Looker Studio Basics: A Free GA4 Website Dashboard
Build a one-page website report in the free Looker Studio (now Data Studio) on real screens: connect Google Analytics 4, add three headline scorecards, a trend chart, a table of where visitors come from and a date picker colleagues use themselves.
Looker Studio Basics: A Free GA4 Website Dashboard is a free, hands-on AI course for office managers, marketers and owners who send the same website numbers every week by screenshot: 2 short modules (about 17 minutes in all) where you do each step yourself in a safe practice copy of Looker Studio, which checks your work. No coding, no cost, and you can start without signing up.
Who it’s for: Office managers, marketers and owners who send the same website numbers every week by screenshot. A Google account that can read a GA4 property is enough; no code and no paid software.
Why this course
Weekly website reporting often means opening Google Analytics, taking screenshots and pasting them into an email that is out of date by Wednesday. A Looker Studio report is built once, updates itself and lets everyone open the same link.
Both modules are built on real Data Studio screens connected to a real GA4 property, so every practice screen is real; every number on them is blurred because it is a real website.
What you’ll build
- Module 1 · Looker Studio · Beginner · ~8 min
Looker Studio: Connect GA4 and Build Your First Report
Every Monday someone opens Google Analytics, takes screenshots and pastes them into an email for the team meeting. It takes half an hour, the numbers are stale by Wednesday, and nobody can click into them.
- Module 2 · Looker Studio · Beginner · ~9 min
Looker Studio: Add a Trend Chart, Channel Table and Date Picker
Three headline numbers do not answer the questions people ask every week: are we going up or down, where do visitors come from, and what about last month? Each one used to mean another screenshot.
Prerequisites
- For the practice: a web browser. Each module runs in a copy of the real tool’s screens, so you need no account and no sign-up to start module 1.
- To do it for real: a Google account. Each module says which one it uses.
Time to complete
About 17 minutes of hands-on practice across 2 modules (23 steps in all). Modules take 8 to 9 minutes each, so you can do one in a sitting and come back for the next.
Take it with you
Looker Studio basics cheat sheet: the settings and words from this course on one printable page. Read it online · Download the PDF
Glossary
Looker Studio (Data Studio) Scorecard (chart) Date range control
Questions about this course
Is Looker Studio Basics: A Free GA4 Website Dashboard free?
Yes. All 2 modules of Looker Studio Basics: A Free GA4 Website Dashboard are free, and you can start module 1 without signing up.
How long does Looker Studio Basics: A Free GA4 Website Dashboard take?
About 17 minutes of hands-on practice across 2 modules, beginner. Each module takes 8 to 9 minutes, so you can do one at a time.
Which tools will I practice in?
Looker Studio. You practice in a copy of each tool's real screens that checks every step, so nothing touches your real accounts, and no coding is needed.
Who is Looker Studio Basics: A Free GA4 Website Dashboard for?
Office managers, marketers and owners who send the same website numbers every week by screenshot. A Google account that can read a GA4 property is enough; no code and no paid software.
Where do I start?
Start with module 1, Looker Studio: Connect GA4 and Build Your First Report. The modules are in order, so each one builds on the last.
Is Looker Studio free?
Yes. Looker Studio (Data Studio) is free with a Google account, and the Google Analytics connector is free too.
Is Looker Studio the same as Data Studio?
Yes. Google renamed Data Studio to Looker Studio and now shows the Data Studio name again; lookerstudio.google.com still opens it.
Can I break my Google Analytics by following this?
No. Data Studio only reads GA4. Building charts and changing dates never changes your Analytics settings or data.
What do I need before I start Looker Studio Basics: A Free GA4 Website Dashboard?
Only a web browser for the practice: it runs in a copy of each tool's screens, so you need no account and no sign-up to start module 1. To repeat a module in your own tools afterwards, the modules list a Google account.
What will I build in Looker Studio Basics: A Free GA4 Website Dashboard?
A finished result in 2 of the 2 modules, for example: A private Looker Studio report connected to your GA4 property, with a name people recognise; A time series of Active users per day under the scorecards.