The Motive Web Design Glossary
web server logs, log files, log file analysis
Server log vs web log
Server logs record the actions of a computer that stores (hosts) a website, while a web log (blog) is used to publish the thoughts and actions of an author. The two are similar in that the passage of time is central to how content is stored and accessed.
Each time a person views a webpage a request is sent from their computer to the computer where the website is stored (server). These requests are for the individual files that make-up the webpage: for example an HTML file, images and scripts. The web server log is a record of these requests.
Interpreting web server logs
Interpreting web server logs, or log analysis, involves processing the log file, either manually or using a software package. The resulting statistics are often useful in understanding how people interact with a website.
Statistics about a website visitor that log file analysis can provide include:
- the type of browser used to view the website
- the details of the service the person uses to connect to the internet, including an IP address
- their country of origin
- if the person linked to the website from a search engine, the words they searched for (query)
- the webpages viewed
- the time spent on the website
- sample paths: the order in which webpages were viewed
client/server, download/upload, hits, HTTP, IP address, referrer logs, traffic
References and further reading
- Web log analysis software (Open Directory)
Glossary A-Z