Google Analytics – Migrating to Google Analytics (GA4)

Until July 1, 2023, you will be able to use and collect any new data in your Universal Analytics (UA) property. After that date, data will no longer collect in the Universal Analytics accounts and there will be a limited time to view and retrieve that data from that date forward. This document will walk you through the process of converting your Universal Analytics property to a Google Analytics 4 (GA4) property.

Summary

On July 1, 2023, Google Analytics will stop using the standard Universal Analytics function to track data for your website. If you are still using Universal Analytics, it is recommended that you prepare to use Google Analytics 4 going forward. A Universal Analytics tracking code begins with a UA- (for example, UA-12345678-1). Depending on the service and tracking functionality, you will want to create a Google Analytics 4 (GA4) property and update to this new measurement ID. A GA4 property ID begins with G- (for example, G-123456789).

Set up a Google Analytics 4 property

Your first step in this process is to set up Google Analytics 4 to begin collecting data in that property. To start, log in to your correct account at https://google.com/analytics/, and choose the correct existing property that you want to update. Once you have access to it, click the gear icon for Admin actions in the lower left portion of the screen.

In the Property column, click the GA4 Setup Assistant option.
In the next screen, click Get Started under the option for “I want to create a new Google Analytics 4 property”
In the next screen, click Create property
Click Go to your GA4 property. This will open a new window.
In the new window, click Data Streams in the left column
Click the account that you just created to access the necessary ID value
On the right, click on the copy icon for the Measurement ID. This is the value you will need to update in your WordPress site.

Updating your CALS WordPress site to your GA4 property

The following instructions are for those that use one of our two supported CALS WordPress themes. Once you have your Measurement ID, return to your WordPress site and log into the admin dashboard area.

Hover your mouse over Appearance and click the Customize option
Click Analytics
In the Google Analytics field, paste in the GA4 Measurement ID value for your Google Analytics 4 property.
To activate this, click the Publish button at the top.

Please note: Once you publish this change to your site, data will not be tracked to your Universal Analytics property and will instead update to your Google Analytics 4 property. It can also sometimes take up to 24 hours for data to begin showing up in your Google Analytics dashboard.

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Creating a tag for GA4 in Google Tag Manager

To update your Google Tag Manager with your new analytics property, make certain to still have your Measurement ID for your Google Analytics 4 property.

Navigate to Google Tag Manager – https://tagmanager.google.com/
Log in using the administrator account
Click the Tags on the left
Click New at the top right of your tags section
In the upper left, give this new tag a name (ie. Google Analytics 4 Tag)
Click in to the Tag Configuration section
Choose the Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration option
Paste in your Measurement ID in the appropriate field
Click into the Triggering section
Choose All Pages as the trigger
Click Save in the upper right to update the changes to this tag
To publish these changes to your Tag Manager, click the Submit button in the upper right corner and follow through the steps.

** adapted from WiscWeb Documentation: https://kb.wisc.edu/wiscwebcms/page.php?id=118498