How to Track WordPress Visitors and Page Views Without a Plugin – 2026

/*
 * Snippet: How to Track WordPress Visitors and Page Views Without a Plugin – 2026
 * Author: John Cook 
 * URL: https://wcsuccessacademy.com/?p=1290
 * Tested with WooCommerce 10.7.0
 * "Create custom database table for tracking"
*/

function wcsuccess_create_tracking_table() {
    global $wpdb;
    $table_name = $wpdb->prefix . 'visitor_tracking';
    
    $charset_collate = $wpdb->get_charset_collate();

    $sql = "CREATE TABLE $table_name (
        id mediumint(9) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
        visit_time datetime DEFAULT '0000-00-00 00:00:00' NOT NULL,
        ip_address varchar(100) NOT NULL,
        user_agent text NOT NULL,
        referrer text NOT NULL,
        page_url text NOT NULL,
        PRIMARY KEY (id)
    ) $charset_collate;";

    require_once(ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php');
    dbDelta($sql);
}

add_action('after_switch_theme', 'wcsuccess_create_tracking_table');

/*
 * Snippet: How to Track WordPress Visitors and Page Views Without a Plugin – 2026
 * Author: John Cook 
 * URL: https://wcsuccessacademy.com/?p=1290
 * Tested with WooCommerce 10.7.0
 * "Record visitor data"
*/

function wcsuccess_record_visitor_data() {
    global $wpdb;
    $table_name = $wpdb->prefix . 'visitor_tracking';

    $ip_address = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
    $user_agent = $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'];
    $referrer = isset($_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER']) ? $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'] : 'Direct';
    $page_url = home_url( add_query_arg( null, null ) );

    $wpdb->insert(
        $table_name,
        array(
            'visit_time' => current_time('mysql'),
            'ip_address' => $ip_address,
            'user_agent' => $user_agent,
            'referrer' => $referrer,
            'page_url' => $page_url
        )
    );
}

add_action('wp_footer', 'wcsuccess_record_visitor_data');

/*
 * Snippet: How to Track WordPress Visitors and Page Views Without a Plugin – 2026
 * Author: John Cook 
 * URL: https://wcsuccessacademy.com/?p=1290
 * Tested with WooCommerce 10.7.0
 * "Create admin page for viewing visitor data"
*/

function wcsuccess_add_tracking_menu() {
    add_menu_page(
        'Visitor Tracking',
        'Visitor Tracking',
        'manage_options',
        'visitor-tracking',
        'wcsuccess_display_tracking_data',
        'dashicons-chart-bar',
        27
    );
}

add_action('admin_menu', 'wcsuccess_add_tracking_menu');

function wcsuccess_display_tracking_data() {
    global $wpdb;
    $table_name = $wpdb->prefix . 'visitor_tracking';
    $tracking_data = $wpdb->get_results("SELECT * FROM $table_name ORDER BY visit_time DESC");

    echo '<div class="wrap">';
    echo '<h1>Visitor Tracking</h1>';
    echo '<table class="wp-list-table widefat fixed striped">';
    echo '<thead><tr><th>ID</th><th>Visit Time</th><th>IP Address</th><th>User Agent</th><th>Referrer</th><th>Page URL</th></tr></thead>';
    echo '<tbody>';

    foreach ($tracking_data as $data) {
        echo '<tr>';
        echo '<td>' . $data->id . '</td>';
        echo '<td>' . $data->visit_time . '</td>';
        echo '<td>' . $data->ip_address . '</td>';
        echo '<td>' . $data->user_agent . '</td>';
        echo '<td>' . $data->referrer . '</td>';
        echo '<td>' . $data->page_url . '</td>';
        echo '</tr>';
    }

    echo '</tbody></table>';
    echo '</div>';
}

/*
 * Snippet: How to Track WordPress Visitors and Page Views Without a Plugin – 2026
 * Author: John Cook 
 * URL: https://wcsuccessacademy.com/?p=1290
 * Tested with WooCommerce 10.7.0
 * "Secure the admin page"
*/

function wcsuccess_add_tracking_menu() {
    add_menu_page(
        'Visitor Tracking',
        'Visitor Tracking',
        'manage_options',
        'visitor-tracking',
        'wcsuccess_display_tracking_data',
        'dashicons-chart-bar',
        27
    );
}

add_action('admin_menu', 'wcsuccess_add_tracking_menu');