Setting Up Google Analytics … Tag Manager, MonsterInsights, or …?

I’ve been trying to implment Analytics on a site for a very long time… Using GTM, I just can’t find a way to do it.

Finally gave up and installed MonsterInsights and bam, up and running in minutes.

In your opinion, can both be used? Or is there really supossed to be a way to install GA on a site using only GTM?

Got this answer from someone on Reddit:

What’s the problem you were having with GTM? I would guess that it was on the GTM side of things – their interface sucks and is hard to get used to.

The tracking code for both GTM and GA is a cinch.

If you’re just doing analytics and nothing else, don’t use GTM – it’s overkill. Just use the GA tracking code. Put the code in the footer.php file of your theme or child theme.

Monster Insights will work until it doesn’t – it will cause a large amount of server overhead on your site that will slow your site down eventually. I don’t recommend it.

 

My concern about adding the GA code directly to theme (vs plugin) is if the theme updates and wipes out my GA installation, I won’t know about it and could lose data.The answer is to use a WordPress child theme or a GA plugin 

Plugins should port over, and child themes shouldn’t overwrite your GA installation.