Usage tracking helps us understand how users are utilizing the ExactMetrics plugin. It also provides us additional information to quickly diagnose issues and provide solutions.
We gather this information to improve our product and our Q&A / testing process continually.
This is a list of information that ExactMetrics collects as part of usage tracking:
- PHP Version
- WordPress Version
- ExactMetrics Version
- The SERVER_SOFTWARE variable in PHP
- OverTime
- Theme/Plugin names and versions
- License key and email and URL
- ExactMetrics settings
- Site and user count and is multisite
- Usage tracking config
PHP Version:
Knowing which PHP versions we should be testing against helps us catch issues ahead of time, preventing our users from experiencing white screens, or having a log file full of errors.
WordPress Version:
Knowing which WordPress versions to support and test against also helps us catch issues ahead of time. Users won’t ever have to worry about a WP update breaking their plugin.
ExactMetrics Version:
Knowing which versions of ExactMetrics are potentially responsible for issues is helpful for bug reports. It speeds up our ability to pinpoint the problem, which allows us to provide solutions at a much quicker pace.
The SERVER_SOFTWARE variable in PHP:
This information is used with an ExactMetrics option called SAS. With this, we’re able to parse out which web hosting companies are being used.
This helps us identify the top hosts so that we can adequately test new releases with popular host environments. It’ll help us identify conflicts with specific web hosts and if there ends up being a server configuration issue, we’ll know which host to work with to resolve the issue.
OverTime:
This is an ExactMetrics option that helps us determine which ExactMetrics version upgrade routines have been run. It will help us pinpoint which upgrade path or upgrade routine is causing a problem, if any.
Theme/Plugin names and versions:
We use this information to ensure compatibility with various themes or plugin for a better user experience.
Since ExactMetrics is being used on over 1 million websites, we aren’t able to test all 50,000+ plugins, but we can at least test against the most popular plugins that are currently being used by our userbase.
License key and email and URL:
As an ExactMetrics customer, this will help us determine if there’s an issue specifically with your license key, with your site’s configuration or with your ExactMetrics authentication.
ExactMetrics settings:
This gives us visibility on what settings are being used or not used. It provides insights on which areas can optimized for a better user experience.
Site and user count and is multisite:
Knowing the number of users using ExactMetrics on multi-sites or multi-networks helps us gauge how much we’ll need to scale our servers before launching features.
Usage tracking config:
This is an ExactMetrics option that contains information on when usage tracking data will sync to our servers. This happens about once a week and allows us to assess the server load for our usage tracking servers.