Where do I find referral sources in Netlify Web Analytics?

Definition: As of 17 October 2026, Netlify Web Analytics lists referral sources in the Top sources chart under Analytics & metrics > Analytics for a project. The chart shows the URLs that generate the most traffic, within the selected reporting period.

Key facts

• Netlify's Web Analytics overview identifies Top sources as the chart for source URLs and sets the default reporting window to the last 30 days.
• Netlify's collection documentation says analytics data comes from content delivery network server logs and updates hourly.
• The HTTP standard, RFC 9110, section 10.1.3, allows referral information to be shortened to the referring origin, which identifies the source without its full page path.

Where is the Top sources chart?

Netlify's overview gives this project report path:

Analytics & metrics > Analytics

Within that report, Top sources lists source URLs. Selecting a source URL opens it in a new browser tab. The adjacent Top pages chart lists pages on the project that receive the most pageviews; its URLs also open in a new tab.

For a project without Web Analytics enabled, the report offers Enable Analytics. Once enabled, data collection begins when the project is first deployed, and Netlify backfills up to 30 days of historical data into the charts.

How do the time filters change the report?

Netlify's filter documentation describes these reporting windows:

• 30 days loads all available data for the last 30 days and is the default.
• 7 days scopes the report to the last week. Previous selects earlier week-long periods within the last 30 days. Charts using this filter plot daily metrics.
• 24 hours scopes all data on the page to the last day and changes the charts to hourly metrics. Previous selects earlier day-long periods within the last 30 days.

What can a referral URL reveal?

A referrer is the resource from which a requested URL was obtained. The HTTP Referer request header carries that information, with the spelling used by the protocol. RFC 9110, section 10.1.3 permits a browser to shorten the value to the referring origin.

For a URL entered from a keyboard or opened from a bookmark, the standard requires the browser either to omit the header or send about:blank. Referral information can therefore be absent even when a page request reaches the server.

Related terms

• HTTP Referer header
• Referrer-Policy
• AI referral traffic
• How do I enable server-side web analytics on Netlify?

FAQ

How do I load the latest figures?

You need to refresh your browser to load updates, according to Netlify's collection documentation. Netlify updates Web Analytics data hourly.

Can I inspect an earlier day?

Yes. Netlify's overview specifies the 24 hours filter followed by Previous to review earlier daily periods within the last 30 days.

Sources

1. Netlify, "Web Analytics", 3 October 2026
2. Netlify, "How Web Analytics works", 16 December 2025
3. IETF, "RFC 9110: HTTP Semantics", June 2022

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