I wrote a while back about moving on from the Jetpack plugin because we only used a few features and the fact they were starting to charge for one of the two features we used. We’ve started using a plugin to replace Jetpack Stats and can say the transition is now complete. We’ll no longer install Jetpack on sites by default.

We generally install Google Analytics on every site we build – most clients are keen on tracking that data and it’s good for deep, long term, robust analytics. But sometimes you just want to see the clicks… For over a decade that meant we added the Jetpack plugin to get access to Jetpack Stats.

Jetpack Stats began its journey as “WordPress.com Stats” back in 2006, created by Automattic as a way to bring simple analytics to WordPress sites. It was one of the first features integrated into the WordPress.com platform and became incredibly popular among WordPress users. In 2011, Automattic bundled this functionality, along with several other WordPress.com features, into what we now know as Jetpack.

The Problem with Jetpack

Jetpack remained a staple in our web design toolset for a long time – it offers a wide range of features and we couldn’t replicate the quick and easy stats that it offered. But over time several drawbacks have become obvious:

1. Performance: The numerous modules and features can slow down a site, even when only using one or two modules
2. Resources: Even if only using Stats, the core framework is loaded on every page, as well as CSS and Javascript resources
3. Complexity: Turning off modules in Jetpack is slightly more time consuming that a simple install and activate of Koko analytics
4. WordPress.com dependency: Asking a client to set up Jetpack with their own account was more cumbersome than just setting it up with our Spigot account. We now have hundreds of websites connected to us on WordPress.com just for the stats connection. Koko is much simpler and doesn’t have such dependencies.
5. Cost: This was the final nail: Automattic no longer offers Stats for free, and given the market, isn’t worth the cost.

Hello Koko

Koko Analytics offers a simple alternative with a many added benefits, and aligns with our shifting priorities with modern web development principals:

Privacy-First

Unlike Jetpack, Koko processes the data on-site without sending information to external services. This makes it GDPR compliant from the start and eliminates privacy concerns with third-party analytics services. Given that we normall also install Google Analytics, this feature is muted, but for those most concerned about privacy, this is helpful. And I imagine one day we may stop adding GA by default.

Lightweight and Fast

Koko is incredibly lightweight, coming in under 400kb. Why is this important? Because lighter is better. Faster is faster.

Easy to Read Interface

Not that Jetpack Stats were hard to read and understand, but Koko is straight forward:

Koko presents your site statistics in a clean, intuitive dashboard that shows the essential metrics:

• Pageview counts
• Referrer tracking
• Most popular content

Conclusion

While Jetpack remains a powerful tool for WordPress sites needing its full feature set, our transition to Koko Analytics has proven to be a wise decision for our specific needs. We’re hoping to simplify a lot of what we do, and this migration to Koko Analytics has given us everything we need without the overhead of unused features.

For site owners primarily interested in traffic statistics, consider Koko Analytics as a lightweight, privacy-focused alternative to Jetpack. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and it’s FREE – making it an excellent choice for modern WordPress websites.