# Matomo: your first steps

> Sign in, add the tracking code to your site, and keep Matomo current.

Source: https://veldhost.eu/docs/matomo-getting-started

Picked Matomo? Your site came with Matomo installed and configured — privacy-first analytics you own.

## What gets installed

- **Matomo** (latest stable release, verified against Matomo's PGP signature) with its own MariaDB database in your container.
- One website already registered (your site address), **IP anonymisation** and **Do-Not-Track** respected from the start, HTTPS enforced.
- Report archiving from a real cron job every hour (browser-triggered archiving is off, so pages stay fast), and nginx rules from Matomo's own reference configuration — only Matomo's entry points can run, its configuration is unreachable from the web.

## First login

1. Your site page in the portal shows the sign-in address, the `admin` username and a generated password — we display it for 7 days, so save it now.
2. Log in, then set your own password under **Administration → Personal → Settings**.
3. Copy the tracking code from **Administration → Websites → Tracking code** into the site you want to measure — your veldhost WordPress site, for instance, with the free "Matomo Analytics" WordPress plugin or by pasting the snippet.
4. Add more websites under **Administration → Websites → Manage**.

## Updating

- Update from **Administration → System → Update** when Matomo announces a new version. Press **Back up now** on the Files tab first.
- Reports for the last hour arrive with the next archiving run; that is normal.

## Limits

- The Starter plan (768 MB) is fine for a handful of sites with moderate traffic; many sites or millions of page views a month want Pro or Business.
- Matomo's paid premium plugins are yours to buy; we do not install or support them.