If you have EverWeb + Hosting, your visitor statistics are already being collected: sign in to your EverWeb account page (the Client Area) and open Metrics. On any host, you can also add Google Analytics by pasting Google's code into Head Code in File > Edit Publishing Settings, which puts it on every page.
When you'd use this
- A dentist wants to know whether the new website brings in more visitors each month than the old one.
- A wedding photographer wants to see which galleries people look at most, and which websites send visitors to them.
- A charity needs visitor numbers for a grant report.
Which one?
| Website Stats | Google Analytics | |
|---|---|---|
| Who has it | EverWeb + Hosting | Anyone, on any host |
| Setting up | Nothing to do | A free Google account, then paste a code into EverWeb |
| Where the numbers come from | Your server's own records of every visit | Code that runs in each visitor's browser |
| Cookies on visitors' devices | None | Yes, so you may need a cookie notice |
The two never match exactly. That's normal: they count in different ways.
See your Website Stats
- Sign in to your Client Area.
- Go to Services > My Services and click your EverWeb + Hosting plan.
- Under Manage Account, click Metrics.
- Open AWStats_SSL for your domain. Your website uses a secure (https) address, so most visits are counted there. AWStats shows visits to the older http address.
- Choose the month in Reported period. If the Last Update time is old, click Update now.
What the numbers mean
| Number | What it counts |
|---|---|
| Unique visitors | Different visitors in the period. One person who comes back counts once |
| Number of visits | Each time someone comes to your website |
| Pages | Pages opened |
| Hits | Every file loaded, including each picture. Always much bigger than pages, so don't use it to count people |
| Bandwidth | Data sent to visitors. It counts toward your plan's monthly bandwidth |
Not viewed traffic is search engine robots and other automated programs, kept apart from your real visitors.
Add Google Analytics
- Go to analytics.google.com, sign in and create a property for your website, with a Web data stream for your address.
- Google shows you a code called the Google tag. It starts with
<!-- Google tag (gtag.js) -->and contains your own ID, starting with G-. Copy all of it. Google changes these screens from time to time, so its own help is the best guide. - In EverWeb, go to File > Edit Publishing Settings and scroll to Head/Footer Code.
- Paste the code into Head Code (code placed within the <head> tag).
- Go to File > Publish Entire Site, so that every page gets the code.
- Open your website in a private window, then look at the Realtime report in Google Analytics. You should appear within a few minutes.
How long until numbers appear?
- Website Stats aren't live. They're built from the server's records from time to time, so today's visits may not show yet.
- Google Analytics shows visitors in Realtime within minutes. Its other reports can take a day or two.
Privacy and cookie notices
Google Analytics stores cookies on your visitors' devices. In some places, such as the EU and UK, you may need to ask visitors first and explain it in a privacy policy. We can't advise on what the law requires where you are. See Adding a cookie consent button. Website Stats don't use cookies.
Bots make your numbers bigger
Many visits come from automated programs (bots), not people. Website Stats put known bots under Not viewed traffic, but some look like visitors. A sudden jump from one country, or to one page at night, is usually bots. Block AI Bots asks a list of bots not to read your website. Well-behaved bots follow it, others don't. See Can people find my site through ChatGPT? Is EverWeb blocking AI?
Common problems
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Stats show no visitors, but people visited | Click Update now, check Reported period, and look in AWStats_SSL |
| Deleted pages are still listed | The month's report keeps every visit already counted. Next month starts fresh |
| Google Analytics shows nothing | Check the code is in Head Code, then File > Publish Entire Site and wait a day |
| Only some pages show in Google Analytics | A page has its own code with a different ID in Inspector > Page Settings > Head/Footer Code. Remove it and keep one copy in File > Edit Publishing Settings |
| An AI tool wrote the code for you | It can't know your ID. Copy the code from your own Google Analytics account |
| Google Tag Manager has two codes | The first goes in Head Code, the noscript one in Footer Code |
| You don't see Metrics | Website Stats come with EverWeb + Hosting. On another host, ask your host, or use Google Analytics |