As a web designer, I’m afforded one of the luxuries (read: addiction) of checking to see who visited my site, other sites that have linked to mine, and what search terms were used for search engines to refer traffic to the site. It’s always fascinating to see what other sites have to say about your site, or a particular topic you wrote about. Think of it as a mild ego boost, readily available at your command.

There are two new services that give you the power to track your stats; Mint from Shaun Inman, and Measure Map from the folks behind MovableType. They’re both a bit different, and don’t warrant a comparison. Mint costs $30 per site, and Measure Map, as far as I’m aware, is free. Mint is available now, while Measure Map is still in an alpha state and you need an invitation to try it out, which I did; hence this post.

Mint Screenshot

Mint is for the hardcore stat junkie, as it has everything you could possibly want to know, and then some, thanks to the extensions known as Peppers (get it, Peppermint?) It is easy to use, features a great design, and presents all the infromation in a fluid way. Thanks to further support from other people out there, you can easily install a Pepper that adds even more functionality. While $30 is a bit steep if you just want to track stats on a simple blog or website, it’s worth it for larger sites. Not to mention it supports Shaun Inman, who deserves the support.

Measure Map Screenshot

Measure Map, while not feature complete yet, is still quite nice. It features a simple, concise design that won’t confuse you. While the information could be presented better, it will be more user-friendly to those who haven’t jumped onto the stat tracking bandwagon yet. It also features some Flash goodness to give you a visual indication of how many people are using what browsers, what countries they’re from, and more. I can see Measure Map becoming a popular service, as long as they offer it for free.

Personally I plan on using both, as they complement each other, and well, I’m a stat junkie, too. Both are worth trying out.