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The invisit blog

What we learn about web analytics, privacy and the visitors AI assistants now send, while building invisit.

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AI crawler user agents in 2026: what each bot does, how to block itEvery AI crawler from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Perplexity, Apple, Meta and more, with its robots.txt token, IP list, and a robots.txt to copy.November 3, 2026 · 13 min read

Analytics MCP servers: connect GA4 and others to Claude or ChatGPTWhich analytics tools have an MCP server, how each signs in and what it can change, with setup for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor and the traps in AI answers.November 3, 2026 · 15 min read
Why do GA4, Plausible and server logs show different numbers?Every reason GA4, Plausible, Vercel and server logs disagree, how big each gap gets, how to check it, and a procedure to reconcile one week.November 3, 2026 · 16 min read
How to proxy analytics through your own domain past ad blockersWhat EasyPrivacy blocks, how to measure the traffic it hides, and tested analytics proxies for Next.js, Cloudflare Workers, nginx and Vercel.November 3, 2026 · 12 min read
How big is your analytics script? We measured 15 trackersGA4, PostHog, Mixpanel, Plausible, Fathom, invisit and 9 more trackers measured raw, gzip and brotli, plus what loads later and how to check your own.November 3, 2026 · 16 min read
How to add analytics to Astro with view transitions, testedWhere the tracker goes in Astro, which tools count view transition page views (we tested invisit, Plausible, Umami and GA4), and the proxy traps.November 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Bot traffic in Google Analytics and others: how to spot and filter itHow GA4, Plausible, Umami, Fathom, Matomo, PostHog, Cloudflare and Vercel filter bots, what slips past them, and how to clean up your numbers.November 3, 2026 · 16 min read
Bounce rate vs engagement rate: how GA4, Plausible and 7 others countHow GA4, Plausible, Fathom, Umami, Matomo, PostHog and three more define bounce rate, engaged sessions and time on page, with worked examples.November 3, 2026 · 15 min read
Do you need a cookie banner for analytics? EU, UK and US in 2026What EU, UK and US law says about analytics cookies and cookieless tracking as of November 2026, with a setup-by-setup table and a checklist.November 3, 2026 · 12 min read
How cookieless analytics counts unique visitors, and what it can'tThe four ways analytics tools tell visitors apart, what each can and cannot count across days, and why a deleted salt matters. Checked November 2026.November 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Cross-domain tracking: one visitor across subdomains and domainsHow GA4, Plausible, Fathom, Umami, Matomo, PostHog and invisit follow one visitor across www, subdomains, other domains and checkout pages, tested.November 3, 2026 · 14 min read
7 best DataFast alternatives in 2026, compared on revenuePlausible, Umami, PostHog, invisit and 3 more DataFast alternatives: how each gets revenue, ties it to channels, and handles cookies, EU data and export.November 3, 2026 · 19 min read
Documentation analytics: what to measure on developer docs and howWhat to measure on docs besides page views, what Mintlify, GitBook, ReadMe, Docusaurus, Starlight and VitePress report, and tested code for search events.November 3, 2026 · 12 min read
8 best Dub alternatives in 2026, hosted and self-hostedShort.io, Shlink, Kutt, YOURLS, invisit, Rebrandly, Bitly and Bl.ink compared with Dub on click limits, data retention, conversions, self-hosting and price.November 3, 2026 · 21 min read
How to exclude your own visits and internal traffic from analyticsKeep your browsers, teammates, previews, localhost and test runs out of GA4, Plausible, Umami, Fathom, Matomo, PostHog and Vercel, with a comparison table.November 3, 2026 · 15 min read
How to export Google Analytics 4 data and keep it after you switchEvery way to get your GA4 history out, from CSV to BigQuery, with row limits and quotas, a tested Data API script, and which tools import GA4.November 3, 2026 · 13 min read
8 best Fathom Analytics alternatives in 2026, priced at your tierUmami, Pirsch, Simple Analytics, invisit and 4 more Fathom alternatives priced at 100K, 1M and 2M pageviews, and which import your Fathom history.November 3, 2026 · 23 min read
11 free web analytics tools in 2026: what each free plan includesGA4, Cloudflare, Clarity, Umami, PostHog, Mixpanel and 5 more free analytics plans compared: traffic caps, data kept, cookies and what costs extra.November 3, 2026 · 19 min read
Why funnel conversion rates differ between analytics toolsHow GA4, Mixpanel, Amplitude, PostHog, Plausible, Umami, Matomo and invisit define a funnel, and one dataset scored under seven of them: 46% to 73%.November 3, 2026 · 16 min read
12 best Google Analytics alternatives in 2026, comparedPlausible, Fathom, Umami, Matomo, PostHog and 7 more Google Analytics alternatives, with prices at 100K and 1M, cookies, EU data and script size.November 3, 2026 · 19 min read
Is Google Analytics legal in the EU in 2026? What changed, what to doYes, with consent and a careful setup. Why EU regulators banned it in 2022, what the Data Privacy Framework changed, the pending appeal, and a GA4 checklist.November 3, 2026 · 14 min read
7 best Matomo alternatives in 2026, and how to export your dataUmami, Plausible, Piwik PRO, GA4, PostHog and 2 more Matomo alternatives for self-hosters and Cloud users, with prices and a tested export script.November 3, 2026 · 22 min read
8 best Microsoft Clarity alternatives in 2026, comparedHotjar (now Contentsquare), PostHog, FullStory, Mouseflow, LogRocket, OpenReplay, Umami and invisit compared on recordings, heatmaps, consent and price.November 3, 2026 · 23 min read
7 best Mixpanel alternatives in 2026, comparedAmplitude, PostHog, Heap, Umami, Matomo, Plausible and invisit compared for leaving Mixpanel: price at 10M events, cookies, and importing your history.November 3, 2026 · 20 min read
How to track signups and conversions in Next.js without cookiesA Next.js App Router walkthrough: a cookieless tracker, signups counted only once the account exists, payments sent from the webhook, and a funnel.November 3, 2026 · 13 min read
How to track outbound link clicks and file downloads: 8 tools testedWhich outbound link clicks and file downloads GA4, Plausible, Matomo, PostHog, Umami, Fathom, Simple Analytics and invisit record, tested in Chrome.November 3, 2026 · 13 min read
8 best Plausible alternatives in 2026, comparedPirsch, Rybbit, Umami, Fathom, PostHog and 3 more Plausible alternatives: what funnels cost at 1M and 10M, which import your history, and what each lacks.November 3, 2026 · 21 min read
7 best PostHog alternatives in 2026, priced piece by pieceReplace PostHog one product at a time: Statsig, Amplitude, GrowthBook, Sentry, Clarity, Plausible and invisit, priced against the PostHog price list.November 3, 2026 · 22 min read
Public analytics dashboards: how to share stats without leakingPublish or embed your stats from GA4, Plausible, Fathom, Simple Analytics, Umami, Matomo, PostHog or invisit, and what to check before you post the link.November 3, 2026 · 13 min read
How to measure Core Web Vitals from real users (CrUX vs RUM)CrUX vs your own RUM, why PageSpeed Insights has no field data for a page, tested web-vitals code, and what six tools charge for vitals.November 3, 2026 · 14 min read
Server-side vs client-side analytics: what to measure whereWhat only the browser or only your server can see, how a server event joins the visit, and tested server APIs for GA4, Plausible, Umami, PostHog and Mixpanel.November 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Shopify analytics without cookies: theme, custom pixel or webhookWhere analytics code runs on Shopify in 2026, what a custom pixel can see, how GA4, Plausible, Fathom, Umami and PostHog set up, and how to count every order.November 3, 2026 · 13 min read
7 best Simple Analytics alternatives in 2026, by what they trackGoatCounter, Plausible, Pirsch, Swetrix and 3 more Simple Analytics alternatives, ordered by what each processes to count a visitor, with prices and imports.November 3, 2026 · 22 min read
How to track page views in a single-page app: 7 tools testedHow analytics scripts follow SPA route changes, why page views double or go missing, and how GA4, Plausible, Umami, Fathom, PostHog and Vercel behave.November 3, 2026 · 12 min read
How to track 404 errors and find the pages that link to themFind the 404s visitors and crawlers hit and the link behind each: server logs, Search Console, GA4, Plausible, Matomo and more, with tested code.November 3, 2026 · 12 min read
How to get alerted when website traffic drops, spikes or stopsSpike, drop and tracking-stopped alerts in GA4, Plausible, Matomo, PostHog, Fathom, Umami and invisit, with thresholds that hold and a tested Slack script.November 3, 2026 · 15 min read
8 best Umami alternatives in 2026, self-hosted and cloudUmami alternatives for self-hosters and Umami Cloud users: Rybbit, Plausible, Matomo, Pirsch and 4 more, with prices, retention and which import Umami data.November 3, 2026 · 20 min read
8 best Vercel Analytics alternatives for Next.js in 2026Cloudflare, Umami, Plausible, PostHog and 4 more Vercel Web Analytics alternatives: Next.js setup, event limits, web vitals, data kept and prices.November 3, 2026 · 19 min read
How to add analytics to Webflow, Framer, Squarespace and WixWhere tracking code goes on each builder, which plan it needs, how page changes and clicks are counted, and the staging traps, tested in November 2026.November 3, 2026 · 14 min read
How to add analytics to WordPress without a plugin or cookiesA tested must-use plugin for WordPress analytics: editors left out, WooCommerce orders counted, caching plugins fixed, and 7 analytics plugins compared.November 3, 2026 · 12 min read
How to track ChatGPT traffic in GA4, Plausible, Umami and othersWhich analytics tools file ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity clicks as AI traffic, whether they read utm_source=chatgpt.com, and how to set up each one.November 2, 2026 · 12 min read