The easiest way to integrate a counter onto your website is undoubtedly by downloading a finished script. Fee-based and free visitor counters are primarily separated by their performance range. If you decide on a paid version, you usually will also receive visually prepared statistics with information that goes far beyond the mere traffic stats. How detailed these pieces of information art depends on whether recording visitor activities happens solely on the server side, or on the client side as well. In both cases, though, the following standard parameters are included:
- IP address of the visitor
Depending on the configuration, the server can assign a unique identifier (session cookie) to each individual visitor on their first access. In the visitor counter statistics, you can observe whether it’s the first page visit for a user, or if they’ve accessed multiple pages. With the help of JavaScript or Adobe Flash on the client side, you can also increase the amount of information gathered. For example, tracking reveals which operating systems and which browser extensions the visitor used, or what screen resolution is set. The latter set of information can play a critical role in website optimization for mobile devices, for instance.
With most providers, you can decide between various designs and sizes for the visitor counter to be displayed later. Simply choose one of the available designs and your desired size, and generate an HTML code with a click via the respective tool. This snippet is then integrated in the chosen spot on your web page to activate the visitor tracking.