SPIRITUAL STATS FAQ and HELP

Here are the most commonly-asked questions about SpiritualStats.  If you have a question which isn't answered here, please contact us so we can add it.  Thank you!

WHAT FEATURES DOES AN UPGRADED ACCOUNT OFFER?

An "upgrade" is an upgrade to password-protected statistics only. It does not provide any sort of enhanced stats, nor does it allow you to remove the SpiritualStats button from your website. It is simply a one-time fee that we charge to change your database access settings.

I DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO SEE MY STATS; HOW CAN I PASSWORD-PROTECT THEM?

You can password-protect your statistics by upgrading your account. When you're in your SpiritualStats account and viewing your stats, click on the "Upgrade Account" link on the left side of the page to go to the payment page. You'll be charged a one-time, $10 fee, via PayPal.

I ADDED THE CODE AS INSTRUCTED BUT ALL I SEE IS A BUTTON, I DON'T SEE A COUNTER.

SpiritualStats does not provide a visible counter. To see your visitor statistics, you need to click on the SpiritualStats button on your website and you'll be taken to a page to view your visitor totals, hit totals, etc.

I ADDED MY CODE AS INSTRUCTED BUT IT ISN'T VISIBLE, OR THE CODE ITSELF IS VISIBLE ON MY WEBSITE.

Occasionally the code becomes corrupted during the copy/paste process. Login to your account and select the "generate code" link on the left side of the page to generate fresh SpiritualStats code for your account. Paste the code into a text editor, like Notepad, then copy the code from Notepad and paste it into your web editor. This will help ensure the code hasn't been corrupted. If the code itself is visible on your webpage, and not the button, make sure you pasted the code into the html portion of your page. If you don't know how to do this, consult your hosting company or the manual for your website design software.

WHY WAS MY ACCOUNT DISABLED OR DELETED?

Accounts that are setup, but not used after 14 days, are automatically deleted. We also delete accounts that violate our terms (for example, accounts which contain offensive material, excessive popups, illegal material such as warez, etc.).

WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO OFFER SUCH-AND-SUCH A FEATURE?

We're always trying to improve SpiritualStats, and hope to add a variety of features before the end of the year. These include the ability to modify your account settings via a control panel, and to track stats on multiple pages with one snippet of code. SpiritualStats is just run by two people, however, and we can only work on it as time permits. If you have a suggestion for a feature you'd like to see, feel free to jot us a note about it.

HOW CAN I RESET MY STATS TO ZERO AND START FRESH?

In your account menu you'll see an option called "clear stats".  Click that link and it will reset all your statistics to zero.  This is helpful if your site changes often and you want to keep track of visitor stats relative to the changes.  Resetting your account is irreversible, so be sure you want to zero-out your stats before you do it!

HOW CAN I TRACK STATS ON ALL OF MY WEBSITE PAGES?

If you place the same SpiritualStats code on all pages of your website, you can get cumulative stats for your entire site. If you want specific, unique statistical information for each page, you'll need to set up different accounts for each page. We hope to change this in the future to make it easier to track multiple pages.

WHAT DOES "A WEBSITE URL" MEAN WHEN IT'S LISTED IN MY REFERRER STATS?

This term means SpiritualStats can't determine the identity of the referring url. The visit might have come via a proxy or hidden url, or it could have been generated if you "previewed" your webpage in your web editing software prior to uploading it.

CAN I FIND OUT THE IP ADDRESSES OF VISITORS?

SpiritualStats isn't capable of doing that.

HOW CAN I CHANGE MY ACCOUNT NAME / EMAIL ADDRESS / PASSWORD?

Just write to us using the Contact form and let us know the information you want to change. Be sure to include your account name so we can find it in the database!

I FORGOT MY PASSWORD!

There's a password reminder feature below the login box on the account login page.

CANCEL MY ACCOUNT!

If you don't want to use your SpiritualStats account anymore, just remove the code from your page. Your account will automatically be pruned when it hasn't been used for 14 days.

WHY DO YOU HAVE A BUTTON FEATURING A PENTAGRAM?  ISN'T THAT ALL ABOUT DEVIL WORSHIP?

The pentagram is an important symbol for Wiccans and Pagans.  The five points symbolize the four directions, and the fifth point symbolizes the sanctity of Spirit.  It is not a symbol for or about "devil worship" and should not be interpreted as such.

I DON'T WANT TO SEE ADS FOR (insert product here) WHEN I LOOK AT MY STATS.

It literally costs hundreds of dollars per month to run the SpiritualStats service. It doesn't generate any income on its own, with the exception of the occasional upgrade order. The small text ads on the stats pages help us pay for the server, and thus keep the service free. We don't ever want to have to charge for the service, and I'm sure you would probably prefer to not have to pay for it.

STOP THE POPUPS! HIRE MY BAND! RESERVE TICKETS FOR ME FOR APRIL! WHERE CAN I BUY YOUR FURNITURE?

We get lots of email that is intended for websites using the SpiritualStats service, not for SpiritualStats itself. I guess people click on the SpiritualStats button when searching for an email address for the website they're viewing, and end up contacting us instead of the website in question. We can't forward these mails to their proper recipients, because we have no idea who they're intended for.

I'VE LOST MY STATS CODE; HOW DO I FIND IT AGAIN?

Log in to your SpiritualStats account.  In the list of stats categories on the left side of the page you'll see a link which says "Generate Code".

I WANT TO USE A DIFFERENT BUTTON ON MY SITE.  HOW DO I GET A NEW ONE?

Follow the instructions above for generating new code.  During the process, you'll be able to select a new button.

You are welcome to change buttons, but you must use an approved SpiritualStats button on your site at all times.  If we find an unapproved button on your site (or no button at all), your account may be disabled.

I MADE A NEW BUTTON TO USE ON MY SITE.  HOW DO I GET APPROVAL TO USE IT?

Send us a copy of the image you want to use, or send us a link to it so we can see it.  Make sure the button says "SpiritualStats" on it and has an animal theme.  If we approve your button and you'll allow us to add it to our list of available buttons, we'll upgrade your account to Password-Protected status for free!

I WANT TO DELETE OR DISABLE MY ACCOUNT.

If you choose to stop using your SpiritualStats account, simply remove the code from your website.  That will effectively disable your account.  There's no need to write to us to have it deleted -- the system will automatically delete inactive accounts periodically.

HOW DO I PASSWORD-PROTECT MY STATS?

Login to your account as you would if you were checking your stats.  At the bottom of the left-hand menu, you'll see a link which says Upgrade Account!  You'll be charged a nominal, one-time $10 fee via PayPal because we need to make all database changes manually.

Please note that Upgrading your account only means your stats will be protected by a password and invisible to the general public.  Upgrading does not mean you can remove the SpiritualStats button or logo from your webpage.

I PAID FOR THE UPGRADE. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE BEFORE MY STATS ARE PASSWORD-PROTECTED?

We try to perform the upgrade as soon as PayPal notifies us of your order. However, we're a small, home-based business, so occasionally we sleep, eat, watch TV, and leave the house. At most, your upgrade should only take 12 hours to process. If it's been longer than that, feel free to jot us a note about it.

I TRY TO CHECK MY STATS AND GET AN ERROR SAYING, "YOU CAN'T USE YOUR STATISTICS".  WHY?

Sounds like your account was deleted!  Were you trying to use SpiritualStats on a porn site, or other type of site banned in our Terms?  Did you sign up for your account more than 14 days ago and neglect to put the code on your website, or did your site not have any visitors in a 14 day period?  Did you sign up with an incorrect url or email address?  Any of those things may result in your account being deleted.
 

I'VE GOT A GREAT WEBSITE BUT I DON'T GET ANY TRAFFIC!  HOW CAN I GET LISTED IN SEARCH ENGINES?

At the bottom of your statistics menu, you'll see a link which says, "Promote your website with StatsBuddy!"  StatsBuddy is a website promotion service which will help you maximize your Internet exposure by helping you optimize your site, get search engine placement, and even find advertisers.  StatsBuddy also offers site monitoring tools, so you'll be notified of problems such as site downtime, or broken links.  StatsBuddy is offering a free, no obligation 1 month trial, so there's no risk.  Give it a try and see if it can help you!