Server-side GTM containers have exactly three built-in tags. Not thirty. Not three hundred. Three. The Community Template Gallery—that repository everyone assumes is packed with ready-made integrations—started with templates for just 11 marketing partners (Square Engineering Blog, 2021). If your marketing platform isn’t among them, you’re building from scratch.
This is the template gap nobody talks about when selling you on server-side GTM. Web GTM has hundreds of ready-made tag templates. Click, configure, deploy. Server-side GTM? You’re likely writing JavaScript.
The Reality of Server-Side GTM’s Template Ecosystem
When businesses evaluate GTM server-side tracking, they naturally expect a similar experience to web GTM. After all, it’s the same platform, the same interface, the same Google. But the ecosystems aren’t comparable.
Web GTM’s Community Template Gallery contains hundreds of tags covering virtually every marketing platform. TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Criteo, HubSpot—if it exists in digital marketing, there’s probably a web GTM template for it. Server-side GTM operates in a different reality.
According to Google’s own documentation, server containers come with only three built-in tags ready for immediate use (Google Developers, 2024). Everything else requires either finding a template in the Community Gallery or building one yourself.
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Why the Gap Exists
Server-side GTM launched years after web GTM had already built its ecosystem. That head start matters. Template development requires:
- Developer resources: Someone with JavaScript skills and GTM expertise to build the template
- Documentation: Understanding the receiving platform’s API requirements
- Testing infrastructure: Server-side environments to validate the integration
- Maintenance commitment: Ongoing updates as platforms change their APIs
Marketing platforms aren’t rushing to build these templates. They already have web GTM templates that work. Their developer resources go elsewhere. The result? A sparse community gallery that grows slowly.
“The current offer of predefined tags, clients and variables is very limited” (Markus Baersch, GTM Server Templates Book, 2022). That assessment came from one of the leading GTM experts, and the fundamental situation hasn’t changed dramatically since.
The Hidden Dependency Problem
Here’s the real issue: when you commit to GTM server-side, you’re committing to a template dependency model.
If your marketing platform has a template—great. If it doesn’t, you have three options:
Option 1: Build it yourself. This requires JavaScript proficiency, understanding of GTM’s Sandboxed JavaScript environment, knowledge of the destination platform’s API, and time to test and debug. Most WordPress store owners don’t have these skills.
Option 2: Hire someone to build it. GTM specialists charge $100-200/hour. A custom template might take 10-40 hours depending on complexity. That’s $1,000-$8,000 per integration—and you still need maintenance when APIs change.
Option 3: Wait. Hope someone else builds and shares a template. This could be months. It could be never. Meanwhile, your tracking remains incomplete.
“If you want to send events to a partner who isn’t supported, you need to build a tag template yourself” (Square Engineering Blog, 2021). That’s not a bug in the system—that’s the system.
Client Templates: The Bigger Gap
Most conversations focus on tag templates—the components that send data out. But there’s an even larger gap with client templates—the components that receive and parse incoming data.
Client templates are not available in the Community Template Gallery at all (MeasureMinds Group, 2024). Google’s approach assumes you’ll use GA4 requests as your data source. But what if you need to process data from other sources? You’re building from scratch.
For WordPress stores using server-side GTM, this creates a fundamental architectural question: how does your WordPress data get into the server container? If the client component isn’t handled, the entire pipeline breaks.
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What This Means for WordPress Store Owners
If you run a WooCommerce store and want server-side tracking to GA4, Facebook CAPI, Google Ads, and TikTok, here’s your GTM server-side reality check:
GA4: Built-in template exists. You’re covered.
Facebook Conversions API: Community template available, though setup isn’t straightforward.
Google Ads Enhanced Conversions: Template exists, but configuration requires understanding of the Google Ads API.
TikTok Events API: You’ll likely need a third-party template or custom development.
Now multiply this research across every platform you use. Each integration requires investigation: Does a template exist? Who made it? Is it maintained? Does it actually work with your data structure?
“Server-side GTM can only be brought to its full potential with Custom Templates. Those can be created manually or used from third parties” (Markus Baersch, GTM Server Templates E-Book). The keyword is “can only”—this isn’t optional complexity, it’s required complexity.
The Alternative: Built-In Integrations
The template dependency model makes sense for enterprises with dedicated tracking engineers. But for WordPress store owners running businesses—not managing tag infrastructure—there’s a different question worth asking:
Why depend on templates at all?
WordPress-native server-side solutions like Transmute Engine™ take a different approach. Instead of templates you find, import, and hope work correctly, destinations are built-in modules. GA4, Facebook CAPI, Google Ads Enhanced Conversions, BigQuery—configured through WordPress admin panels, not container templates.
No gallery searches. No custom JavaScript. No waiting for someone to build what you need. The integrations exist because they’re part of the product, not community contributions that may or may not appear.
Key Takeaways
- Server-side GTM has only 3 built-in tags—everything else requires the Community Gallery or custom development
- The Community Gallery started with just 11 marketing partner templates and grows slowly compared to web GTM’s hundreds
- Client templates don’t exist in the gallery—you must build your own to handle non-GA4 data sources
- Missing templates mean building yourself ($1K-$8K per integration) or waiting indefinitely
- WordPress-native solutions eliminate template dependency with built-in destination modules
Frequently Asked Questions
GTM server containers have only three built-in tags ready for use without custom configuration. Everything else requires importing templates from the Community Gallery or building your own.
Most marketing platforms are not supported out of the box. The Community Template Gallery is significantly smaller than web GTM’s gallery. Check the gallery first—if your platform isn’t there, you’ll need to build a custom template or find a third-party solution.
The server-side template ecosystem is young and sparse. If your marketing platform isn’t supported in the Community Gallery, your options are: build it yourself (requires JavaScript and GTM expertise), hire someone to build it, or wait for someone else to create and share a template.
No. Client templates are not part of the Community Template Gallery. Google expects you to use GA4 requests as your data source. If you need a custom client to parse other request types, you must build it yourself.
Ready to skip the template hunt? See how Transmute Engine handles server-side tracking for WordPress.
