Analytics Integration

Relevant source files

This document describes the website traffic analytics implementation for lzwjava.github.io. The site uses Cloudflare Insights (formerly Cloudflare Web Analytics) as its primary analytics service, with a previously-used Google Analytics integration now disabled.

For information about other external service integrations, see CDN Resources and Favicons and Web Manifest.

Cloudflare Insights Implementation

Script Loading Architecture

The analytics system loads via a single JavaScript beacon from Cloudflare's CDN. The integration follows a client-side, privacy-respecting approach that requires no cookies or persistent identifiers.

Sources: _site/notes/2025-12-06-unpopular-relationship-opinions-en.html14-16 _site/list-en.html14-16 _site/human-wiring-priorities-zh.html14-16

Script Tag Structure

The analytics beacon appears identically across all generated HTML pages in the _site/ directory. The script element uses the following structure:

Key attributes:

defer: Ensures script loads asynchronously without blocking page rendering
src: Points to Cloudflare's hosted beacon script
data-cf-beacon: JSON configuration containing the site-specific authentication token

The token 70fc8c466cc1445098b3fc6f209c22c2 uniquely identifies this site's analytics account within Cloudflare's system.

Sources: _site/notes/2025-12-06-unpopular-relationship-opinions-en.html14-16 _site/unpopular-relationship-opinions-en.html14-16 _site/guangzhou-travel-guide-en.html14-16

Page Coverage

Analytics tracking applies uniformly across all page types in the site architecture:

Page Type	Example File	Analytics Enabled
Root-level pages	`_site/list-en.html`	✓
Dated notes	`_site/notes/2025-12-06-unpopular-relationship-opinions-en.html`	✓
Chinese versions	`_site/list-zh.html`, `_site/yin-wang-zh.html`	✓
English versions	`_site/list-en.html`, `_site/yin-wang-en.html`	✓
Topic pages	`_site/guangzhou-travel-guide-en.html`	✓
Blog directories	`_site/blogs-zh.html`	✓

All pages in the _site/ directory contain the identical analytics beacon implementation, ensuring complete traffic visibility across both language variants and all content types.

Sources: _site/list-en.html14-16 _site/notes/2025-12-06-unpopular-relationship-opinions-en.html14-16 _site/list-zh.html14-16 _site/yin-wang-zh.html14-16 _site/blogs-zh.html14-16

Disabled Google Analytics

Commented Implementation

A Google Analytics Universal Analytics implementation exists in the codebase but is disabled via HTML comments. The implementation appears immediately after the Cloudflare Insights script in the <head> section:

Configuration details:

Tracking ID: UA-66656236-1 (Universal Analytics property)
Implementation: gtag.js (Global Site Tag)
Status: Commented out, non-functional
Reason: Likely migrated to Cloudflare Insights for privacy compliance or simplified analytics

The UA- prefix indicates this is a Universal Analytics property, which Google deprecated in July 2023. The continued presence of this code suggests either:

Historical reference for potential reactivation
Incomplete removal during migration
Fallback option if Cloudflare Insights proves insufficient

Sources: _site/notes/2025-12-06-unpopular-relationship-opinions-en.html18-26 _site/list-en.html18-26 _site/yin-wang-zh.html18-26

Analytics Data Flow

The following diagram illustrates how analytics events flow from user interactions through the Cloudflare network to the analytics dashboard:

Sources: _site/notes/2025-12-06-unpopular-relationship-opinions-en.html14-16 _site/list-en.html14-16

Implementation Consistency

Jekyll Template Integration

The analytics script appears in every generated HTML file, indicating integration at the Jekyll template level rather than individual markdown files. Jekyll v3.10.0 processes templates to inject the analytics beacon into all output pages.

Expected template location (not visible in provided files, but inferred):

Likely in _includes/ directory as a reusable partial
Or in _layouts/default.html or similar layout file
Applied universally during Jekyll build process (see Jekyll Static Site Generation)

Build-time injection pattern:

Source Markdown → Jekyll Processing → HTML Output
                       ↓
              Analytics Beacon Injection
                       ↓
         _site/*.html (all pages include beacon)

Sources: _site/notes/2025-12-06-unpopular-relationship-opinions-en.html14-16 _site/list-en.html14-16 _site/unpopular-relationship-opinions-en.html14-16

Token Security Considerations

The analytics token 70fc8c466cc1445098b3fc6f209c22c2 is:

Publicly visible: Exposed in page source code on all pages
Client-side only: Cannot be used for server-side API access
Domain-restricted: Cloudflare verifies requests originate from authorized domains
Write-only: Allows sending analytics data but not reading it
Non-sensitive: Designed for public client-side use without security risk

This follows standard analytics implementation practices where tokens enable data submission but not dashboard access.

Sources: _site/notes/2025-12-06-unpopular-relationship-opinions-en.html15 _site/list-en.html15

Performance Impact

Deferred Script Loading

The defer attribute on the analytics script ensures optimal page load performance:

Loading Strategy	Parse Blocking	Execution Timing	Impact on FCP*
No defer/async	Yes	Immediate	High (blocks rendering)
async	No	As soon as loaded	Medium (can delay onload)
defer (current)	No	After DOM parsing	Low (non-blocking)

*First Contentful Paint

The deferred loading strategy means:

HTML parsing continues uninterrupted
Script downloads in parallel with page rendering
Execution occurs after DOM construction completes
No impact on initial page display speed
Analytics tracking begins shortly after page becomes interactive

Sources: _site/notes/2025-12-06-unpopular-relationship-opinions-en.html14 _site/list-en.html14

CDN Distribution

The beacon script loads from static.cloudflareinsights.com, leveraging Cloudflare's global CDN infrastructure:

Performance benefits:

Sub-50ms latency for most global users (edge proximity)
Cached responses reduce bandwidth and load time
Shared resource across all Cloudflare-powered sites (browser cache reuse)
HTTP/2 multiplexing with other Cloudflare resources

Sources: _site/notes/2025-12-06-unpopular-relationship-opinions-en.html14 _site/list-en.html14

Multilingual Tracking

The analytics implementation provides complete visibility across the site's bilingual structure:

The single token configuration means:

All language variants report to the same analytics property
No separate tracking for English vs. Chinese audiences
Page URLs differentiate language traffic (e.g., /list-en vs /list-zh)
Referrer data shows language switching behavior via languageSelect dropdown (see Language Selector Implementation)

Sources: _site/list-en.html14-16 _site/list-zh.html14-16 _site/yin-wang-en.html14-16 _site/yin-wang-zh.html14-16

Comparison with Commented Analytics

Feature	Cloudflare Insights (Active)	Google Analytics (Disabled)
Script	`beacon.min.js`	`gtag.js`
Token/ID	`70fc8c466cc1445098b3fc6f209c22c2`	`UA-66656236-1`
Status	Enabled	Commented out
Privacy	Cookie-free, no PII	Cookies required
GDPR	Compliant by default	Requires consent management
Loading	`defer` attribute	`async` attribute
Platform	Cloudflare-exclusive	Google Cloud
Analytics Type	Web traffic only	Full GA suite (deprecated)

The migration to Cloudflare Insights aligns with:

Privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA)
Simplified analytics needs (traffic patterns vs. conversion funnels)
Reduced third-party dependencies
Integration with existing Cloudflare infrastructure (see GitHub Pages Deployment)

Sources: