GoatCounter help

I don’t see my pageviews? §
For reasons of efficiency the statistics are updated once every minute.
What happens if I go over the amount of pageviews for my plan? §
We’ll be in touch if you consistently go over the number over pageviews, but there is no automated process to shut down accounts or anything like that.
How are bots and crawlers counted? §
They’re not; all bots and crawlers that identify themselves as such are ignored.
It’s not hard for a malicious script to disguise itself as Firefox or Chrome, and it’s hard to reliably detect this, so in practice it’s unlikely that 100% of all bots are ignored (this is a general problem with analytics, and not specific to GoatCounter).
How is the Do-Not-Track header handled? §
It’s ignored for two reasons:
  1. It has very low adoption across the internet in the first place. Setting it probably makes you more identifiable by trackers. I don’t recommend setting it if you care about not being tracked.
  2. I don’t think that DNT is really intended for the kind of statistics that GoatCounter collects. While the specification defines “tracking” as “collection, retention, and use of all data related to the request and response”, it’s clear from the introduction that this is primarily intended to combat invasive and persist cross-site tracking. From the introduction:

    In the status quo: A user navigates a sequence of popular websites, many of which incorporate content from a major advertising network. In addition to delivering advertisements, the advertising network assigns a unique cookie to the user agent and compiles observations of the user’s browsing habits.

    With Do Not Track: A user enables Do Not Track in her web browser. She navigates a sequence of popular websites, many of which incorporate content from a major advertising network. The advertising network delivers advertisements, but refrains from THIRD- PARTY TRACKING of the user.

    GoatCounter doesn’t do any of this, it just collects some basic statistics about how many people visit your site. Adhering to the strict definition of “tracking” is virtually impossible for any site: access logs, error logs, binding a cookie to IP, and other common and sensible features could be considered “tracking”.
What about GDPR consent notices? §
GoatCounter does not collect data which can be used to identify a person, and you almost certainly don’t need to ask for consent See Recital 26, “Not applicable to anonymous data”.

That being said, EU Regulations such as the GDPR are interpreted and enforced different across member states, and national laws may also apply. It’s advised you consult a lawyer if you want detailed legal advice specific to your situation.
How do I set up a custom domain? §
Add a CNAME record pointing to your GoatCounter subdomain: 
stats   IN CNAME    mine.goatcounter.com.
Then update the GoatCounter settings with your custom domain. It might take a few hours for everything to work. mine.goatcounter.com will continue to work.

You will need the Starter or Pro plan to set up a custom domain.