How to Show Real Time Online Users in WordPress (Step-by-Step Guide)

Want to display the number of users online on your WordPress site?

Monitoring real-time visitors gives you crucial insights into traffic sources, popular content, engagement levels, and more.

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll compare methods to show live user count, both in your WordPress dashboard and publicly on your site‘s frontend.

By the end, you‘ll have the analytics you need to spot opportunities and optimize content for higher conversions.

Why Track Real Time Users on WordPress Sites?

76% of site owners say understanding visitor behavior is their top analytics priority [1]. Real-time tracking uncovers:

✅ Traffic spikes from social campaigns, email newsletters, etc.

✅ Peak site activity times to guide content scheduling

✅ Individual web page popularity with visitors

✅ Referral traffic sources driving the most users

✅ User engagement levels for time-limited promotions

For example, an 8% increase in visitor count on Black Friday can signal received emails are converting. Or that your seasonal homepage redesign is attracting users from Google searches.

Without real-time analytics, these opportunities can be missed.

Benefits of Real-Time User Tracking

Site owners overwhelmingly agree, real-time data leads to higher growth and revenues [2].

Now let‘s compare methods to enable live user tracking for your WordPress site.

Method 1 – Show Real Time Users in WordPress Dashboard

The most popular real-time analytics plugin for WordPress is MonsterInsights.

Used on over 2 million websites, it‘s the best way to connect Google Analytics and unlock dashboard reports. Their Pro plan is recommended by industry experts for its powerful features:

With MonsterInsights Pro you get:

✅ Real-time reports

✅ Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics support

✅ Enhanced ecommerce tracking

✅ Form and scroll tracking

✅ Page-level analytics

✅ Advertising insights

Step 1 – Install MonsterInsights

MonsterInsights installs just like any other WordPress plugin:

1. Navigate to Plugins > Add New
2. Search for MonsterInsights
3. Install the plugin
4. Activate MonsterInsights

Once enabled, click Launch Setup Wizard on the welcome screen.

Alternatively, navigate to Insights > Settings and select Get started.

Step 2 – Connect Google Analytics

Paste your Google Analytics tracking ID when prompted:

• For Universal Analytics, use the UA code
• For GA4 properties, provide the measurement ID

The wizard will automatically set up the plugin for your account.

Tip: Ensure blocking add-ons like uBlock Origin are disabled, or tracking issues can occur.

Step 3 – View Real-Time Reports

To display real-time statistics, go to:

Insights > Reports > Real-Time

MonsterInsights will show:

• Active Users
• Pageviews Per Minute
• Top Pages
• Traffic Sources
• Countries
• and more

The reports update continuously, so you get a live view of important metrics.

This allows quick identification of opportunities to boost conversions.

For example, you may spot an Instagram Story is driving above-average traffic and double down by creating more Stories focused on popular content.

Method 2 – Display Real Time Users on Website Frontend

Showing live user count publicly can increase engagement and urgency by displaying your site‘s active popularity. Visitors see real people using the site.

The WP UserOnline plugin makes adding a front-facing visitor counter easy:

With WP UserOnline you can:

✅ Embed live user count anywhere with a shortcode

✅ Add real-time widgets in sidebars / footers

✅ Customize thedisplay with styles and positioning

✅ Show visitors by page or overall count

Step 1 – Install WP UserOnline

1. Go to Plugins > Add New
2. Search for WP UserOnline
3. Install the WP UserOnline plugin
4. Click Activate to enable

A new UserOnline menu will appear in your WP dashboard.

Step 2 – Configure Settings

Under the UserOnline menu, visit Settings to customize:

• Timeout lengths before a user is considered offline

• Output template styling

• Page to display online users list

• and more

Use defaults or tweak as desired.

Step 3 – Embed User Count

Add a [page_useronline] shortcode to pages, posts, or widgets where you want live stats shown.

For example, on an "About Us" page to demonstrate site activity.

The shortcode will embed styled user count data from settings.

Step 4 – View Visitor Count

Visit pages with shortcode to validate counter works.

Numbers should update regularly as active users change.

Pro Tip: Add multiple counters with different designs to experiment across site sections.

WP UserOnline is a popular real-time analytics extension. Display counters publicly to intrigue visitors!

Method 3: View Real-Time Analytics in Google

While MonsterInsights provides the key real-time data directly in WordPress, sometimes it helps to directly access your Google Analytics property for additional insight.

Compare Your Google Analytics Versions

All MonsterInsights users have access to standard real-time reports in both Google Analytics platforms:

Plus GA4 introduces new metrics as the next generation of analytics.

So leverage both options to unlock extra context when needed!

View Real-Time Data in Google Analytics 4

Your GA4 property features streamlined modern reports.

To see real-time visitors:

1. Click into the Reports section

2. Select Realtime on the left

3. Monitor active users and behaviors

     GA4 updates reports constantly without needing page refreshes.

View Real-Time Data in Universal Analytics

Universal Analytics powers traditional analytics.destinations.

To access:

1. Click into Real-Time on the left navigation

2. Select Overview

3. Your real-time report loads

     Useful for comparing historical vs current visit metrics.

Leverage both GA platforms to validate and expand on MonsterInsights dashboard figures.

Summarizing WordPress Real-Time User Tracking

Here are the key takeaways around enabling live visitor analytics:

• Use MonsterInsights for real-time reports directly in WordPress

• Display counters with WP UserOnline to show engagement publicly

• Cross-check data in Google Analytics properties

Understanding who is on your site in real-time is invaluable for maximizing opportunities and revenue.

So install a dashboard analytics plugin, consider adding a front-facing counter, and explore reports in Google.

Now you have the tools to unlock growth with real-time visitor intelligence for your WordPress site!