Webalizer provides an overview of your website’s traffic and visitor activity. Below is an explanation of the most common statistics you’ll see in your reports.
Hits
A hit is recorded every time your web server receives a request.
Requests include:
- Web pages
- Images
- CSS and JavaScript files
- PDF documents
- Audio or video files
- Other website resources
Because a single web page typically contains many images and other files, one page view can generate dozens of hits. For this reason, hits are not a good measurement of website traffic.
Files
A file represents a successful request where the server sends a file back to the visitor’s browser.
Examples include:
- HTML pages
- Images
- PDF files
- Downloads
Files provide a better indication of actual content delivered than hits alone.
Pages
A page is an actual web page viewed by a visitor.
Unlike hits, page counts do not include images, stylesheets, scripts, or other supporting files. This makes page views one of the most useful measurements of website usage.
Sites
The Sites statistic shows the number of unique IP addresses that accessed your website during the reporting period.
This is often used as an estimate of unique visitors.
Visits
A visit (sometimes called a session) represents a period of activity on your website.
By default, Webalizer considers a new visit to begin if the same visitor has been inactive for 30 minutes or more.
For example:
- A visitor browses your website at 1:00 PM.
- They return at 3:00 PM.
Webalizer records this as two separate visits.
Because visits are estimated using IP addresses and timing, they should be viewed as a close approximation rather than an exact count.
Data Transferred (KBytes)
The KBytes value shows the amount of data your web server sent to visitors during the reporting period.
This includes:
- Web pages
- Images
- Downloads
- Documents
- Other website files
Higher traffic and larger files generally result in more data being transferred.
Note: One kilobyte (KB) equals 1,024 bytes.
Top Entry Pages
Entry pages are the first pages visitors view when arriving at your website.
Reviewing these pages can help you understand:
- Which stories attract visitors
- Which pages perform well in search engines
- Which landing pages are most popular
Top Exit Pages
Exit pages are the last pages visitors viewed before leaving your website.
These reports can help identify where visitors commonly end their browsing session and may highlight opportunities to improve navigation or encourage readers to continue exploring your site.
Referrers
A referrer shows where visitors came from before arriving at your website.
Common referrers include:
- Search engines (such as Google)
- Facebook and other social media platforms
- Other websites linking to your content
- Email newsletters
- Direct links from partner organizations
Referrer statistics can help you determine which sources are sending the most traffic to your website.
Keep Statistics in Perspective
No web analytics program can measure website traffic with perfect accuracy. Factors such as browser caching, shared IP addresses, bots, and the way the HTTP protocol works all affect reporting.
Webalizer should be used to identify traffic trends and understand how visitors interact with your website, rather than focusing on exact numbers. Over time, these trends can provide valuable insights into your audience and the performance of your content.