 is free for websites of any size a small business would have. There is a paid enterprise tier, but small businesses do not need it.