GA Redirect Delay (GARD)
This module adds a small, configurable delay to client-side redirects (like clicking external links or downloading files) to ensure that analytics events are fully recorded before the user navigates away. This helps prevent lost tracking data and improves the accuracy of your website analytics.
GA Redirect Delay (GARD) provides an optional client-side delay before navigating away from the site, ensuring that Google Analytics (GA4) or Google Tag Manager (GTM) events are reliably recorded.
When users click external links or download files (e.g. PDFs), browsers may redirect immediately, preventing analytics events from being fully transmitted. This can result in lost tracking data and inaccurate reporting.
GARD introduces a configurable browser-based delay after link clicks, allowing tracking events to fire before navigation proceeds. The implementation is entirely client-side and does not introduce any server-side delays.
Features
- Enable or disable redirect delay globally
- Configurable delay duration (milliseconds)
- Apply to:
- External links
- File downloads (based on extension)
- Custom analytics event name
- Compatible with GA4 and GTM (dataLayer-based tracking)
- No impact on server performance or SEO
Technical Approach
The module attaches a lightweight JavaScript behavior that:
- Intercepts qualifying link clicks.
- Pushes a configurable event to
dataLayer. - Waits for the configured delay.
- Proceeds with navigation.
Because the delay occurs after user interaction and not at the server level, there is no impact on Time To First Byte (TTFB) or search engine indexing.
Use Cases
- Outbound link tracking
- PDF download tracking
- Review platform links
- Affiliate or campaign links
Requirements
- Drupal 10 or 11
- Google Analytics or GTM configured separately