Server-Side Tracking vs First-Party Cookies

Developers should use server-side tracking when handling sensitive data, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR or CCPA, or when client-side tracking is blocked by ad blockers or browser restrictions meets developers should learn about first-party cookies to implement essential web features like user sessions, authentication, and personalization, as they are fundamental for creating functional and user-friendly websites. Here's our take.

Server-Side Tracking

Nice Pick

Developers should use server-side tracking when handling sensitive data, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR or CCPA, or when client-side tracking is blocked by ad blockers or browser restrictions

Pros

• It's particularly valuable for e-commerce platforms, financial applications, and any system requiring high data integrity, as it reduces data loss from client-side issues and provides more reliable attribution
• Related to: data-privacy, web-analytics

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

First-Party Cookies

Developers should learn about first-party cookies to implement essential web features like user sessions, authentication, and personalization, as they are fundamental for creating functional and user-friendly websites

Pros

• They are crucial for e-commerce sites to track shopping carts, for social media platforms to keep users logged in, and for any site requiring user-specific settings
• Related to: http-cookies, web-storage

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Server-Side Tracking is a methodology while First-Party Cookies is a concept. We picked Server-Side Tracking based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Server-Side Tracking wins

Based on overall popularity. Server-Side Tracking is more widely used, but First-Party Cookies excels in its own space.