I’ve spent my career explaining building conditions to people in plain language. When I started looking at traffic on my own website, I kept running into tools that spoke a different language: sessions, bounce rates, events, dimensions. I didn’t want a lesson in analytics. I wanted to know which pages people read and which links they clicked.
So I built a simple tracker that answers those questions in everyday words. It’s called GNS Page and Site Tracker, and it’s a free plugin for WordPress.
You don’t need Google to get started
Install the plugin, click Start tracking, and it begins counting right away. The numbers are stored in your own WordPress database.
If you want more detail and a longer history, you can connect Google Analytics through the free Site Kit by Google plugin. The same dashboard will show your Google numbers too, including traffic from before you installed the tracker.
What it shows you
Which pages people view, with your most-viewed pages first.
Which links people click, which page they clicked from, and whether the link was in your menu or somewhere else on the page.
What kind of device they used: phone, tablet or computer.
A Focus page. Pick one page you care about, such as a new article, and check on it each time you visit. The tracker compares it with the period before, so you can see whether it’s growing.
Written in plain language
Every label and note on the dashboard is written for business owners, not engineers. When the tracker can’t show a number, it says so and explains why, instead of showing a misleading zero.
What it counts, and what it doesn’t
Visits while you’re signed in to WordPress aren’t counted, so your own checking and editing don’t inflate the numbers.
Common search engine bots are filtered out. No bot filter is perfect, so some automated traffic may still get through.
The built-in counter and Google Analytics count separately, so their numbers won’t match. Ad blockers often stop Google from counting, so the built-in counter usually shows more. Neither one is wrong.
Privacy
The built-in counter stores daily totals only. It doesn’t store IP addresses, names or email addresses. It doesn’t set cookies or follow individual visitors from page to page. Your numbers stay in your own WordPress database.
Who It’s For
I built it for my own site, but it’s meant for anyone who runs a WordPress site and wants straight answers: home inspectors, contractors, consultants, small business owners and bloggers.
Availability
The plugin has been submitted to the WordPress.org Plugin Directory and is waiting for review. Once it’s approved, you’ll be able to install it free from your WordPress dashboard. I’ll post the link here.
What’s Next
GNS Page and Site Tracker is an independent plugin and is not made by or affiliated with Google or Amazon. Google Analytics and Site Kit are products of Google.