tools-only Web Analytics Gotchas
Critical Issues
SPA Navigation Not Tracked
Symptom: Only initial pageload counted
Fix: Add spa: true:
<script data-cf-beacon='{"token": "TOKEN", "spa": true}' ...></script>
CSP Blocking Beacon
Symptom: Console error "Refused to load script"
Fix: Allow both domains:
script-src 'self' https://static.cloudflareinsights.com https://cloudflareinsights.com;
Hash-Based Routing Unsupported
Symptom: #/path URLs not tracked
Fix: Migrate to History API (BrowserRouter, not HashRouter). No workaround for hash routing.
No Data Appearing
Causes & Fixes:
- Delay - Wait 5-15 minutes
- Wrong token - Verify matches dashboard exactly
- Script blocked - Check DevTools Network tab for beacon.min.js
- Domain mismatch - Dashboard site must match actual URL
Auto-Injection Fails
Cause: Cache-Control: no-transform header
Fix: Remove no-transform or install beacon manually
Duplicate Pageviews
Cause: Multiple beacon scripts
Fix: Keep only one beacon per page
Configuration Issues
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| 10-site limit reached | Delete old sites or proxy through CF (unlimited) |
| Token not recognized | Use exact alphanumeric token from dashboard |
Framework-Specific
Next.js Hydration Warning
<script suppressHydrationWarning ... />
Gatsby Window Undefined
Use gatsby-browser.js to load client-side only.
Limits
| Resource | Limit |
|---|---|
| Non-proxied sites | 10 |
| Proxied sites | Unlimited |
| Data retention | 6 months |
| Ingestion delay | 5-10 min |
| API access | None (dashboard only) |
When NOT to Use Web Analytics
Use alternatives if you need:
- Custom event tracking
- Real-time data
- User-level tracking
- Conversion funnels
- Data export/API access
Web Analytics excels at: Core Web Vitals, basic traffic, privacy compliance, free unlimited pageviews.