add-analytics

name	add-analytics
category	web
description	Add privacy-respecting visit counts to a live site. Free options only, and no tracking people across the web. Use when they ask "is anyone visiting my site", "add analytics", or want proof of traffic for a resume line.

add-analytics

Give someone their first answer to "does anyone actually visit my site?" The site is already live (deploy-anywhere). The goal is honest counts they check weekly — this is measurement of their own site's traffic, and it stops there. No tracking visitors across other sites, no fingerprinting, no selling anyone's attention.

Picking a counter

Offer these and let them choose; each is one line to explain.

• Cloudflare Web Analytics: free, no cookies, works on any host — paste one script tag. The default pick, and automatic if the site is already on Cloudflare Pages.
• GoatCounter: free for personal sites, open source, shows a public or private dashboard. One script tag. Good if they like that they could self-host it someday.
• Host-provided stats: some hosts show basic traffic in their dashboard with no code change at all. Netlify's version is paid, so on Netlify use one of the two above.

Prefer the smallest measurement tool that answers the stated question. Cookie and consent requirements vary by tool, configuration, visitor, and jurisdiction; do not promise that a site needs no notice or consent banner. Read the provider's current privacy documentation and the rules that apply to the site before enabling collection. Do not send names, email addresses, or other personal data in page paths or analytics events.

Wiring and reading it

1. They create the account (their email, their password). You add the script tag before </body> on every page — or the shared layout if there is one — commit, push, deploy.
2. Verify for real: visit the live site, then watch the visit appear on the dashboard. Until they see their own visit counted, it is not done.
3. Read the first numbers together and calibrate: a personal site getting 5–50 visits a week is normal and fine. Pageviews count loads; visitors dedupe roughly to people; referrers show where people came from. Their own visits inflate everything — most tools can exclude their device, so set that up.
4. Agree on a cadence: check weekly, not hourly. One interesting question beats staring — "did anyone come from the link I posted?"

Done

• Dashboard shows real visits, verified with their own test visit
• Their own device excluded from counts
• They can explain pageviews, visitors, and referrers in their own words, and know the numbers may stay small
• The chosen configuration and any required privacy notice are documented; no personal data is deliberately sent to analytics

If the numbers make them want visitors, seo-basics is the honest next step.