Webflow launches Analyze, a native analytics tool integrated within the web development platform, Webflow.
Why? How does it work? And what do we think of this feature? Let's explore this together in this new article.
1. Introduction
To optimize your site's performance, generate reports, or just stay motivated, it's essential to collect and visualize data on your site's visitor behavior.
Currently, there are several tools available for this purpose, such as Google Analytics, which needs no introduction, or Hotjar, which allows you to visualize user behavior.
However, integrating these tools often requires code and sometimes even the assistance of a developer. Once integrated, these tools can be underutilized due to their complexity or simply forgotten because they are not easily accessible. (Yes, a few extra clicks to log into a third-party platform can be enough to hinder usage!)
For all these reasons, Webflow introduces this year a simplified, native analytics tool integrated into the platform: Analyze.
2. Webflow Analyze 2024
Once the option is activated, the tool is accessible from your Webflow dashboard. From this interface, you can:
- Enable default tracking for all your visitors
- Enable tracking in compliance with GDPR specifications through opt-out
- Disable tracking
All with a simple button.
Once tracking is activated, your site will begin collecting data, which you can visualize in various ways.
2.1 Key Features of Webflow Analyze:
Webflow Analyze offers two preview modes to analyze your site's performance:
2.1.1 Webflow Analyze Application Mode
From this interface, accessible directly from your Webflow dashboard, you can:
- View overall data for your website, such as total traffic, most visited pages, and the country and language of your visitors.
- Select a specific page to access detailed data relevant to that page.
And this targeted mode is also directly accessible from your page, within the designer.
2.1.2 Page "Snapshot" Mode
This mode provides a quick overview of the current page’s performance, including:
- The number of clicks. (To generate click event labels, Analyze first checks the internal text of the clicked element)
- Previously or subsequently visited pages (static or dynamic pages).
In both modes, you can apply filters to refine your analysis:
- Time Period: Filter by date.
- Devices: Filter by device type (desktop, mobile, tablet)
⚠️ Every click on a button, link, or form is tracked. Currently, it is not possible to disable tracking for a button. Therefore, if you do not wish to track cookies, for example, replace them with Webflow Custom Elements.
In short, a set of features that enables you to better understand user behavior in order to optimize your website accordingly.
But... at what cost?
The Cost of Webflow Analyze
Webflow Analyze is available as an add-on for Basic, CMS, and Business site plans, with pricing based on the number of monthly sessions, starting at $29 per month for 10,000 sessions. For +100k visitors/month, Webflow Analyze becomes an Enterprise feature.
An Alternative to Google Analytics? Our Thoughts.
Pros:
- Webflow transforms into an all-in-one Digital Experience Platform, where everything can be controlled, from development to evolution, including analytics and optimization. Love it.
- For the long-term sustainability of the tool, it is reassuring to see that Webflow successfully integrated the acquisition of Intelimize last year, a revenue-generating system.
- A well-targeted product for marketing teams that may not have dedicated human resources (data analysts), allowing them to easily grasp essential data.
- (Bonus) The use of color coding to differentiate dynamic pages from static pages.
Cons:
- The absence of a dual pricing model is disappointing, with no limited free version and an advanced paid version.
- It's an initial version that should improve. What about adding the option to exclude certain elements from tracking? (e.g., Cookies)
Webflow Analyze positions itself as a simplified data solution compared to more advanced tools, providing a solid foundation for understanding user behavior and optimizing your site for marketing teams without dedicated Data Analysts for websites.
And speaking of optimization, Webflow also launched Optimize, a solution that combines A/B testing and AI to rapidly enhance your site's performance on Webflow. Features that we will explore in an upcoming video. So to ensure you don't miss any updates, don't forget to subscribe to our Newsletter.
