How to install GoatCounter on Windows 10

Introduction

GoatCounter is an open-source web analytics platform that can be used to track page views, clicks, and other user interactions on your website. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the steps for installing GoatCounter on Windows 10.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure that you have the following:

• Windows 10 installed on your computer.
• A web server installed, such as Apache or IIS.
• PHP installed on your web server with cURL support enabled.
• A GoatCounter account.

Steps

1. Download the GoatCounter package from the official website (https://www.goatcounter.com/download).
2. Extract the contents of the zip file to a directory on your web server. For example, you might create a new directory called "goatcounter" in your web server's document root directory (e.g., C:\inetpub\wwwroot\goatcounter).
3. Configure the GoatCounter settings. Open the config.php file in a text editor and update the following settings:

$goatcounter_options = [
    'code'       => '', // Enter your GoatCounter code here
    'url'        => '', // Enter your website URL here
    'nocookie'   => false, // Set to true if you want to disable cookies
    'allow_ips'  => [], // Set to an array of IP addresses that should be excluded from tracking
    'timezone'   => '+00:00', // Enter your website's timezone here
    'cloudflare' => false, // Set to true if you are using Cloudflare
];

4. Obtain your GoatCounter code. Log in to your GoatCounter account and create a new counter. Copy the code provided by GoatCounter and paste it into the 'code' field in the config.php file.
5. Save the config.php file.
6. Enable cURL support on your web server's PHP installation. If you are using Apache, you can do this by editing the php.ini file and uncommenting the line that enables cURL support (e.g., remove the semi-colon before the line that says extension=php_curl.dll). If you are using IIS, you will need to enable cURL support through the Server Manager.
7. Test your installation by navigating to the GoatCounter dashboard in your web browser. For example, if you installed GoatCounter in a directory called "goatcounter" on your web server, you would navigate to http://localhost/goatcounter.
8. If you see data in the dashboard, congratulations! You have successfully installed GoatCounter on your Windows 10 machine.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have shown you how to install GoatCounter on Windows 10. By following these steps, you can track page views, clicks, and other user interactions on your website using GoatCounter.

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