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.
custom home cleaning Winnetka ..What happened on your website yesterday? What about last week... Read More
That's right. Your method, behavior and strategy you are now... Read More
Build it and they will come is not always true;... Read More
Spend time planning your Web site. Before you design a... Read More
So you have a good idea for a business and... Read More
Does your website have a links/resources page?Do you exchange reciprocal... Read More
When building a relationship, listening is more important than talking.A... Read More
Many websites I come across don't have a single link... Read More
Designing an E-commerce Web site is not as simple as... Read More
In this example I have used the map of the... Read More
The process of Web application development is critical to the... Read More
One of the most important parts of establishing a new... Read More
You work hard to build traffic to your web page.... Read More
It's now easier than ever to take payments on the... Read More
Creatively marketing your corporate site takes time in the set... Read More
Never has competition been so difficult in the Internet world.... Read More
More and more non-profit organizations are developing websites to help... Read More
Failure, just like success, is measured differently by each and... Read More
When we review the sites of potential clients, there are... Read More
In 1995 a new era of accessibility for disabled people... Read More
1. Upload robots.txt file in to your root directory and... Read More
What is the most important part of your online business?Many... Read More
Right after the thought, "I need a website," people usually... Read More
1) A marketing necessityI still hear it said from time... Read More
I had a client say something to me the other... Read More
professional home cleaners Glenview ..So what do you do if need to get a... Read More
First, using a lot of web graphics, flash, banners and... Read More
1. Choose a big enough font size. A size 12... Read More
Understanding and using web analytics.In recent years, website marketers were... Read More
--------------------------------Why Should You Create a website?--------------------------------A. What do you want... Read More
Is your website Really useful?I had a 'rep' in yesterday... Read More
When marketing your website, it's important to know which of... Read More
The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) states that service providers must... Read More
After planning the design and content of your website, it's... Read More
Many small companies choose not to invest in a professionally... Read More
Rosalind wants to share her inspirational poetry with a wider... Read More
Does My Web Site Require A Web Database?If your web... Read More
You've just finished congratulating your marketing team. After six months... Read More
"Don't Sell the Steak, Sell the Sizzle."Have you heard of... Read More
"How do I improve web site sales figures?" The CEO... Read More
Research reveals three important facts:1) The Internet is one of... Read More
So your prospect, Mary, is sitting at the computer reading... Read More
In my previous life.....Actually, my previous JOB life, I was... Read More
I had a client say something to me the other... Read More
The following is a list of patterns that many visitors... Read More
To the starting internet entrepreneur, there is nothing more discouraging... Read More
Today it seems everyone is jumping on the entrepreneur bandwagon,... Read More
This simple question can take on several different forms, but... Read More
While it may seem like a "quick and easy" task,... Read More
Web templates by nature are created to aid and ease... Read More
Web Development |