Adding Google Analytics to your Vue.js SPA

Google Analytics can be great if you want to know how your application is being used. Often with single-page applications though, it’s trickier to get proper screen view analytics and hook into events directly due to the odd API of the official Google Analytics package. However, there is a vue-ua package available that automates much of the complication for you and allows you to integrate Google Analytics into your Vue.js app with ease.

Installation

vue-ua can be installed via. Yarn or NPM:

# Yarn
$ yarn add vue-ua -D

# NPM
$ npm install vue-ua --save-dev

Setup

Initialize vue-ua in your app by importing the plugin and enabling it with the required configuration parameters. Note that vue-ua only supports app tracking, not web tracking.

If you’re using vue-router, you can add it to the vue-ua config in order to automatically track route views as screen views in GA.

import VueAnalytics from 'vue-ua'
import VueRouter from 'vue-router'
...
// If you're using vue-router and want route integration, create your routes before enabling vue-ua.
const router = new VueRouter({
  routes
})

Vue.use(VueAnalytics, {
  // [Required] The name of your app as specified in Google Analytics.
  appName: '<app_name>',
  // [Required] The version of your app.
  appVersion: '<app_version>',
  // [Required] Your Google Analytics tracking ID.
  trackingId: '<your_tracking_id>',
  // If you're using vue-router, pass the router instance here.
  vueRouter: router,

  // Global Dimensions and Metrics can optionally be specified.
  globalDimensions: [
    { dimension: 1, value: 'FirstDimension' },
    { dimension: 2, value: 'SecondDimension' }
    // Because websites are only 2D, obviously. WebGL? What's that?
  ],

  globalMetrics: [
    { metric: 1, value: 'MyMetricValue' },
    { metric: 2, value: 'AnotherMetricValue' }
  ]
})

Sending Data

In your components, you can track events, screen views, and exceptions with ease. You also can use the same methods globally anywhere in your app by importing Vue and accessing Vue.analytics.

Tracking Events:

// Component Usage
this.$ua.trackEvent(
  eventCategory: string, eventAction: string, eventLabel: string, eventValue: number
)

// Global Usage
Vue.analytics.trackEvent(
  eventCategory: string, eventAction: string, eventLabel: string, eventValue: number
)

Tracking Screen Views:

// Component Usage
this.$ua.trackView(routeName: string)

// Global Usage
Vue.analytics.trackView(routeName: string)

Tracking Exceptions:

// Component Usage
this.$ua.trackException(description: string, isFatal: boolean)

// Global Usage
Vue.analytics.trackException(description: string, isFatal: boolean)

Change the Language:

// languageCode is any valid IETF language tag.

// Component Usage
this.$ua.changeSessionLanguage(languageCode: string)

// Global Usage
Vue.analytics.changeSessionLanguage(languageCode: string)

You now have all the tools you need to collect data on everything your users do in your Vue.js SPA. Enjoy the unlimited power!