# Realtime

The Web Analytics **Realtime** page shows the visitors on your site in the last 5 minutes and the pages they read. Open it after you launch a page or send a mailing, or to check that tracking works.

## Before you start [#before-you-start]

- Install the Web Analytics script. See [Analytics script](/connect/analytics-script). Without the script, the page shows **Install Web Analytics to see who is on your site right now**.
- Verify the domain. See [Verify ownership](/getting-started/domain-setup/verify-ownership).
- In the sidebar, select **Web Analytics** > **Realtime**.
- The Realtime page has no filter dock. It always shows the last 5 to 30 minutes.

## Live updates [#live-updates]

The Web Analytics **Realtime** page asks for new data every 10 seconds. The header shows when the data last updated, such as **Updated just now** or **Updated 40s ago**, and a button with the status:

| Button | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Live** | The page updates every 10 seconds |
| **Paused** | You stopped the updates. Click the button to start them again |
| **Reconnecting** | The last update failed. The page tries again |

When you click the button, a toast says **Live updates paused** or **Live updates resumed**. If an update fails, a red note shows the error and **Showing the last successful update.**

## People on your site now [#people-on-your-site-now]

When visitors are on your site, the Web Analytics **Realtime** page shows a large count: **People on your site in the last 5 minutes**. A visitor counts if they loaded a page in the last 5 minutes.

Under the count, a line can say **Usually about 12 at this hour.** The usual figure is the average for this hour over the last 7 days. It needs a full week of data and a site with about 5 or more visitors at this hour. The **?** shows the time zone of the times on the page.

The card also shows three facts:

- **Page views, last 30 minutes**
- **Busiest page now**, with its visitors
- **Top source now**, with its visitors

### Minute chart [#minute-chart]

The Web Analytics **Realtime** minute chart shows page views for each minute of the last 30 minutes, from **30 minutes ago** to **Now**. Hover a bar to see **Page views**, **From counted visitors** and **Visitors** for that minute. The last bar shows **(so far)**.

**From counted visitors** is the part of the page views made by the visitors in the count. Visitors whose browser sends a Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signal add page views but do not count as visitors.

## When nobody is on your site [#when-nobody-is-on-your-site]

If nobody visited in the last 5 minutes, the Web Analytics **Realtime** page shows one of these messages:

| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Quiet right now** | Your site is usually quiet at this hour, or no usual figure is available. The line shows **Last visit:** and the time of the last visit |
| **Nobody in the last 5 minutes** | Your site is usually busy at this hour. The page checks again in a moment |
| **Nobody is on your site, which is unusual for this hour** | Two checks in a row found nobody at a busy hour. **If it lasts, tracking may have stopped.** |

If your site never received a visit, the page shows a preview with example data.

### Is tracking working? [#is-tracking-working]

When the Web Analytics **Realtime** page says that nobody is on your site at an unusual hour, the card **Is tracking working?** shows three checks:

- The last visit: **Last visit received** with a date, or **No visit has been received in the last week.**
- Your site: **Your site is up.**, **Your site is down right now.** or **No uptime monitor is set up.**
- The script: **The tracking script is on your home page.**, **The tracking script was not found on your home page.** or **Your home page carries a tracking script with a different key.**

Owners and admins can click **Check tracking now**. VitalSentinel reads your home page again and shows the result in a toast. If your home page cannot be read, the toast says **We couldn't read your home page just now. Try again in a moment.**

If no uptime monitor exists, owners and admins see **Set up uptime monitoring**. If VitalSentinel did not find the script with the right key on your home page, they see **Open the install instructions**.

## Pages being read [#pages-being-read]

The Web Analytics card **Pages being read** lists the pages that visitors have open now, busiest first. The columns are **Page** and **Visitors**, with the share of all visitors as a bar. Use it to watch a launch or a mailing arrive.

## Where they came from [#where-they-came-from]

The Web Analytics card **Where they came from** shows how the visitors of the last 5 minutes found your site. It has up to four tabs:

- **Sources**: the channel, such as Search, Social or Direct.
- **Referrers**: the website that sent the visitor.
- **Devices**: **Phone** or **Desktop**.
- **Countries**: the country of the visitor.

A tab shows only if it has data.

## Recent activity [#recent-activity]

The Web Analytics card **Recent activity** lists the page views of the last 5 minutes, newest first, up to the latest 250. Each row shows the time, the country, the device and the page. New rows appear at the top while the page is live.

Use **Recent activity** to see that your own test visit is counted.

## Active events [#active-events]

The Web Analytics card **Active events** lists the clicks, scrolls, custom events and other events of the last 5 minutes. The columns are **Event** and **Count**. It is the quickest way to check that a new custom event works. To send custom events, see [Analytics script](/connect/analytics-script).

## Troubleshooting [#troubleshooting]

### Why does Realtime show nobody on my site? [#why-does-realtime-show-nobody-on-my-site]

If the page says **Quiet right now**, your site usually has few visitors at this hour, or no usual figure is available. Open the site in another browser and load a page. Your visit appears within about 10 seconds.

If the page says **Nobody is on your site, which is unusual for this hour**, read the card **Is tracking working?**. If the script is not found, install it again. If your site is down, open [Uptime Monitoring](/uptime-monitoring/overview).

### Why does my own visit not appear? [#why-does-my-own-visit-not-appear]

If your browser blocks trackers or sends a Do Not Track signal, your visit may not count as a visitor. Turn off the ad blocker for your site, then load a page again.

### Why does the usual figure not show? [#why-does-the-usual-figure-not-show]

The usual figure needs 7 full days of data and about 5 or more visitors at this hour. On a new or quiet site, no usual figure shows.

### Why is the button "Reconnecting"? [#why-is-the-button-reconnecting]

An update failed, for example because of a network problem. The page shows the last good data and tries again. If it does not recover, reload the page.

## Related [#related]

- [Overview](/web-analytics/overview) - traffic for any date range
- [Analytics script](/connect/analytics-script) - install the script and send custom events
- [Uptime Monitoring](/uptime-monitoring/overview) - check if your site is up
- [Troubleshooting](/help/troubleshooting) - if tracking does not work