Local/test environments
If you are using a local testing or staging environment, there are several ways to ensure Fathom isn’t collecting data from these places. By excluding everything but your live site, you’ll have more accurate analytics (and won’t have your non-live site pageviews count against your plan quota).
Exclude non-live environments with included domains
By adding an included domain to site firewall settings, Fathom will filter out any data from a hostname that isn’t your live site. Just ensure your live URL is entered correctly and includes the www. or non-www that your site uses by default.
Use excluded domains to filter out non-live environments
By using advanced embed code settings, you can edit your embed code to exclude specific hostnames, like “localhost” or “staging.yoursite.com.” Like the above, ensure the specific hostnames are identical to your test environments.
Filter your IP address
If you are the only person testing your staging or local environments, you could also just exclude your own visits with your IP address.
Ensure you test exclusions
With any of the above methods, visit your non-live environment and ensure your exclusion is working and that your live visit is not showing up on your dashboard. Because Fathom is real-time, if you visit your website via your non-live environment, you shouldn’t show up as a current visitor.
If you still have questions or require help with anything, please reach out to us and we'll happily get things sorted out for you.