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Tracking Not Working

If your website tracking status shows "Inactive" in Settings, then Tracking, or you're not seeing visitor data in your dashboard, this page covers the most common causes and fixes.

Issue: Status Shows "Inactive" After Installation​

Symptoms: You pasted the tracking snippet into your website, but CustomerFlows still shows the tracking status as Inactive.

Check these in order:

  1. Did you publish your website changes? Many website builders (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace) require you to click "Save" or "Publish" after adding code. The snippet doesn't take effect until the changes are live.

  2. Is the snippet in the <head> section? The tracking code must be placed inside the <head> tag of your HTML, not in the <body> or in a footer. If placed elsewhere, it may not load reliably.

  3. Visit your own website. After installing the snippet, open your website in a browser. This triggers the first tracking event. Return to Settings, then Tracking and check the status. It should update to Active within 1-2 minutes.

  4. Check for typos or partial paste. Go to your website's source code and verify the entire snippet is present. A common mistake is copying only part of the snippet. The complete snippet should match exactly what's shown in Settings, then Tracking.

  5. Clear your website cache. Some hosting providers and CDNs (Cloudflare, Netlify, Vercel) cache your pages aggressively. After adding the snippet, purge the cache so the updated HTML is served to visitors.

Issue: Tracking Active But No Visitors Showing​

Symptoms: Status shows Active, but the visitor count on your dashboard is zero.

Causes and fixes:

  1. Ad blocker interference. Browser extensions like uBlock Origin, Adblock Plus, and Privacy Badger can block tracking scripts. Test by visiting your website in an incognito/private window with extensions disabled. If visitors appear after that, the tracking is working but your own browser is blocking it. Your customers' browsers typically don't have ad blockers at the same rate.

  2. Low traffic. If your website gets very few visitors, it may take hours or days before data appears. The tracking only records when someone actually visits the site.

  3. Wrong website. Verify you installed the snippet on the website URL that matches what's configured in CustomerFlows. If your tracking snippet is on www.example.com but your ads point to example.com (no www), visitors may not be tracked. Install the snippet on all versions of your domain.

Issue: Visitors Tracked But No Source Data (Attribution Missing)​

Symptoms: You can see visitors, but the "Source" column shows "Direct" for everything, including visitors from Google Ads.

Causes and fixes:

  1. Tracking snippet not on the landing page. If your Google Ads point to a landing page that doesn't have the tracking snippet, the GCLID (Google Click ID) won't be captured. The snippet must be on every page a visitor might land on, including dedicated ad landing pages.

  2. URL parameters being stripped. Some website builders or redirect configurations strip URL parameters (like ?gclid=...) during page load. Test by clicking one of your own ads and checking whether the gclid parameter is visible in the browser's address bar when the page loads. If it's gone, your website is stripping it. Fix this in your hosting or redirect configuration.

  3. Google Tag Manager timing issue. If you installed the snippet via Google Tag Manager (GTM), ensure the tag fires on "All Pages" with a "Page View" trigger and priority set to high. GTM tags that fire late can miss the GCLID capture window.

  4. Meta Ads (FBCLID). Meta Ads attribution (FBCLID capture) is available on the Growth and Scale tiers. If you're on the Starter tier, Meta ad visitors will show as "Direct" or "Referral" instead of being attributed to specific campaigns.

Issue: Snippet Causing Website Errors​

Symptoms: Your website loads slowly, shows errors, or behaves differently after adding the tracking snippet.

This is very rare. The CustomerFlows tracking snippet is lightweight (under 5KB) and loads asynchronously, meaning it should not block your page from rendering.

If you suspect the snippet is causing issues:

  1. Remove the snippet temporarily and verify the issue goes away
  2. Re-add the snippet and check your browser's developer console (F12, then Console tab) for any error messages
  3. Take a screenshot of any errors and email them to support@customerflows.com

Common non-issues that look like problems:

  • A brief flash before the page fully loads is normal and unrelated to the tracking snippet
  • Cookie consent banners appearing after adding the snippet are triggered by the cookie consent tool detecting a new script, not by the tracking snippet itself

Platform-Specific Troubleshooting​

WordPress​

  • If using the "Insert Headers and Footers" plugin, verify the snippet is in the "Header" section, not "Footer"
  • If editing theme files directly, place the snippet in header.php between <head> and </head>
  • After adding, clear any caching plugins (WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, WP Rocket)

Wix​

  • Go to Settings, then Custom Code, then verify the snippet is listed under "Head" with "All Pages" selected
  • Wix applies changes immediately but may take a few minutes to propagate

Squarespace​

  • Go to Settings, then Advanced, then Code Injection
  • Paste in the "Header" field (not "Footer")
  • Click Save, then verify by viewing your site in an incognito window

Webflow​

  • Go to Project Settings, then Custom Code
  • Paste in the "Head Code" field
  • Publish your site for changes to take effect

Verifying Tracking Is Working​

The definitive test:

  1. Open your website in an incognito/private browser window (no extensions)
  2. Navigate to 2-3 pages
  3. Wait 2 minutes
  4. Go to your CustomerFlows dashboard
  5. Check Settings, then Tracking for status and recent visitor count

If the status shows Active and you see at least 1 visitor, tracking is working correctly.

Need help? Email support@customerflows.com with a screenshot of your Settings > Tracking page and your website URL.