[WEB4LIB] Re: webpage counter

[Richard Wiggins]

Thomas has it all right, I think: it's so much more fruitful to analyze real log records.  You can find out what pages are referring to your site, what paths visitors follow through your site, which pages are most popular, which pages are least popular, which pages are orphans.... There is nothing that can compare to good, complete log analysis.  You can learn a huge amount about what your users want, and what your site provides.  You can tune your site to what your users need. 

Counters tell you almost nothing.  Raw hits meant something to dot coms counting ad hits.  They don't say much about anything real.

Plus, counters that are visible to end users are a very obvious sign of an amateurish page.

But, if you insist on counters, have someone at your site set up a counter server.  Off-site counters are a great way to divulge your users' browsing habits to companies your visitors have nothing to do with.

/rich


On Fri, 21 September 2001, "Thomas Dowling" wrote:

> >
> > Can anyone recommend a webpage counter that does not involve subscribing
> to a provider?
...
...
> >
> 
> There is such a thing as server-side Javascript, but if you're thinking of
> something in the browser, it won't work.  You need server-side technology
> to count hits on the server.
> 
> Thomas Dowling
> OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
> tdowling at ohiolink.edu

Richard Wiggins
Writing, Speaking, and Consulting on Internet Topics
rich at richardwiggins.com       www.richardwiggins.com