There are many different traffic analysis tools, ranging from simple counters to complete traffic analyzers. Although there are some free ones, most of them come with a price tag. Why not do it yourself? With PHP, you can easily create a log file within minutes. In this article I will show you how!
Getting the information
The most important part is getting the information from your visitor. Thankfully, this is extremely easy to do in PHP (or any other scripting language for that matter). PHP has a special global variable called $_SERVER which contains several environment variables, including information about your visitor. To get all the information you want, simply use the following code:
// Getting the information
$ipaddress = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
$page = "http://{$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST']}{$_SERVER['PHP_SELF']}";
$page .= iif(!empty($_SERVER['QUERY_STRING']), "?{$_SERVER['QUERY_STRING']}", "");
$referrer = $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'];
$datetime = mktime();
$useragent = $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'];
$remotehost = @getHostByAddr($ipaddress);
As you can see the majority of information comes from the $_SERVER variable. The mktime() (http://nl2.php.net/mktime) and getHostByAddr() (http://nl2.php.net/mktime) functions are used to get additional information about the visitor.
Note: I used a function in the above example called iif(). You can get this function at http://nl2.php.net/mktime.
Logging the information
Now that you have all the information you need, it must be written to a log file so you can later look at it, and create useful graphs and charts. To do this you need a few simple PHP function, like fopen (http://nl2.php.net/mktime) and fwrite (http://nl2.php.net/mktime).
The below code will first create a complete line out of all the information. Then it will open the log file in "Append" mode, and if it doesn't exist yet, create it.
If no errors have occurred, it will write the new logline to the log file, at the bottom, and finally close the log file again.
// Create log line
$logline = $ipaddress . '|' . $referrer . '|' . $datetime . '|' . $useragent . '|' . $remotehost . '|' . $page . " ";
// Write to log file:
$logfile = '/some/path/to/your/logfile.txt';
// Open the log file in "Append" mode
if (!$handle = fopen($logfile, 'a+')) {
die("Failed to open log file");
}
// Write $logline to our logfile.
if (fwrite($handle, $logline) === FALSE) {
die("Failed to write to log file");
}
fclose($handle);
Now you've got a fully function logging module. To start tracking visitors on your website simply include the logging module into your pages with the include() function (http://nl2.php.net/mktime):
include ('log.php');
Okay, now I want to view my log file
After a while you'll probably want to view your log file. You can easily do so by simply using a standard text editor (like Notepad on Windows) to open the log file, but this is far from desired, because it's in a hard-to-read format.
Let's use PHP to generate useful overviews for is. The first thing that needs to be done is get the contents from the log file in a variable, like so:
// Open log file
$logfile = "/some/path/to/your/logfile.txt";
if (file_exists($logfile)) {
$handle = fopen($logfile, "r");
$log = fread($handle, filesize($logfile));
fclose($handle);
} else {
die ("The log file doesn't exist!");
}
Now that the log file is in a variable, it's best if each logline is in a separate variable. We can do this using the explode() function (http://nl2.php.net/mktime), like so:
// Seperate each logline
$log = explode(" ", trim($log));
After that it may be useful to get each part of each logline in a separate variable. This can be done by looping through each logline, and using explode again:
// Seperate each part in each logline
for ($i = 0; $i < count($log); $i++) {
$log[$i] = trim($log[$i]);
$log[$i] = explode('|', $log[$i]);
}
Now the complete log file has been parsed, and we're ready to start generating some interesting stuff.
The first thing that is very easy to do is getting the number of pageviews. Simply use count() (http://nl2.php.net/mktime) on the $log array, and there you have it;
echo count($log) . " people have visited this website.";
You can also generate a complete overview of your log file, using a simple foreach loop and tables. For example:
// Show a table of the logfile
echo '';
echo 'IP Address';
echo 'Referrer';
echo 'Date';
echo 'Useragent';
echo 'Remote Host';
foreach ($log as $logline) {
echo '
echo '
echo '
echo '
echo '
echo '
echo '
}
echo '';
You can also use custom functions to filter out search engines and crawlers. Or create graphs using PHP/SWF Charts (http://nl2.php.net/mktime). The possibilities are endless, and you can do all kinds of things!
In Conclusion...
In this article I have shown you have to create a logging module for your own PHP website, using nothing more than PHP and its built-in functions. To view the log file you need to parse it using PHP, and then display it in whatever way you like. It is up to you to create a kick-ass traffic analyzer.
If you still prefer to use a pre-built traffic analyzer, have a look at http://nl2.php.net/mktime.
About The Author
Dennis Pallett is a young tech writer, with much experience in ASP, PHP and other web technologies. He enjoys writing, and has written several articles and tutorials. To find more of his work, look at his websites at http://nl2.php.net/mktime, http://nl2.php.net/mktime and http://nl2.php.net/mktime.
green cleaning service Park Ridge ..When I set up my website I felt paypal was... Read More
Making maximum profit from your law firm website is important,... Read More
Your web site will be your window to the world.... Read More
The cost of setting up a web site is dirt... Read More
People often come to me in a state of crisis... Read More
A website lets you put your products in front of... Read More
Writing for the web is totally different to writing for... Read More
Your content is what gets you in search engines, speaks... Read More
What is SQL? SQL stands for Structured Query Language and... Read More
There are many different traffic analysis tools, ranging from simple... Read More
Alternate medicine finds its own place in the hearts and... Read More
One of the biggest mistakes that most online retailers make... Read More
Analyzing traffic to a site is a key factor in... Read More
An additional benefit of website accessibility is an improved performance... Read More
Many websites I come across don't have a single link... Read More
Go to any internet marketing forum you want these days... Read More
The popular search engine Google indexes over 8 billion websites.... Read More
If you're an up and coming graphic/web designer just out... Read More
Even though the Internet has been around for a long... Read More
If you are living in a country that its native... Read More
Making money with your web site is the dream and... Read More
So you have a good idea for a business and... Read More
As increasing numbers of people search for information on the... Read More
It is an undeniable fact that not everybody is keen... Read More
There are many elements that are key to successful web... Read More
emergency cleaning services Morton Grove ..Launching a new small business website is often a long... Read More
The "robots" meta tag, when used properly, will tell the... Read More
Dan Kennedy once said that if you can't make money... Read More
Every online entrepreneur I talk to is asking the same... Read More
Most interactive websites nowadays would require a user to log... Read More
After planning the design and content of your website, it's... Read More
Running an effective website is a continuous process. I have... Read More
Just like all things in life, the ways to run... Read More
"Build it and they will come."--Filed of Dreams (1989) If... Read More
An Introduction to Server Side IncludesBeginner? That's OK!While much has... Read More
Do you need a web site? Are you considering getting... Read More
It's now easier than ever to take payments on the... Read More
I had a client say something to me the other... Read More
When most people build a web site, they think one... Read More
Globalize Your WebsiteThe Internet has unlocked a wide array of... Read More
First, an eye opener. Making your fortune through affiliate programs... Read More
The Disability Discrimination Act says that websites must be made... Read More
Build it and they will come is not always true;... Read More
Designing an E-commerce Web site is not as simple as... Read More
An automated accessibility tool is a piece of software which... Read More
So you want to have a website. You have gone... Read More
Project Safekids provides webmasters a valuable tool which could save... Read More
If you're looking for better web site ROI, chances are,... Read More
Spend time planning your Web site. Before you design a... Read More
A lot of people these days are interested in getting... Read More
Web Development |