An access log is a text file that contains a thorough report on all of the files accessed by your website visitors. All of the files which were requested in one way or another shall be included, so if you have a PHP script program and a visitor opens just the home page, for example, you may find plenty of files in the log. The reason is that there are resources on the home page which are embedded - parts of other pages, graphics, etc. These files will be listed within the access log, allowing you to get a full picture of the way your website functions. The info is in plain text format, so the logs are often termed "raw data" as well. An access log contains the name of each requested file, the path to it, the date it was accessed, and also the user’s IP address, web browser and OS. Additional information, like the referrer website, is usually provided too. A log file can be processed by various desktop apps for statistical purposes as an addition to the web statistics created by your website hosting server.
Access Log Manager in Hosting
Our in-house built Hepsia CP has a section dedicated to various logs and the access logs are one of them. Once you sign in to your hosting account and take a look at this section, you will find a list of all the domains and subdomains which you have. All it takes to enable the generation of access logs is to press a button which will be available next to every domain/subdomain. When the option is enabled, you will see a download link together with the file size so far, so you'll be able to save the file to your PC and look at it or process it with some application. Enabling or disabling the logs becomes effective instantly, so if you no longer require one, you may stop it with only a mouse click from the exact same section of the Control Panel. You shall still be able to access the already generated content by simply clicking on the Download link.