Ask How can I track domain visits before 301 redirect?

[Brajet]

I currently own a domain on GoDaddy that I'm using for our wedding website. I've set it up to 301 redirect to our actual wedding site, which is hosted on Zola. The issue I'm running into is that Zola doesn't provide any kind of built-in analytics, and they also don't allow you to add custom HTML—so I can't insert a Google Analytics tag directly into the site. I've confirmed this multiple times, just to be sure. What I'd like to know is: is there any way I can track how many people visit my GoDaddy domain before they're redirected to Zola? Please keep in mind that I'm a total beginner and not very technical at all.

 

[Anthony Joshua]

I currently own a domain on GoDaddy that I'm using for our wedding website. I've set it up to 301 redirect to our actual wedding site, which is hosted on Zola. The issue I'm running into is that Zola doesn't provide any kind of built-in analytics, and they also don't allow you to add custom HTML—so I can't insert a Google Analytics tag directly into the site. I've confirmed this multiple times, just to be sure. What I'd like to know is: is there any way I can track how many people visit my GoDaddy domain before they're redirected to Zola? Please keep in mind that I'm a total beginner and not very technical at all.

That's actually a good question and something a lot of people don't think about when using redirects. If your domain is managed on GoDaddy, you could try using a link tracking service before the 301 redirect happens. Tools like Bitly or Google's Campaign URL builder can help count the number of clicks before sending visitors to your real site. Another simple option is to use a free analytics service like Cloudflare; it can show visits before the redirect even happens.

 

[Felix😎]

You can track visits by adding a tracking tool, like Google Analytics, to the old domain before you redirect it. This will capture visitor data before they're sent to the new URL. Another way is to use server logs, which show all the traffic coming to the domain. If you're testing, you could even try a temporary redirect (302) first to collect data, then switch to 301 when you're ready.