Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

How to Track Download WordPress Without Plugin

When running a WordPress website, it's important to keep track of how many times your download links are being clicked. This information can help you understand how popular your content is and what your audience is more interested in. Although many people might assume that tracking downloads on WordPress would require a plugin, there is another way to do it without adding any new plugins to your website. Here's how:

Step 1: Create a Download Link

Before you can track the number of downloads, you need to create a download link that points to a file hosted on your website. You can do this by adding a link in your post or page using HTML code. The code should look like this:

<a href="http://YourFileURL.com" target="_blank">Download</a>

Make sure to replace "YourFileURL" with the actual URL of your file. You can also replace "Download" with any text you want to display as the link.

Step 2: Modify the Link

Now that you have your download link, you need to modify it by adding a tracking script to it. This script will record the number of times the link is clicked and send this data to your website's database. To do this, you need to modify your link code like this:

<a href="http://YourFileURL.com" target="_blank" onClick="ga('send', 'event', 'Download', 'Click', 'Your FileName');">Download</a>

The only difference between this code and the previous one is the addition of the "onClick" attribute, which triggers the tracking script. You will also need to replace "Your FileName" with the name of your file for more accurate tracking.

Step 3: View Your Reports

Now that you have added the tracking script to your download link, you need to view the reports. Luckily, Google Analytics does this for you. Log in to your Google Analytics account and go to Behavior > Events > Overview. You should see a report that shows you how many times your download link has been clicked, when it was clicked, and other useful information.

Conclusion

Tracking downloads on WordPress is essential for website owners who want to know how their content is performing. Although there are many plugins available that can do this for you, adding another plugin to your website can slow it down and increase security risks. Instead, follow the above steps to add a tracking script to your download link and view your reports in Google Analytics.