Should I track client-side or server-side?
Client-side vs server-side tracking: the short answer
For most products, both, split by event. Server-side tracking is accurate and escapes ad blockers, so use it for signups, purchases and activations. Client-side tracking captures clicks, page views and UTM data with little engineering work, but can lose up to 20% of events to blockers. A hybrid gives you both.
Client-side vs server-side tracking, in detail
It depends on what matters most to your business.
Track client-side if you want rich, detailed user interaction data and don't want to spend engineering effort on setup. You'll get real-time insights into clicks, page views, and user behavior out of the box. The tradeoff: you could lose up to 20% of your data to ad blockers and privacy tools.
Track server-side if data accuracy and site performance are your priority. You'll avoid ad-blocker data loss entirely and improve loading times, but you won't capture client-side metadata like UTM parameters or browser info without extra work.
Go hybrid if you want both. Track your core events-signups, purchases, activations-server-side to keep your heartbeat metrics reliable, then track everything else client-side. You'll preserve behavioral insights while ensuring you don't miss entire user segments. This is more complex to set up, but it's the best balance.
Client-side vs server-side tracking: where this answer comes from
Client-side vs server-side tracking: further reading
Other questions Ansh has answered
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