Server Log File Analysis

Server log files are records of your Web server's activity - i.e. how users have used your site.

Types of Data Recorded
Log file data can offer valuable insight into how your users are using your site.

Your server logs will record the:

Name of the host machine sending each request
Date and time of every request
Files requested
Sizes of all transfered files
Identity of the pages that sent users to your site (referrers)
Names of the browsers people are using
Platform of users' computers

Advantages Over Usability Testing
The advantages over usability testing in lab conditions are that:

It reflects real world usage of your site
It represents the activities of many more users
It can represent usages of your site over longer periods of time

Learn From User Experiences
Proper recording of server activity can contain usability data that will recreate the movement and activities of your site users.

You can learn:

Where your site visitors are located. i.e. who they are
What are the most popular paths visitors are taking through your site
How much time your visitors are spending on average on each page
Where visitors are leaving your site
About the success of users' experiences at your site

Disadvantages
Server log file analysis does have its disadvantages, sometimes due to insufficient or misleading data.

For example:

If a user returns to a previous page, the activity is not recorded as the page was served from the user's cache memory
It can't tell you the user's goal of visiting your site
You can't find out the demographic make-up of your users

Conclusion
You can learn a lot about your users' experiences from analyzing your log files. Use one of the many log file analysis and reporting tools to help you make sense of the data available in your log files.

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