Strategy Analytics Complex

Custom Data Layer Design

Most data layers are built reactively patched together over years. We design them from scratch or redesign existing ones with consistent structure, clear naming conventions, and documentation developers can actually use.

12-15 hours

Why Your Data Layer Is the Foundation of Everything

The data layer is the contract between your website and your tracking. Every analytics event, every marketing pixel, every A/B test they all depend on data being available in the right place at the right time with the right structure.

When the data layer is well-designed, adding a new analytics platform takes hours, not weeks. Event parameters are consistent. Developers know exactly what to push and when. TMS engineers know exactly what to read and where. Nothing is ambiguous.

When the data layer is poorly designed or worse, when there's no formal design at all every new tracking requirement becomes a custom project. Developers guess at naming. Different pages push different structures. Some data is available before the TMS loads, some arrives too late. Every platform gets a slightly different version of the truth.

We design data layers that scale. Platform-agnostic structure that works with GTM, Tealium, Adobe Launch, or any TMS. Consistent naming conventions based on your business domain. E-commerce schemas that satisfy GA4, Meta, and Google Ads simultaneously. Developer documentation that eliminates ambiguity. This is architecture work that prevents years of future problems.

Design Process

Business Requirements Gathering

We work with your marketing, analytics, and product teams to understand what data needs to be tracked, which platforms consume it, and what business questions the data needs to answer. This shapes the data layer's scope and structure.

Current State Assessment

If you have an existing data layer, we audit it what works, what's inconsistent, what's missing. We identify what can be preserved and what needs to be redesigned. If you're starting from scratch, we skip this step.

Schema Design

We design the data layer schema event names, parameter structures, object formats, typing. For e-commerce, this includes product, cart, checkout, and transaction objects that map cleanly to GA4, Meta, and other platform requirements.

Naming Convention System

We create a naming convention system for events, parameters, and page-level data. This isn't just a list it's a set of rules your developers can apply to new events without needing to ask "what should I call this?"

Developer Specification Document

We produce a technical specification that developers can implement from. Every data layer push documented with trigger conditions, required parameters, data types, and code examples in your framework (React, Next.js, Vue, vanilla JS, etc.).

TMS Integration Guide

We document how the data layer connects to your tag management system which variables to create, how triggers should consume events, and the mapping from data layer parameters to platform-specific requirements.

Deliverables

Data Layer Specification Complete schema with event definitions, parameter structures, and data types
Naming Convention Guide Systematic naming rules for events, parameters, and page data
Developer Implementation Guide Framework-specific code examples and trigger documentation
E-Commerce Schema Product, cart, checkout, and transaction object specifications (if applicable)
TMS Integration Map How data layer events and parameters map to TMS variables and platform tags
Migration Guide If redesigning an existing data layer, a migration plan from old structure to new

Frequently Asked Questions

Do we need a data layer if we use GTM's auto-event tracking?

Auto-event tracking (click tracking, form submission detection, etc.) is fragile it breaks when CSS classes change, button text changes, or DOM structure shifts. A data layer is explicit and resilient. It's the difference between "track the click on the element with class .buy-btn" and "fire the add_to_cart event when the product is added to the cart."

Can you implement the data layer on our site?

We design and document it; your developers implement the pushes in your codebase. We're happy to work directly with your dev team during implementation and review their code. If you don't have developers, we can also provide an implementation service.

Which data layer format do you use?

We typically follow the Google data layer format (window.dataLayer pushes) because it's the most widely supported. But if you use Tealium (utag_data) or another format, we design for your TMS. The underlying principles are the same.

How long does developer implementation take?

That depends on your codebase complexity and team bandwidth. For a typical e-commerce site, 2-4 weeks of developer time is common. Our specification is detailed enough that developers don't need TMS expertise.

Prerequisites

• Technical documentation of your site/app
• Access to development team
• Business requirements for tracking
• List of analytics/marketing platforms

Assumptions (for 12-15 hours)

• Clear business requirements defined
• Developer resources available for implementation
• Single primary web property (multi-property quoted separately)