Google Analytics

Google Analytics has a hidden feature called exception tracking. It collects error messages from a website’s front end or back end (or from an app) so you can analyze them. Here’s an example from my recent project. When a user fills out a form and submits it, I validate the information they entered. If they forgot to fill in a field, the error message is sent to GA. Afterward, I check how many times that error message appeared in GA. To some extent, this can suggest whether the interface design is poor and causing users to skip that field. ...

Every time you redesign your website or run an experiment, your Google Analytics data changes. For example, the bounce rate might go up. You may remember the reason for a big change in traffic or data for a short while. But if a year goes by, can you still remember why? Just as code needs comments, Google Analytics has a built-in annotation feature that lets you write notes on specific dates. That way, when you read your reports, you’ll understand what happened to cause the change in traffic! ...