OWFR Traffic Analytics
Communications Team Guide

The OWFR Traffic Analytics plugin is a built-in dashboard that shows how visitors are using the OWFR website. It tracks page views, unique visitors, where traffic comes from, and what kinds of devices people are using.

Unlike third-party tools such as Google Analytics, this dashboard lives entirely within your own WordPress site. No data is shared with outside companies, and everything is visible in one place inside your WordPress admin area.

What does it track?

• Every page visited on the public website (URL and page title)
• Whether a visitor is new or returning within the same day
• Where visitors came from (direct link, search engine, social media, another website, or internal navigation)
• Whether they are on a desktop, mobile phone, or tablet
• The date and time of each visit

What does it NOT track?

• Personal information: no names, email addresses, or login details are stored
• Exact IP addresses: addresses are converted to an anonymous code (hash) that cannot be reversed
• WordPress admin pages: only public-facing pages are counted
• Search engine bots and automated crawlers: these are filtered out automatically

The dashboard is organized from top to bottom in the following order:

1. Header: Shows the page title and two action buttons (Demo Mode and Export PDF).
2. Date filter bar: Preset buttons to quickly select a time period, plus a custom date range option.
3. Four summary cards: At-a-glance numbers for the selected period.
4. Visitors Over Time chart: A line graph showing daily page views and unique visitors.
5. Traffic Sources and Device Types charts: Two side-by-side donut charts.
6. Most Visited Pages table: A ranked list of the top 15 pages by view count.

1. Log in to WordPress at ottawawestfourrivers.com/wp-admin using your username and password.
2. In the left-hand sidebar, look for the chart icon labelled Traffic Analytics and click it.
3. The dashboard loads and defaults to the current month's data.

At the top of the main dashboard area, four summary cards give you an instant overview of the selected date period:

The date filter bar sits above the summary cards. All the charts and numbers on the page update automatically when you change the date selection.

Preset periods

Visitors Over Time (line chart)

The wide chart across the top of the main area shows daily traffic over the selected period. It has two lines:

• Dark green line: Total page views per day
• Light green line: Unique visitors per day

Hover your mouse over any point on the chart to see the exact numbers for that day. A spike in the dark green line on a particular day means a large number of page loads occurred; if the light green (unique) line is much lower, it likely means a smaller group of people visited many pages that day.

Traffic Sources (donut chart)

This chart breaks down where visitors came from. The five possible sources are:

Device Types (donut chart)

This chart shows the breakdown of visitor devices:

• Desktop: Visitors on a laptop or desktop computer
• Mobile: Visitors on a smartphone
• Tablet: Visitors on a tablet device

Hover over any segment to see the exact count and percentage. This information is useful for understanding whether the majority of your audience is reading on a small screen (mobile/tablet) or a larger screen (desktop), which can guide decisions about content layout and image sizes.

The table at the bottom of the dashboard lists the top 15 most-visited pages during the selected period. Each row shows:

The dashboard includes a Demo Mode that fills all charts and cards with realistic-looking simulated data. This is useful for:

• Showing stakeholders or leadership what the dashboard looks like before real traffic data exists
• Training new team members on how to read the charts
• Testing the PDF export feature with sample data

How to turn Demo Mode on and off:

1. Click the Demo Mode button in the top-right corner of the dashboard.
2. A yellow banner appears at the top of the dashboard to remind you that the data shown is not real.
3. All charts and cards update immediately with sample figures.
4. To return to real data, click Exit Demo in the banner (or click the Demo Mode button again).

You can download a PDF snapshot of the current dashboard view to share with your team or include in a report. The PDF captures the summary cards, charts, and top pages table exactly as they appear on screen for the selected date range.

1. Select the date range you want to report on using the date filter bar.
2. Wait for the dashboard to fully load (all charts should be visible).
3. Click the Export PDF button in the top-right corner of the header.
4. Your browser will download a PDF file automatically.

The Traffic Analytics plugin is designed with visitor privacy in mind. Here is how data is handled:

Bot filtering

The plugin automatically identifies and ignores requests from search engine crawlers and automated bots (such as Googlebot, Bingbot, and similar). This means the view counts reflect genuine human visitors rather than automated traffic.

Rate limiting (preventing double-counting)

If the same visitor reloads the same page within five minutes, only the first visit is counted. This prevents a single visitor from inflating the view count by refreshing a page repeatedly.

The dashboard shows zero data. What is wrong?

If you have just installed the plugin, there may not be any recorded traffic yet. The plugin only begins collecting data after it is activated. Check the date filter and make sure the selected period includes dates after the plugin was installed. If the site has been live for a while and data is still missing, contact your website administrator.

Why are my own visits showing up in the data?

The plugin tracks all public page views, including those made by logged-in Administrators when browsing the front end of the site. If you visit the public website while logged in, those visits are counted. To avoid skewing the data, use an incognito/private browser window or a separate browser when testing pages.

The numbers look much lower than expected. Is something broken?

Check that the correct date range is selected. Also keep in mind that the plugin filters out bot traffic, which can represent a significant portion of total requests to a website. The figures shown reflect real human visitors only, which is typically a smaller number than raw server log counts.

Can I see which specific visitors came from social media?

The dashboard shows the total count of visits from social media sources but does not show which individual social platforms (e.g. Facebook vs. LinkedIn). The source categories are broad: Direct, Organic, Social, Referral, and Internal.

How long is data kept?

Data is kept indefinitely in the WordPress database unless manually deleted by an Administrator. There is no automatic expiry. If the database grows very large over time, a developer can archive or clear older records.

Can I see data for a specific page only?

The Most Visited Pages table shows the top 15 pages for the selected period. More detailed per-page filtering is not available in the current version of the plugin.

Is this a replacement for Google Analytics?

It provides a privacy-friendly, self-hosted alternative that covers the most common reporting needs: traffic volume, sources, devices, and top pages. It does not include more advanced features such as goal tracking, funnel analysis, or real-time visitor maps. For high-level communications reporting, the built-in dashboard is fully sufficient.

Who do I contact if something is broken or I need more help?

Reach out to the website administrator or the developer who manages the OWFR website.