Why a cached image does not count
A frequent source of confusion regarding website statistics involves the concept of local file storage, commonly referred to as the browser cache. Web browsers are designed for maximum…
How one image can count
The mechanism behind a visible web counter operates on a fundamental principle of internet communication: the request and the response. Every time a web page loads, the browser reads the…
Check an unexpected counter total without guessing
A stalled total, a sudden increase or a difference from another analytics tool can have several causes. Work through the checks in order. Keep the existing counter number and private…
One counter for a website, with page reports where needed
A separate counter for every page is usually unnecessary. One counter in a shared template can collect website totals and page information. The page report and optional page groups answer…
Where a counter fits on a Blogspot blog
Blogspot continues to host many personal and community blogs, often with strict structural limitations. The platform confines custom HTML to designated sections, transforming the placement…
Six generations of counter address, all still answered
The address we document for a counter is /c/<number>-<design>.png. On 30 August it was asked for 156 times. The address from 2006 — /index.php?action=pic&s4uid=… — was asked for 80,499…
What deleting a counter actually touches
Deleting a counter here empties 33 tables. Yesterday it emptied 25. The eight it missed were all created the day before, between 11:10 in the morning and 15:10 in the afternoon. How…
When a cache scales the wrong way
Four small files sit in this service's cache folder. The largest is 35 bytes. Together they hold three counter numbers, and they are read on every single counter request. They exist so the…
Counters that follow dark mode
A counter is an image on somebody else's page. When that page has a dark mode, the image does not know: it was drawn on the server, long before the visitor's system preference existed as a…
How we detect a broken counter
A counter can break quietly. The site gets redesigned, the embed does not survive the move, and nothing announces it — the statistics simply stop, and the owner finds out months later, if…
Caching counter images in memory
Close to a fifth of the counter images this service draws no longer change anything. A mouse-tracking script from the previous generation reloads the image on every movement, and since…
A 2015 script still reloads counters
The previous generation of this service shipped a mouse-tracking script. It loaded the counter image once, normally, and then loaded it again on every mouse movement — with coordinates in…