I have been meaning to write a review on Woopra for some time, but wanted to try out Woopra for a while first to ensure I got more of an in depth experience whilst looking through the web statistics. It’s not easy for any stats package to get much attention with the likes of Google Analytics (which I currently use) to contend with, especially since most web statistics packages require the user to embed tracking code into sites which can impact page load times and is another stepping stone for integration. However I started to hear rumours there was a new kid in town by the name of Woopra and decided to give it a chance. I proceeded to set it up on this blog and another e-commerce site for a varied user base.

Live Statistics

One thing which stood out straight away using Woopra over other analytics packages was the ability to view live statistics from actual users on the site. I have to say I was a little pessimistic about this feature, having used similar features in the past. I was expecting, inaccurate details, delays and it being riddled with bot visits which would dilute the overall detail. To my surprise it was quite the opposite. I accessed the site from several locations using various devices, browsers and OS’s, then tracked my movements through the sites. Each time, it managed to detect my exact entry point to the site, the referrer I used (including the search engine search term) as well as my exact OS and browser. As soon as I started using this feature my mind was full of ideas where this feature could be a benefit to a website. My first reaction was that I could use Woopra to quickly identify bottlenecks in a system. By watching the flow of users through a site live, I could see any issues on a granular level. This could be very beneficial if you have changed a stage in a process, for example introduced or altered a stage in the checkout process. This feature will allow you to identify such areas quickly on a per user bases and could even be integrated with customer support to get more detail from the user allowing you to offer a better service at a time of need. You can offer a very proactive approach to usability and navigation by using such a feature.

Analytics Reporting

Looking through the quality of the statistics Woopra gathered through the live user tools as well as the historic analytic reports I was very impressed by the level of detail offered by Woopra. I did not see any evidence of bot contamination in my visit stats. I compared some of the analytical data Woopra had collected over a given time period with Google Analytics. I noticed that there were concerning differences in the details. To cross check both these I examined the actual access logs on the server to quickly identify which system was more accurate for example, by looking at the number of unique agents, visits and referrers. To my surprise the analytics seemed to favour Woopra in some cases although not all. There were areas of concern I noticed in Woopra particularly relating to the source by IP of the visitors. Although IP by Country seemed fine, I wasn’t confident that the IP to City locations were accurate and hence this affected some features which heavily integrated such data. Woopra had confirmed though the IP database being used in the beta program was being replaced and the current solution was temporary included due to financial constraints :

“We’re working up upgrading the IP address system. To save money, we went with an older, free version.” (twitter.com/woopra)

There were some differences where Google Analytics offered some data that Woopra doesn’t. However what I must say is where Woopra offered the same information as Google Analytics, I personally think Woopra presents the data in a more concise, detailed and purposeful manner. I started to find I had more interaction with the statistics offered on Woopra which allowed me to see some of the collected data in new ways. The level of detail shown particularly around referring domains and search terms in Woopra is excellent. You can instantly see a visual representation on a search phrase with the graphical detail helping you identify patterns and trends quickly. However there are areas which I didn’t test in much detail and that was based around PPC campaigns and such. It would be interesting to see what dedicated SEO specialists think of Woopra where PPC is heavily integrated into analytical campaigns.

Desktop Application & User Interaction

Analytics aside I was also very impressed with the desktop application to which I was using to retrieve statistics from my sites. The application is fast, well designed and offers a broad range of tools and filters which you can use to customise and extract data with. Since I have installed Woopra on my desktop I have actually found it to be quite addictive. It’s so accessible and easy to interact with I found myself constantly switching back and forth to find out more information.

Customer Feedback

As I have been testing Woopra out as part of the Beta program, I have been tweeting some of my finds on twitter. What impressed me was Woopra’s dedication to respond. I can confidently say that pretty much every tweet I mentioned, I had a direct response from @woopra with a constructive answer. This to me shows great product support and commitment by Woopra to make a strong product even stronger. This feedback and interaction process could really help Woopra get into a good market position quickly and I’m sure will also help the product develop into something the users really want.

Overall

To conclude this review, I was overall very impressed with Woopra. I would highly recommend anyone using or considering web statistic packages trying this out! The only issue I have left before fully committing to this package relates to the fact that this product is in beta and the final package price to my knowledge has not yet been released. Hopefully by spreading the word this could help reduce the price as I certainly want to carry on using Woopra. Watch this space, I think Woopra is going to be around for a good while!

Please feel free to add your comments to this post, I appreciate all feedback.

To find out more visit : http://www.woopra.com/

You can also follow Woopra on twitter at http://twitter.com/woopra