In the previous article, I looked at Matomo, what it is and what it does.
https://magazine.joomla.org/all-issues/february-2023/web-analytics-alternative-to-google-analytics-matomo

There were several pros and cons that we went through and the costs were made clear. In this follow up I will go through the resources that are available to use Matomo as either a self-hosting package or a cloud package.

Before I get to the how-to, one point that was raised in the comments section of my last article was this from Semaphore:

Matomo self-hosted has another drawback

Hi,
We have many Matomo for years and one of the main "issue" is the load on the server / slow rendering of data, even on a nice VM.

It is a good point being made here, that although you can install the self-hosting for free it can take up a lot of resources and so is another cost that has to be taken into consideration when choosing between self-hosting and cloud solutions.

How to install Matomo self-hosting

There are many resources available but after reviewing a fair few, the best are from Matomo themselves.

https://matomo.org/guide/installation-maintenance/matomo-on-premise-self-hosted/ - 4 min video

If you would like to see a transcript of the video you can find it here.

https://matomo.org/faq/videos/video-how-to-install-matomo-analytics-using-self-hosted/

For the full installation process, you can go to
https://matomo.org/faq/on-premise/installing-matomo/
Where they have the links to download it and all that you need to get you going.

And another guide from a different source
https://serveravatar.com/set-up-self-hosted-matomo-analytics-on-cloud-with-serveravatar/

For those using AWS servers, this is a great resource
https://matomo.org/faq/on-premise/how-to-deploy-matomo-in-aws-cloud/

Getting Started

Before you get started, ensure that you have the following:

• A web server shared hosting or dedicated server.
• Access to your web server (via shell or FTP)
• A FTP Client (if you are installing Matomo on a remote server)

The requirements are set out here
https://matomo.org/faq/on-premise/matomo-requirements/

It would be great to hear from others that have installed Matomo in the past to find out what experiences you have had so that your valuable knowledge can be passed on to others.
Just post your experience in the comments section below.

How to install Matomo cloud

Matomo Cloud is simple to set up, you can start tracking right away and they take care of the hosting for you.

You get access to all Matomo features, automatic software updates, and free customer support.

You have full control and ownership of your data.
The Matomo team takes care of all maintenance, update, security, backups, and support.

Here is the main installation video

https://matomo.org/faq/videos/video-how-to-install-matomo-analytics-using-cloud-hosted/ - video for cloud-hosted and transcript underneath

And a specific Joomla installation page, hurrah!
https://matomo.org/faq/new-to-piwik/how-do-i-install-the-matomo-analytics-tracking-code-on-joomla/

There is even a free, yes free, Joomla 3 and Joomla 4 compatible plugin in the Joomla extensions directory.

https://extensions.joomla.org/extension/itcs-matomo/

What next for Matomo?

So if that's encouraged you to give an alternative to Google Analytics a go, then this article and the previous one were well worth researching and writing. But your feedback is extremely valuable, so why not add comments below?
If we find there is enough of a Matomo community on Joomla then perhaps it would be worth making a Mattermost channel for Matomo users and feeding back your experiences into the Joomla community.