Checking site performance usually means opening three or four different tools — Google Analytics for traffic, Search Console for rankings, maybe an AdSense tab for earnings — and mentally stitching the numbers together. In most sites I build, that habit quietly stops after a few weeks because it takes too long. Google’s free reporting tool fixes this by pulling all of it into one page you can glance at in under a minute.
This guide covers building a simple, genuinely useful dashboard for a WordPress site — not the fifty-chart showcase templates you’ll find online, which look impressive but nobody actually reads. The goal is a handful of numbers you’ll check every week without dreading it.
A Naming Note Before You Start
If you’ve used this tool before under the name Looker Studio, or you find older guides referring to it that way, note that Google renamed it back to Data Studio in April 2026, reversing the Looker Studio name it had carried since late 2022. The product itself didn’t change — same free tier, same connectors, same reports — Google was simply trying to stop people confusing the free reporting tool with Looker, its separate enterprise BI platform, which kept its own name. The old lookerstudio.google.com address automatically redirects to datastudio.google.com, and any reports or shared links you already have keep working with nothing to migrate.
Quick Answer
Go to datastudio.google.com, create a blank report, add a data source (Google Analytics 4 and Search Console are both built-in connectors, no extra setup needed), then add a handful of scorecards and one time-series chart. Share the report link or schedule it to email itself weekly. The whole first version takes about twenty minutes.
Why This Matters
The problem isn’t a lack of data — most WordPress sites already have Google Analytics 4 and Search Console running. The problem is that data lives in separate interfaces designed for deep analysis, not a quick weekly check. For the full list of supported data source connectors beyond GA4 and Search Console, see the product’s own help centre (still reachable at its old help-centre address post-rename). A dashboard turns “log into GA4, click through three reports, then do the same in Search Console” into “open one bookmark.”
There’s also a real benefit for anyone other than you who needs visibility — a client, a business partner, a freelancer you’ve hired to manage content. A shared link means they can check traffic and rankings themselves instead of asking you for a screenshot every Monday. And it’s free: no paid tier, no separate hosting account, no code added to your WordPress site — it connects directly to the Google accounts you’re already using for Analytics and Search Console, so there’s nothing extra to maintain once the report is built.
Building It, Start to Finish
1. Create a Blank Report
Go to datastudio.google.com and sign in with the same Google account connected to your site’s Analytics and Search Console. Click Blank Report. You’ll be prompted to connect a data source before the canvas opens — this is normal, not an error.
2. Connect Google Analytics 4 and Search Console
Search for the Google Analytics connector, select your GA4 property, and click Add. If you haven’t set up GA4 on your WordPress site yet, do that first — there’s no dashboard to build without underlying data feeding it. With the GA4 source in place, add a second data source: click Add data in the toolbar, search for Search Console, and connect the same verified property. You’ll now have two sources feeding one report — the tool keeps them separate per chart rather than merging them automatically, which is fine for this setup.
3. Build the Top-Row Scorecards
Scorecards are the big single-number tiles you see across the top of most dashboards. Add four: Sessions, Engaged Sessions, and Conversions from the GA4 source, then Total Clicks from the Search Console source. Each one takes about ten seconds — insert the scorecard, drag it into place, pick the metric from the field list on the right.
4. Add a Time-Series Trend Chart
Below the scorecards, insert a time-series chart plotting Sessions over the last 30 or 90 days. This single chart tells you more at a glance than any individual number — a flat line, a sudden drop, or steady growth are all instantly visible in a way a scorecard alone can’t show.
5. Add a Top Pages Table
Insert a table using the Search Console source, dimension set to Page, metrics set to Clicks and Impressions, sorted descending by clicks. This answers the question “what’s actually working” without opening Search Console separately — useful for spotting which posts to track events and conversions on more closely.
6. Add a Date Range Control
Add the Date Range Control element near the top of the report. This lets anyone viewing the dashboard switch between last 7 days, last 28 days, or a custom range without you rebuilding anything — every chart and scorecard on the page updates together.
7. Share the Report or Schedule Email Delivery
Click Share to generate a viewer link for anyone who needs read access, or use File → Schedule email delivery to have the report send a PDF snapshot to your inbox weekly. I usually set this to Monday mornings so the previous week’s numbers are waiting without needing to remember to check.
Practical Tips
- Keep the first version to one screen. It’s tempting to add every available metric — resist it, since a dashboard you have to scroll through defeats the point of a quick check.
- Name your data sources clearly (e.g. “GA4 — Veravix” rather than the default connector name) if you’ll reuse this report as a template for other sites later.
- Use comparison mode on scorecards (a small toggle in the style panel) to show percentage change versus the previous period directly on the tile, so you don’t have to do the mental math yourself.
Common Mistakes
- Building it once and never opening it again. A dashboard only earns its keep if it’s part of a routine — schedule the weekly email so it comes to you instead of relying on memory.
- Mixing metrics from different sources on the same chart without checking they mean the same thing. GA4 “sessions” and Search Console “clicks” measure different things (visits vs. search-result clicks) — keep them as separate scorecards rather than trying to force them into one blended metric.
- Sharing edit access instead of view access. When sending the link to a client or collaborator, use the viewer-only share option unless they specifically need to modify the report.
- Bookmarking the old lookerstudio.google.com address and assuming it broke after the rename. It still redirects automatically — nothing needs updating on your end.
When to Use This vs Alternatives
If you’re the only person checking site performance and you’re comfortable navigating GA4 directly, a dashboard is a nice-to-have rather than essential. It earns its place once a second person needs visibility, or once you’re managing more than one or two sites and want a consistent view across all of them rather than switching contexts in GA4’s own interface each time. For a site owner just starting out, working through the step-by-step guide to building a WordPress website and getting basic tracking in place comes first — a dashboard is something to add once there’s enough data flowing to make one worth building.
Conclusion
Start with four scorecards, one trend chart, and one table — that’s enough to replace a weekly round of tab-switching between GA4 and Search Console. Add complexity later only if you find yourself wanting a specific number the simple version doesn’t show, and don’t worry about the name change above — Data Studio is the same free tool it was as Looker Studio, just with its original name back.
Etienne Basson works with website systems, SEO-driven site architecture, and technical implementation. He writes practical guides on building, structuring, and optimizing websites for long-term growth.