Website Statistics

[Lance_david]

Do we have any way to track the performance of cityofvallejo.net or vallejo.gov website? If yes, how can I access them?

[nicolebond]

Yes — you can track those sites. Here’s how to check what’s already being tracked and how to get (or add) useful website & app performance statistics — including specific notes for PowerSchool Mobile Family links or app usage.

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1) First: see if analytics already exist (quick checks you can do)

• Ask the site owner / IT / webmaster for: Google Analytics (GA4) property access, Google Search Console access, and any hosting / CDN account (Cloudflare, Akamai, S3/CloudFront, IIS/Azure/AWS) credentials.

• If you have site admin access, check the site source for a tracking tag:

  • Look for G-XXXXXXXXXX (GA4) or UA-XXXXXX (Universal Analytics) or gtag.js / analytics.js.

  • Or look for a Google Tag Manager snippet (GTM-XXXXX).

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2) If analytics exist — how to access them

• Google Analytics (GA4): go to analytics.google.com, sign in with the Google account that has access, pick the correct property. Key reports:

  • Realtime → to see users now

  • Reports → Life cycle → Engagement → Pages and screens (for pageviews, users)

  • Reports → Life cycle → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition (where visitors come from)

• Universal Analytics (old): Behavior → Site Content → All Pages; Acquisition → All Traffic → Source/Medium.

• Google Search Console: performance (search queries, impressions, CTR), coverage (indexing errors).

• Cloudflare / CDN dashboards: requests, bandwidth, threats, cached vs. origin requests, HTTP error breakdowns.

• Server logs / AWStats / Webalizer: raw traffic, error codes, user agents, geography (if no GA).

• Application / APM tools (if used): New Relic, Datadog, AppDynamics — show server-side errors, response times, slow transactions.

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3) If nothing is installed — recommended baseline setup

1. Install GA4 (site-wide) — easiest via Google Tag Manager (GTM) if site uses it.

   • Create a GA4 property, add the GA4 tag to the site, then verify with Tag Assistant.

2. Set up Google Search Console for each domain (cityofvallejo.net and vallejo.gov) — verify ownership (DNS, HTML file, or meta tag).

3. Enable server logging and configure AWStats or push logs to a centralized logging/analytics tool if you want raw log insight.

4. Add Core Web Vitals monitoring:

   • Use PageSpeed Insights / Lighthouse for lab metrics.

   • Use Chrome UX Report (if eligible) or set up Real User Monitoring in an APM.

5. Privacy / consent: ensure cookie consent is in place if collecting analytics for visitors in jurisdictions requiring consent.

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4) Metrics you should track (especially for PowerSchool Mobile Family)

• Traffic & users: users, new users, sessions, pageviews

• Device: mobile vs. desktop (PowerSchool Mobile Family will be mobile-heavy)

• Pages: which pages link to PowerSchool Mobile Family or contain enrollment/forms

• Referrals: where visitors come from (email, social, other domains)

• Engagement: average session duration, engagement rate (GA4), bounce rate (UA)

• Performance: page load time, time to first byte (TTFB), Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID/INP, CLS)

• Errors: 4xx/5xx rates, script errors

• Conversions: form submissions, application completions, clicks on PowerSchool Mobile Family links

• App metrics (PowerSchool Mobile Family app): installs, active users, retention, crashes — these come from app analytics (Firebase / App Store / Google Play Console)

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5) Tracking the PowerSchool Mobile Family specifically

• If you want to know how many visitors use links to the PowerSchool Mobile Family (or click a banner):

  • Add a GA4 event for those link clicks (via GTM) and/or tag links with UTM parameters.

• For the mobile app itself:

  • App analytics live in Firebase / Google Analytics for Firebase or in Apple App Analytics / Google Play Console. Those show installs, retention, crashes, device breakdown.

  • If you don’t control the app, ask the team that manages PowerSchool Mobile Family for app analytics access or reports.

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6) How to get access — who to ask & sample email

• Who to contact: the site owner, City IT department, web team, or the hosting vendor. If the site is a government site, the Webmaster or IT Director usually has access.

• Sample email to request access:

Subject: Request for analytics access — cityofvallejo.net / vallejo.gov

Hi [Name],

Can you grant me access to the website analytics for cityofvallejo.net and vallejo.gov? Specifically:

• Google Analytics (GA4) property (viewer or analyst)

• Google Search Console access

• Any CDN/hosting dashboards (Cloudflare / AWS / Azure / IIS logs)

I need these to monitor performance, Core Web Vitals, and to track usage of PowerSchool Mobile Family links. If you don’t have GA4 set up, please let me know and I can help set up a basic GA4 property and tagging via Google Tag Manager.

Thanks,
[Your name / role / contact info]

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7) Quick troubleshooting / one-off tests (no access needed)

• Run PageSpeed Insights for each domain to see performance and Core Web Vitals.

• Use Lighthouse in Chrome DevTools for audits (performance, accessibility, best practices).

• Use curl -I or an HTTP checker to see server response headers and status codes.