Folks,
Apologies for the hiatus in communication. Over the last few weeks the whole team has been engrossed in the new design for StatCounter…
While private beta testing has been ongoing for some time now, we’re delighted to announce the public launch of the beta site today.
New Look and Improved Features
As well as a fresh new look, the beta site boasts many improvements and new features including:
- Date Range Selector for all stats – identify, for example, which Search Engines were used to find your site yesterday. Or last week. Or compare last week and this week. Etc.
- Simplified Code Generation Process – get your code more quickly. Reinstallation is much easier too.
- Quicker Sign Up for New Members – fewer clicks, more intuitive process – now you can feel even better about recommending us to your friends and colleages 😉
- Hourly Stats – based on the log file – watch the hour-by-hour traffic trends on your site.
- Project Dropdown List – simply toggle between your projects when viewing your stats.
- Improved Browser Stats – now it’s even easier to monitor the most popular browser families and browser versions used to view your site.
Thank you!
We’d like to offer our sincere thanks to all our private beta testers. While we haven’t been able to respond to every communication, all feedback has been read and taken on board. Your comments, suggestions and ideas have been invaluable. Sincere thanks to each and every one of you for your time.
To any of our members who may be CONCERNED:
We are all well aware of the many botched redesigns that have taken place on various websites over the years… please be assured that we have NO intention of suffering the same fate! The site redesign was undertaken simply and solely to improve StatCounter for you, our members, in response to the many requests and comments you submitted. We hope we have managed to achieve a fresh but familiar look. You will also note that we are *not* imposing this redesign on you! Instead, the new design continues as an optional beta allowing us to iron our any remaining bugs or problems before the new site eventually goes live.
PLEASE use this beta testing period to become familiar with the new StatCounter design. Please also submit your feedback (good and bad!) to allow us to fine-tune the new site according to your preferences.
We’re really excited about the new design and we hope you will be too! As always, your comments are welcome below.
The beta version of StatCounter is COMPLETELY optional at the moment. We are *not* imposing this new design on you – instead we have presented you with a new version of the site which we are changing and tweaking according to your feedback!
Some members are asking how to “switch” between versions – please note the relevant URLS:
- Access the main/current/regular StatCounter site as you always do at http://statcounter.com.
- Access the new/trial/beta StatCounter site at the special beta URL http://beta.statcounter.com
I like the new/beta look and function. with the previous version, when i want to switch to other stat i have to go back. but with this, just check the dropdown. good luck statcounter, wish you always be the best.
Thanx for all your work guys/gals. It’s brilliant, and the fact that it is an improvement in practicality and visually, is encouraging for us bloggers.
Thankyou.
vl
Why does the weekly Summary View now show the week in advance. I know nobody has yet visited my site tomorrow – I want to compare to yesterday!! (or last Monday.) I liked the rolling week you used to have as default. Now you have to manually type in the parameters each time you refresh. Argh!
Hi Jeanne,
It sounds like you are looking at “This Week” instead of “Last 7 Days” – just change the option under the Summary Stats graph.
Terrific improvement. I love the drop down list of sites. I was able to go quickly through all of my sites to find the the most popular pages of each one. With this information I will be able to focus on improving these pages. Thanks very much.
Hi, please don’t use Helvetica, because it’s looks ugly in Firefox+Windows. More about this problem: http://bit.ly/ihs84P and many other websites… For the rest the new version looks cool.
This is awesome. I just loved the BETA version after my first look and came back here to say ‘thank you’.
I will try this…
much better, specialy stat by hours!
Statcounter is a part of my life!!!
Nice Work Guys
I will try the new statcounter site right now. Thanks a lot for all the service that you people provide us.
How to I switch back? In sync with Helene’s points: Recent Came From is MUCH harder to read. Sorry, guys. I’ll stick with the old version as long as I can if you can tell me how to get back there.
StatCounter is available on the same URL as always http://statcounter.com.
To access the new, beta site you must go to http://beta.statcounter.com.
Hope that helps.
It’s important to note that we are all overly busy people here, and the ONLY reason we interrupt workflow to make comment about the new Statcounter ‘facelift’ is because we love Statcounter SO MUCH, that we really, really want to support you with feedback.
That’s why it’s hard, when most of my own feedback on this new thing is negative. Yes, as some have pointed out, it is ‘cuter’ but ‘cute’ is NEVER what I was looking for in a stat counter.
I have used this service for years, and gradually moved from free to paying versions and from casual daily glances, to where I now keep stats open 27/7 and check in several times per hour. My visits to check stats are frequent, quick and very important to me. The stats counter gives me extremely valuable info about my readers and allows me to tailor my content accordingly to generate even more traffic.
white space:
I’ve already give you feedback but am happy to see others here now who feel like I do, that there is too much white space. I am all in favour of white space in web design. (There is not enough of it, imho) … but not in data tables please! The process of checking stats is slowed down significantly.
flag icons:
for those of us with international sites, the flag icons being aligned on the left was deriguer. It allowed me to quickly search and find specific visitors from certain countries etc. Almost impossible to do this now. Why not keep the flags at left and move the magnifying glass to the right, at the end of the user info. That way the magnifier is easier to grab. The flag is a visual cue and doesn’t need to be grabbed at all, so it could easily rest on the left. I usually opt to magnify a visitor path details only after I read the string of user info, so the magnifier could easily be at right, closer to the scrollbar and mouse. Your actions would follow your eye: flag, ip, decide to magnify, click.
wrapping urls and page titles
not sure why this is happening now, but it REALLY slows down scanning and takes up too much space, especially given the new line spacing.
bolding of font for “exit link” on visitor path pages:
totally trips the eye and slows down scanning of page. Old way was great.
lack of vertical separation on left sidebar links:
while this bothers others, I think I will get used to it. For me the ability to quickly scan through hundreds or thousands of visitor paths quickly is much more important than how fast I can grap a link on the left. This is a low priority issue for me, at least.
That’s all I have time for now. I have to agree with the others here who suggest a facelift is not necessary when the service you delivered was already excellent. I would love to see feedback on this redesign divided according to heavier vs lighter users. I bet your heaviest, most paying users are the least thrilled about it. But we STILL LOVE YOU LIKE CRAZY!!!
Thanks again for your great SERVICE and wonderful responsive ways.
My stat counter is blank . . . anyone know why? (the old one, that is.)
Thanks ~ Glenda
Gotta try this!
all members must try its perfect
I find the new version harder to read. It seems like it should be easier but it’s not.
Hello,
New features are welcome of course. But the design should keep the strength of the old looks and the various tables, fields, icons, etc. should clearly stand out as separate items so they can easily and quickly be distinguished. The design should never be more important than the usability. The trend is softer tones. But why make something weaker than it was before. In the last year and a half eBay struggled with the design of their pages and made it possible to use trial versions. Their new design had such a weak apprach that many buyers and sellers (I was among them) corresponded with eBay and gave their opinion. This has finally resulted in a strong and excellent layout for the eBay pages. I would suggest that you give the left table a stronger color and set clear boundaries and separations instead of the sugary and fading fields. Practicallity comes first and then beauty. You may find me conservative, but a good design should never let the fields compete but alway give one the lead, and a second a less prominent position and a third even less, so orientation can take place in a few nanoseconds so to speak. One never should forget that customers are bombarded with so many pages and images during the day, that a strong and distinctive approach is imperative. Good luck.
Rudolf (a conservative user).
The new Face Lift for the site looks good. I have compared pages and comments and have to say that everyone is not going to be happy with change. I was happy with the old site and will be fine with the change.
Everything loads fine for me.
The information is what I am after, as long as I can review it with out problems I am a happy camper. I use the free service and did have a paid account when I was working for and IT company. So I never knock a free service, keep up the fantastic service.
“IT IS WHAT IT IS “
I’m having trouble accessing the old Statcounter and the new Beta version. It simply won’t load. It’s been going on all week. Can you tell me the best way to access my StatCounter now?
I like everything about the new look except for one minor detail – when I refresh the page it reverts back to the old look!!!! How do I get it to retain the new look? I use Google Chrome as my browser.
Hi Bruce,
StatCounter is available on the same URL as always http://statcounter.com.
To access the new, beta site you must go to http://beta.statcounter.com.
Hope that helps.
Ours is not a commercial site but a club one used to provide information for two communities – our members and the public.
Each page is marked and the statistics used to assess what attracts each community and the level of use of each.
Although we do not sell anything at present, it is increasingly important to us to know our public – almost to see ourselves through the eyes of others.
As far as the new Statcounter site is concerned I tend to share some of the views so far recorded about additional white space. While it makes for clearer reading the downside is more scrolling. Clearer reading does not win the argument for me as the existing site is perfectly readable.
Hourly is of little value to me. Being able to record numbers of .pdf downloads would be more helpful.
While it is always essential to review and, if possible, improve what we have the new site does not in my eyes offer significant benefit over the present. That said I do really appreciate what you offer.