How to track a new visitor

Once you have installed the SimpleStats client package, visitor tracking is set up automatically — no additional configuration is required on your part. We ensure this process is GDPR-compliant by generating a unique visitor_hash if a new visitor visits your site.

The Visitor Hash

The hash is created from a combination of the visitor's User-Agent, the IP address and a daily salt. This allows us to track unique visitors without storing any personally identifiable information, keeping their data safe and private.

The visitor_hash enables seamless visitor identification across different sessions and provides insights into how your marketing campaigns and UTM parameters drive traffic.

With this, you gain a clear picture of which marketing efforts contribute most effectively to your site's growth, all while respecting user privacy.

TIP

This privacy-first hashing approach is similar to what other analytics tools like Plausible and Fathom Analytics use. The key difference is that SimpleStats tracks entirely server-side, making it invisible to ad blockers. See Counting Visitors for how this affects your numbers versus other tools.

INFO

Want to understand how visitor data flows into registrations and revenue? Check out From Visitor to User to Payment.