Several way to get stats on users: web logs, 1x1 pixel, javascript, etc. Each has pros and cons.
Being a webmaster of a club, I wanted to know more about users hitting the site. I looked at doing javascript but because I didn't have a scripting language on the server side (nor a database) I couldn't find an easy, inexpensive solution. I didn't have access to the logs so I couldn't use anything like Analog.
The method I choose was to use a javascript placed in the header of all my pages. This header called a free service to
http://www.google.com/analytics/ Now, the service might not be free for everyone; check the user agreement. Google had step by step instructions on how to set everything up.
Google does try to give you a graph where your visitors come from based on IP address. This is flawed when you start looking at some ISPs (like AOL) or large corporations that use proxy servers. Because each user has to hit code on google's site, it is able to see all unique visitors and even track their path. I can even see what search was used to find my website.
There are other companies that offer services similar to google. All that I looked at required placing some little bit of code on each page. The code is not unique for each page so it could be placed in some include, header, or footer file.
Here are a list that I found:
http://www.omniture.com/products/web_analytics
http://www.onestat.com/
http://www.statcounter.com/
http://www.ewebcounter.com/
Matt
