Troubleshooting
What to check when no visits show, numbers look too low or too high, a goal stays at zero, or you can't open or change something.
Reference5 min read
Find the symptom, then the likely cause and what to do. Questions for your developers are in Troubleshooting for developers.
No visits show
Install says Waiting for the first visit, or Sites shows a site as Waiting for the first visit.
The script isn't on the website yet, or not on the page you opened
What to do
Ask your developers to add it from Install, in the layout every page uses.
You opened an address the site doesn't list, such as a staging address, or
localhost on your own computerWhat to do
Add the address under Site settings, one per line.
*.northwilds.com covers subdomains, but not northwilds.com itself, so list both.Your browser has Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control switched on
What to do
Those browsers are never counted. Try another browser, or switch the setting off for the test.
An ad blocker or a browser's tracking protection blocks the script
What to do
Try a private window without extensions. Your developers can serve the script from your own domain so fewer are blocked.
Your browser opted out, or was marked as your team's
What to do
Open your website with
#insights-on at the end of the address and confirm.Your website asks for consent first, and you haven't accepted
What to do
Accept on the consent banner, then open another page.
You are on a VPN or in an office whose network runs in a data centre
What to do
Those visits are left out as data-centre traffic. Check What was left out on the overview, and see Leave out data centres and hosting networks in Change a site's settings.
The site is in the bin
What to do
Restore it from Bin. Nothing is counted while it is there.
| Cause | What to do |
|---|---|
| The script isn't on the website yet, or not on the page you opened | Ask your developers to add it from Install, in the layout every page uses. |
You opened an address the site doesn't list, such as a staging address, or localhost on your own computer | Add the address under Site settings, one per line. *.northwilds.com covers subdomains, but not northwilds.com itself, so list both. |
| Your browser has Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control switched on | Those browsers are never counted. Try another browser, or switch the setting off for the test. |
| An ad blocker or a browser's tracking protection blocks the script | Try a private window without extensions. Your developers can serve the script from your own domain so fewer are blocked. |
| Your browser opted out, or was marked as your team's | Open your website with #insights-on at the end of the address and confirm. |
| Your website asks for consent first, and you haven't accepted | Accept on the consent banner, then open another page. |
| You are on a VPN or in an office whose network runs in a data centre | Those visits are left out as data-centre traffic. Check What was left out on the overview, and see Leave out data centres and hosting networks in Change a site's settings. |
| The site is in the bin | Restore it from Bin. Nothing is counted while it is there. |
Visits show within a few seconds of arriving. Right now on the overview is the quickest check.
Fewer visits than expected
- Ad blockers: Visitors whose ad blocker stops the script are not counted. Serving it from your own domain loses fewer.
- Left out on purpose: Bots, referrer spam, data centres, your excluded addresses and browsers that ask not to be tracked. What was left out beside the overview counts each.
- Through your own server without a proxy token: Every visit then shows your server's country, people count as fewer visitors, and visits can be left out as data-centre traffic. An Admin creates a token under Site settings, First-party proxy, and your developers add it to the website's server.
- Another tool shows more: Tools that use cookies recognise a visitor across days and count consent differently, so the numbers never match exactly. Insights Orbit counts a visitor once a day; see How visits are counted without cookies.
More visits than expected
- Your own team: Mark your team's browsers, or leave out your office's address, under Site settings.
- A visitor on two days: counts as two visitors, by design.
- Visitors are estimated: shows under the chart when the period includes part of a day. Someone who came in two different hours may count twice.
All visits come from one country
Usually your website passes visits on through its own server without a proxy token, so Insights Orbit sees your server. See the point above.
A goal stays at zero
The page path doesn't match. Is exactly compares the whole path, so
/booking/thank-you and /booking/thank-you/ are different.What to do
Open Pages, copy the path exactly as listed, and edit the goal. Or use Starts with.
The event's name doesn't match
What to do
Use the name exactly as Events lists it, with the same capitals.
A detail is required that the event doesn't send
What to do
Open the event under Events to see its details and values.
The page or event stopped working, such as a broken form
What to do
An alert for A goal stops being completed catches this next time.
| Cause | What to do |
|---|---|
The page path doesn't match. Is exactly compares the whole path, so /booking/thank-you and /booking/thank-you/ are different. | Open Pages, copy the path exactly as listed, and edit the goal. Or use Starts with. |
| The event's name doesn't match | Use the name exactly as Events lists it, with the same capitals. |
| A detail is required that the event doesn't send | Open the event under Events to see its details and values. |
| The page or event stopped working, such as a broken form | An alert for A goal stops being completed catches this next time. |
Goals look back, so a fixed goal shows completions from before you changed it.
A label stops counting
A note on Events and Labels says when a label hasn't been clicked for a week or more. The button may have changed on your website. See Label buttons and links.
You can't open or change something
Insights Orbit isn't in Orbit's switcher
Why
Your organisation hasn't given you Insights Orbit. Ask an owner or admin to add it under Members in Orbit.
People, Known users, API keys, API playground, S3 export and Audit trail aren't in the sidebar
Why
They are for Admins.
Buttons to add or change are missing
Why
Viewers read reports only. An Admin can make you an Editor under People. See Who can do what.
Paused · read-only, or a note that the trial or plan has ended
Why
Insights Orbit is paused: visits are not counted, summaries and alerts stop, and nothing can be changed until an owner chooses a plan under Billing in Orbit. Nothing is deleted.
No plan · read-only
Why
Insights Orbit has not been started for this organisation. Nothing can be changed until an owner chooses a plan under Billing in Orbit.
A feature says In Growth and up or similar
Why
It isn't in your plan. See Plans and monthly events.
A shared dashboard link shows a page that can't be found
Why
The link was stopped, passed its end date, or the dashboard is in the bin.
| What you see | Why |
|---|---|
| Insights Orbit isn't in Orbit's switcher | Your organisation hasn't given you Insights Orbit. Ask an owner or admin to add it under Members in Orbit. |
| People, Known users, API keys, API playground, S3 export and Audit trail aren't in the sidebar | They are for Admins. |
| Buttons to add or change are missing | Viewers read reports only. An Admin can make you an Editor under People. See Who can do what. |
| Paused · read-only, or a note that the trial or plan has ended | Insights Orbit is paused: visits are not counted, summaries and alerts stop, and nothing can be changed until an owner chooses a plan under Billing in Orbit. Nothing is deleted. |
| No plan · read-only | Insights Orbit has not been started for this organisation. Nothing can be changed until an owner chooses a plan under Billing in Orbit. |
| A feature says In Growth and up or similar | It isn't in your plan. See Plans and monthly events. |
| A shared dashboard link shows a page that can't be found | The link was stopped, passed its end date, or the dashboard is in the bin. |
Summary emails or alerts don't arrive
Summary emails go only to people with Insights Orbit in your organisation, weekly on Monday at 07:00 or monthly on the first, in the site's time zone. Stop these emails at the bottom of an email stops it for that person. Alerts appear in the Orbit bell, not by email. Check who they are set to under Summary emails and Alerts, and use Send now there to send yourself a preview. See Send summary emails and Alerts.
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Read next
Add your first siteAdd a website to Insights Orbit, put the script on it and see the first visit arrive.How visits are counted without cookiesWhat Insights Orbit reads and keeps, what it never stores, and whether you need a consent banner.Change a site's settingsRename a site, change its addresses, switch automatic events off, leave out your own visits, let visitors opt out and delete test traffic.Who can do whatViewers read reports, Editors also manage goals, and Admins also manage sites and settings.Troubleshooting for developersEvery answer the collector, the server API and the raw event API give, and the common reasons a website sends nothing, with the cause and the fix.