Anyone paying attention?
Despite all the information a hit counter can give you, it doesn't tell you everything you need to know. Probably the most important question of all is:

In other words, what sections (pages) of your site get the most hits?

The obvious but cumbersome solution is to put a counter on each page. Fine for a few pages, a nightmare for a big site. If you don't have your own domain name but have a "members" site (AOL, Tripod, etc.), this may be your only option.

While this site was still on AOL I used separate counters on each page. Every night at about 11 pm I logged on and checked the counters one by one, carefully recording the numbers on a piece of paper. Primitive, slow, but it worked.

Instant feedback
Now that Interactive Design Forum has its own URL I can get detailed statistics on hits per page (and a lot more) via the server logs of my hosting service, currently Hispeed.net. The raw numbers are a goldmine of information, but the question is how to mine them. I'm now in search of the best web statistics analysis software. Any recommendations?

Counting visitors | Sample statistics | The best counter | Beyond counters

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