Using Web Counters to Track Visits

Although the university does not provide any sort of usage tracking for personal webpages, there are several free services provided by third parties to accomodate such needs.

We have tested and recommend StatCounter for usage tracking needs. To install one of their counters on your webpage, please follow these steps:

• Register for a free StatCounter account. (The username and password that you choose will has absolutely no relation to your WWU universal account)
• Once your account has been created, click on "Proceed & Add a Project"
• Select "Standard StatCounter Project" and click on "Next"
• Fill out the next form with your website information, then click on "Next"
  • If you are a student using myweb, remember that your URL is in the form: http://myweb.students.wwu.edu/username
  • If you are a staff member or faculty member using myweb, remember that your URL is in the form: http://myweb.facstaff.wwu.edu/username
  • Most other university web pages are in the form http://www.wwu.edu/sharename
• Click on "Configure and Install Code", then select the type of counter you would like to use.
  • If you want your visitors to see how many people are accessing your website, you should select "Visible Counter"
  • If you just want the stats for yourself, you should select "Invisible Counter"
• Follow the next few prompts to customize your counter until you get to the "Code Options" page.
• In the "Code Options" page, please indicate that your website does not use frames (which is true of all websites using the WWU template), then select the "W3C Compliant" option and if you do not wish to give credit to StatCounter for the service they provide, select the "Disable Link Back" option. Finally, click on "Next".
• Indicate that you want the default install guide, then click on "Next".
• Follow the instructions on the next page to insert the counter code in your webpage.
• Once your counter has been setup, you can check on your visits by logging in at http://www.statcounter.com/ and selecting the type of tracking you would like to see.