Implementing Server Side Tagging with Stape (GTM + GA4)

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Update time: April 22, 2026

If you’re running GA4 and you’ve noticed your data slipping through the cracks — blocked by browser extensions, ITP, or consent mode gaps — you’ve probably looked into server-side tagging.

It sounds great in theory: move tracking off the browser, own your data, bypass the blockers. But then you look at the infrastructure cost, and suddenly it feels like a project for enterprises with dedicated DevOps teams.

That’s where Stape comes in.

What is Stape?

Stape is a SaaS platform that handles the heavy lifting of server-side tagging infrastructure.

Instead of provisioning servers, managing SSL certs, and worrying about scaling, you just set up a container and go.

Handling 20 million requests per month costs around $200. Compare that to the hourly rate of a cloud engineer, and the math writes itself.

How the Architecture Works

You’ll be running two Google Tag Manager containers, the schematic diagram of Stape is as follows:

Web GTM (client-side GTM) — runs in the browser, collects data from the user’s device
Server-side GTM (sGTM) — runs on Stape’s infrastructure, processes and forwards the data

The data flows from browser → Web GTM → Stape’s tagging server → GA4 (or any other endpoint). Here’s what that looks like:

Step 1：Creating an sGTM Container

First, head to Google Tag Manager and create a new container.

Click「⋮」——「Create Container」：

You’ll see the container settings:

Container Name：usually your domain (e.g. sGTM)
Target Platform：select Server

Finally click 「Create」，select 「Manually provision tagging server」, You’ll get a Container Configuration string, for example: aWQ9R1RNLU5TSEI1MkQ3JmVudj0xJmF1dGg9N2N4VHFWa0MwUjhmTFBWTTRPMFk5UQ==, this will be used in Stape configuration.

Step 2：Set Up sGTM in Stape

In your Stape dashboard,, click 「sGTM」——「Create sGTM container」

Fill in the details:

Container name: eg. bbccss.com
Container configuration: paste the string from Step 1
Servers location: pick the region closest to your audience

Click 「Create Container」, Stape will ask you to pick a subscription plan. Start with the free trial. You can upgrade to a paid plan later if needed.

Step 3：Configure Tagging Server Domain

Inside your Stape container, click 「Add custom domain」 in the bbccss.com container of Stape：

After clicking 「Next」, Stape will give you a CNAME record. Take that record and configure it in your CDN or DNS provider. Once that’s done, click 「Verify」.

Implementing Server Side Tagging with Stape (GTM + GA4)

If everything is set up correctly, the status will show “Ready”：

One catch: the free version of Stape only allows one CNAME. If you’re on a paid plan, I’d recommend setting up two — one for loading GTM (e.g., gtm.bbccss.com) and one for receiving GA4 data (e.g., data.bbccss.com). Without a first-party endpoint, you won’t get far with bypassing tracking restrictions.

Step 4：Set Server Container URL in sGTM

Back in your server-side GTM container,, click「Admin」——「Container Settings」，set the Server container URLs to https://data.bbccss.com:

Now all tracking data will flow through your server.

Step 5：Create Web GTM (Client-Side)

Create a standard website GTM container (regular web, not server). Let’s say its container ID is GTM-PHXQ69M — you’ll need this in the next step.

Inside this container, set up a GA4 tag (e.g., GA4 – Basic Tracking). The key field here is server_container_url — set it to data.bbccss.com. This tells the browser to send data to your server-side endpoint instead of directly to Google.

Step 6：Install Stape Loader Script

In Stape，click「Power-Ups」——「Custom Loader」——「Save Change」，then set up as follows:

Configure it with your Web GTM ID (that’s GTM-PHXQ69M, not the sGTM ID).

Stape will generate two tracking code snippets. Install them on your website template.

Step 7：Configure sGTM Clients, Variables, Triggers, and Tags

Now the meaty part — setting up the server-side container.

Clients

In sGTM, click「Client」——「New」——「Choose a client type to begin setup…」——「Google Analytics: GA4 (Web)」，then set up as follows:

Then add another client, click「Client」——「New」——「Choose a client type to begin setup…」——「Google Tag Manager: Web Container，then set up as follows:

Variables

In sGTM, click 「Variables」 ——「Configuration」 and check Event Name and Client Name.

Triggers

In sGTM, click 「Triggers」——「New」——「Choose a trigger type to begin setup…」——「Custom」, and then set the following:

Step 8：Preview and Testing

Click 「Preview」 in sGTM container，then open your website. In Tag Assistant, you should see the data flowing:

Check that GA4 events are being sent to your custom domain (data.bbccss.com):

You should also see the FPID (First-Party Device ID) in the cookies:

Final Words

Server-side tagging is one of the most effective ways to reclaim your analytics data in an era of increasing privacy restrictions. Stape makes it accessible without needing a DevOps background — you can go from zero to a working sGTM setup in about 30 minutes.

That said, I know every setup is a little different. Maybe your domain provider handles CNAMEs differently, or you’re using Cloudflare Workers alongside Stape, or you hit a snag with a specific client type. I’d love to hear about your experience. If you’ve set up Stape before and have tips — or if you ran into something I didn’t cover — drop a comment below.