Fathom Analytics

What it does

Fathom Analytics needs one thing from you: the Site ID of the site you created in your Fathom account. Once the plugin is enabled and that ID is saved, each page your readers open on the public blog carries a single deferred script tag pointing at cdn.usefathom.com, with your ID in its data-site attribute. The tag is rendered on the server as part of the blog layout, so there is no extra loader on your side. Fathom says its script sets no cookies, and VeloCMS takes it at its word: the script is never held back behind the consent banner, and having Fathom switched on does not by itself make that banner appear. Visit numbers are collected and shown by Fathom. VeloCMS only places the tag.

Who it's for

Writers who pay for Fathom, or plan to, and want it running on their VeloCMS blog without touching theme code. It fits a site that wants to keep the cookie banner out of the way for analytics while still seeing page views and referrers. If you need visitor-level detail, ad attribution or heatmaps, Fathom is the wrong tool to begin with, and this plugin adds nothing beyond Fathom's own script.

How it works

1. 01

   In Fathom, create a site for your blog and copy its Site ID, usually eight capital letters and digits.

2. 02

   Install and enable the plugin, paste the ID into Site ID and press Save Settings. An empty field is refused, and the value is trimmed and turned to upper case before it is saved.

3. 03

   When a reader opens a page on your public blog, the server looks up your enabled analytics plugins and, because a Site ID is saved for Fathom, adds its script tag to that page.

4. 04

   The reader's browser fetches script.js from Fathom's CDN with the defer flag, so it runs after the page has been parsed. No consent prompt sits in front of it.

5. 05

   Fathom records the visit against your Site ID, and you read the figures in your Fathom dashboard.

Settings you configure

Site ID

Copy it from Fathom under Sites, then your site. It is saved in upper case. VeloCMS does not ask Fathom whether the ID exists, so double check it before you save.

What it can access

The plugin reads no posts, members, orders or visitor details on the VeloCMS side. Its only input is the Site ID you type, which is kept as ordinary plugin settings because it is a public identifier, not a secret. Readers' browsers load one file from cdn.usefathom.com, and from then on Fathom's own terms govern the visit data. Nothing travels from your server to Fathom.

Honest limits

• A mistyped Site ID is still placed on every page. VeloCMS checks only that the field is not empty, so a wrong ID simply leaves your Fathom dashboard without visits.

• The tag carries the Site ID and nothing else. You cannot set custom domains, excluded paths, event goals or other script options Fathom offers.

• Your Fathom numbers are not shown anywhere in VeloCMS. The plugin places the tag and never reads data back from Fathom.

• Only public blog pages get the script. Your admin screens are not tracked.

• If the plugin database cannot be read when a page is built, that page is served without any analytics tags rather than failing.

• Running without a consent step is a choice VeloCMS makes because Fathom calls its script cookie-free. Whether that is enough for your privacy duties is for you to judge. Installing it is not a compliance guarantee.

Frequently asked questions

Related plugins

• Plausible Analytics
• Google Analytics 4
• Microsoft Clarity

Specifications

Category

Analytics

Price

Included

Version

1.0.0

Source

First-party