Migrating every GA4 event to server-side is overkill. A focused migration of twelve specific events captures most of the benefit.
High impact: conversion events
- purchase. Server-side plus webhook backup closes the data loss gap.
- refund. Critical for net revenue accuracy.
- begin_checkout. Used by ad platforms to optimise mid-funnel.
- add_payment_info. Strong intent signal.
Medium impact: high-frequency engagement
- page_view. The volume driver. Server-side enables filtering and dedup that controls cost.
- session_start. Linked to page_view; usually migrates with it.
- view_item. Important for ecommerce remarketing.
- add_to_cart. Same logic.
Lower priority but still worth migrating
- generate_lead. For B2B and SaaS. Pair with LinkedIn CAPI.
- sign_up. Important for any auth-gated product.
- login. Useful for active user metrics.
- search. For sites where search is a key engagement signal.
Events you can leave client-side
- scroll, video_progress, file_download (engagement; low ad-platform value).
- click on outbound links (mostly diagnostic).
- view_promotion (helpful internally but not optimised against).
Migration sequence: refund and purchase first, verified against billing. Then begin_checkout and add_payment_info. Then page_view and session_start as a pair. The ecommerce migration sequence covers the broader playbook.