Sexy Stats
You may have noticed a change to your stat charts a couple of weeks ago. We ditched Flash in place of a more robust charting library called Flot. If you didn’t notice, go check it out because you can view all of the new charts with modern browsers including mobile devices such as iPhone and iPad. Sooo sexy! Today we updated the charts to use bars instead of points and lines. We’ve also made the stats page super sexy.
Each module can be opened and closed, moved, or hidden completely. If you don’t want to see a module, minimize it with one click or use the Screen Options to keep it out of sight. Customize everything and view stats the way you want to.
As you hover over each bar in the chart it changes color and displays a tooltip, giving you more information about the data. If the chart is showing data by day, Saturdays and Sundays have a light gray background to make it easier to see weekly patterns. Under the chart you’ll notice a new area, called “fortune cookies,” where we’ll highlight key stats.
During the redesign we went with bar charts because the end of one day and the beginning of another shouldn’t be connected. Each day starts at zero and we think bar charts work much better for this type of data. We hope you’ll agree once you get used to the change.
In this first phase of the stats redesign we’ve focused on the main page. This will allow us to collect feedback from you so we can tweak everything as we go. We’ve only mentioned a few of the highlights here, so take your stats for a drive around town to get used to the feel. Let us know what you like and what you might change. As we gather feedback we’ll apply a bit of sexy to the other stat pages.
Sites using our Stats plugin on a self-hosted blog will see an update after we iterate on the new design.
WordPress.com News 
Sure, Nick! How about stats for visitor location, time of visit, browser, etc.? Subscribers: how about all subscribers, including those that subscribe via the Admin bar and read using the new “My subscription” reader and not just those receiving email, etc.? Thanks for asking.
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Love it. Much easier to look at and to see exactly how many views you got a day. Again a great improvement.
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Interesting. Comments are a little divided, it seems. Sexy suggestion – would be cool to be able to toggle between data views (bar/line). Some people like to see time as continuous and are interested in trend data (hence line graph), and others prefer it as a discrete variable (bar graph…). Line graphs are easier for most to read, according to statisticians.
I’m not big on having to click more now, but as a writer in China, I am glad that I can still access one of my blogging platforms without having to hit up Astrill.
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I really, really like the changes! Great job!
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The new chart is awesome in every way! Thanks a lot for the upgrade!
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No. I hate this. I want the line graph back. And the comment about being “sexy” is total rubbish. What is sexy about a bar chart???
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I like it. Just wish I had as many on my blog to see my hummingbird pictures as you do in your example.
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Can you put the number of hits over the bar? That way we won’t have to hover over the bar to see how many hits there were.
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Thanks, Nick ! It’s great !!! Thanks for the change. Bar charts are definitely discreter. I don’t know if they are necessarily better visually, but change is always nice and stimulating visually. How about being able to switch from one display style and another, a bit like Webster’s suggestion hereabove ? Experimenting with information display styles could be an eye-opening experience…
Keep up the good work !
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I think that users should be able to choose format they want to use for stats. I prefer the points and lines.
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I’m happy with everything apart from the bar graph.
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For those people inclined to statistics…
I think the bar graph is much more appropriate given what it is tracking. A line graph implies that the previous day’s views are somehow related to the next day’s views, which are not the case. They are completely independent events and as such, should be treated as independent. 🙂
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My bar chart appears to be broken, the example shows visits in thousands on the y-axis mine is only in hundreds… at least that is what I am maintaining!
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I like it either way. It all serves the same purpose to me!
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What a pleasant surprise. Thanks!
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I quite like the new stats display but would like to see both my totals and subscriptions at a glance rather than having to click the tab every time. I know I will miss a change in the figures if and when it happens.
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You did a great job with this new Sexy Stats. Good job!
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Bars are the best! Great change!
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My ability to print out monthly or weekly stats by clicking on the graphic and selected “print chart” seems to have disappeared. Am I missing something?
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Unfortunately that was a feature of Flash and is not in the Flot charts.
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Great news! I found the flash stats to be a bit buggy; whether it was the actual script or just flash for Mac or Linux I’m not sure, but it was annoying.
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Not bad. However, when are you going to start giving us stats about where visitors are coming from? I think that’s a key piece that’s still missing from the sexiness.
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I liked the line graph better, especially after it was filled in, which was done just a few weeks ago. I understand the reasoning behind the bar graph, but the page now looks cluttered and harder to follow. I really obsesed over my stats, now, while I still can’t stop myself from looking at my stats, I don’t enjoy it as much. I hope it is just a matter of getting used to the new design. Up to now I’ve really liked all the ‘upgrades’. Now? not so much.
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I agree with Mike. Give the new design some time.
“I think that many, if not most, of the people who are commenting that they prefer the old line charts to the new bar charts will change their minds given enough time. We get attached to certain graphic depictions, even when something better comes along. Give it time and you will see the wisdom of what WordPress has done – that is, they are absolutely right when they say that bar charts are a more accurate way to depict this kind of data. We have just become accustomed to an inferior representation. With time, we’ll adjust…and appreciate the improvement.”
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AWESOME!
I can’t wait to see how WordPress will change everything around again tomorrow! Way to keep us guessing, WP!
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I love this.
It is more friendly on a dial-up modem.
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I don’t like the bars, personally. But then again, the last time I checked, I wasn’t paying to host my blog on WordPress, So you should do whatever makes it easier on you, and I’ll get over it. And I hope I never reach the point where I’m describing a stat change as “sexy”.
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I prefer the line chart as I really only care about trending. Any chance we could get a trending chart if the bars are here to stay?
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“because the end of one day and the beginning of another shouldn’t be connected”
Oh, I love this idea!
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Every time I contemplate transfering my site over to your sister-site, WordPress.org, you go ahead and make it more difficult. 😉
WordPress.com is THE best free host site available. Not even a comparison.
Keep providing these creative touches!
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I VERY much like this new stats design. Well done, admin!
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Naysayers aside, I like it so far. It’s new, sharp and clean. Thanks WordPress!
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Looks awesome..
The ‘Clicks’ region is buggy. Says no clicks for today, when I check yesterday, it shows a blank region, I come back to today, it shows all yesterday’s links along with None. And yesterday section is still empty.
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This should be fixed.
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OOH! SHINY! *blonde runs off to play with new toys*
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Thanks, keep up with the good work
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Sorry, don’t like ’em. Take a look at any financials page showing stock prices, the Dow etc., it’s always a line graph. Much easier to see trends. How about giving us a choice of how we view our own stat and everybody will be happy.
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Stock prices don’t start at 0 on the next day so it makes sense to connect the points in a line chart.
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oh nice, I really like the look of this new status, simple and attractive thanks wp 😉
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As much as i liked the old version I think its awesome that WP is constantly looking at ways for improve on their services, fantastic job folks!
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Although many agree that using bar chart is a lot better (and it might be after all), I really prefer the line graph to this new ‘sexy’ one. Can you please make it customizable so that I can have my line graph back? I’m sure there would be more bloggers like me who would prefer the old and familiar lines.
But the modules are absolutely fantastic. I love it, thanks.
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I like this. I’m not so lazy to save on “clicks” LOL It’s finger exercise for chrissake.
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Sexy? Please…they’re blog stats.
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The bars are great but the the name “sexy stats” has got the link banned form my work site – The Lock Net Monster strikes again and i cannot view stats form my workplace.
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Great job! Its hard to get used to but I will.
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I wish my stats are like that. Tee hee hee.
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I actually find the current version waaayyy better than the previous one. Good job guys! Thank you for always improving WordPress. 🙂
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Super! Thanks so much for this. I was not liking the Flash version at all since it it was inconsistent, This looks great as of now!! WAY TO GO!
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So cool!!! Maybe you can look through Google Analytics for more inspiration!! I think currently, it has more functions which are super cool. 😛
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I like that I can now see which post was published
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Looks awesome, good job.
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Good job, thank you!
One request: when I hit “yesterday” in one of the four panes (referrers, top posts & pages, search engine terms, clicks) I’d like to see all of them switch to yesterday.
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These indeed are sexier, better and faster. Thanks a ton.
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Under the old stats I could click on a point to see the details for the fday. Now I have to go on a game hunt to find what to click to get there. Please return that feature at the least.
I accept that technically the histogram display is correct for the type of data but it allowed trends to be seen so well when it was the point and line. I do urge you to reconsider and go back to the sensible and simple system of the past.
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You can still do that when viewing the days view chart. Click on the bar for that day and the stats will load a new page.
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Hi. I like the new design, but used to go to the bottom of the stats page to see the list of who is subscribed to my blog. I cannot do that anymore. How do I see who is subscribed?
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Look in the General module.
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Awesome! Now I can check it out on my iPhone. Cheers peeps!
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I think this is, sexy, indeed.
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Don’t like. Sorry.
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The new look is very confusing to me. Lines and dots may not be ideal for people who want to track a blog ten different ways, but what I appreciate about WordPress is that it’s simple. Or at least it has been. It’s easy for me to follow that my blog went up in hits and then down and now it’s climbing again, but there is no fluidity to bars. And it’s hard for me to scroll over days with 2 hits next to days with 50 or 100 because of the size and the fact that my hand is not all that great at making super tiny movements. Checking stats with a simple lines made me happy. This is just upsetting. My blog shouldn’t confuse me like math. It’s a blog. Change can be good, but not always.
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This is cool but there is no additional function from previous version. I hope it can also be like Google Analytics someday.
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Very nice. I think the lines made trend information easier to see though.
Anyone interested in this subject might want to read “The display of quantitative information” by Edward Tufte: sounds really boring, but it’s not. Have a look at reviews on Amazon if interested.
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It looks really nice and i love it!!
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Looks awful and crap. Please change it back. And please don’t try and sell it to me as something good when it’s not!
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Love the bars. SO damn sexy. Thanks & great job, all!
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Yes…..this is really cool!!
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I liked the line charts better too. The blocks are hard to look at. Irritating. I’d like to have a choice as to how to view the graph.
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Sexy? No, it’s confusing. 😀
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Well done dev team – really love the new stats page. At first (like others) my immediate reaction was that I liked the old line chart better but the more I use the bar charts, the more I prefer the new look.
For starters it’s easier to bring up that day’s detail – now you hover over anywhere on the whole bar rather than the line graph point (this was fiddly). You can now drag your mouse across each day and see hits/posts in the popup to get a very quick summary of each day etc.
Also having the weekend days highlighted in a darker colour makes stats easier to read and put into context.
Quickly flicking between today and yesterday is really useful. Were the referrer links clickable before? Don’t remember them being – thanks for making these actual links if so.
What’s with the tantalising ‘Humanize’ tab in the screenshot that I can’t see on my stats page? Perhaps a hint at a future feature about unique visitors (fingers-crossed)!
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Turn on Suprise Me in your Personal Settings to get the Humanize tab.
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The line charts had one more feature missing with the bars – when you clicked the lines for a specific day – stats opened for that day.
This seems missing with the bars – on the Dashboard page.
Charts load quickly now as compared to previous ones in flash, how ? 🙂
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If you are looking at the day views chart you can still click on the bars. If you are unable to, please contact Support.
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Great! I like this much better! It is easier to read and track.
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Bravo WordPress! … I like the graph because it’s interactive.
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I do not like the new design and think it should be an option to choose whether to use lines or bars.
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Love the new sexy bars!! Thank you!
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I really wish we had the older flot graphs. Not so much a fan of the graphs. I’m sad that there won’t be option for us.
I’d love the option to see new readers vs. regular visitors. Any chance of this?
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I love the new idea!!
I have feedback.. I’m from Kuwait and our weekend is on Friday and Saturday, so it would be very convenient if the light gray background that is there to see weekly patterns can be customizable. Also some countries like Saudi Arabia have their weekends on Wednesday and Thursday!
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Prefer the old version!
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Hate the bars! Inferior my foot, lines and points are a lot easier to read. There should be a choice as to how you like to view your stats.
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😦
I prefer the old style. don’t like much this bar!
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Very nice! Now people just have to visit my site 😦
hehe
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The feature which shows at a glance the weekend days is a plus. That the bars look like the Twin Towers I find bothersome.
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That is sexy, alright. You’re hired.
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I am so surprised by this change. There are at least three things wrong with it. First, redundancy: you are using so much extra space, a whole bar, to convey information that was contained in one point while losing a much clearer sense of the trend. Second, inefficiency: what could be seen in one glance now one has to be toggled for. Third, convenience: What could be seen clearly now one has to squint at even though there is no more information. Why you think something that is redundant, inefficient and inconvenient is more sexy, I cannot fathom. And why you think sexiness is the relevant criterion for information transfer is also not obvious. I must say I am very disappointed with the thinking that is embodied in this change.
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I actually prefer the bar chart that you have now…much cleaner. Thank you. 🙂
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Thanks for abandoning Adobe Flash. I’ve had a bone to pick with them since they feel a need to update the player every 3 seconds.
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I’m new to blogging & didn’t quite grasp the old graft but, love the sexy new one! Thanks!
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I hope there is an option to change the sexy stat (or whatever the name is)
I like the previous, simple one 😀
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I’m quite happy with the bar graph depiction of the data but would much rather see yesterday and today’s data on the same page as it becomes too tiresome clicking between all the taps (especially for someone like me who is physically disabled). Apart from that great work guys, I’m really glad I switched to WordPress a few months ago. You certainly seem full of ideas and its great belonging to such a vibrant community of people.
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Outstanding. Thanks so much for the change.
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Oh no, you are such lovely people, but this is awful! Please please put the graph back. It’s SO much clearer! Or, why not give us the option: click HERE to choose stats in bar chart OR points & line graphs. Is that possible? Then everybody’s happy – and we like everybody to be happy…right?! Sorry to moan, but really….me no like it : -(
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After the initial surprise and acquaintance session, I just have to say thank you for always looking for ways to improve WordPress. Have a great day engineering all sorts of wonderful things. Your efforts are really appreciated.
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Bars are much easier and nicer to stare at!
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Liked the old version better. =(
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I don’t like the bar chart. I just spent ten minutes looking for a way to change it back. No luck. But it is a free service, so I guess they can haven any way they like.
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Much nicer! I only wish I had the numbers shown on the example graph. It has more hits in one day than I have had in two years!
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What’s bugging me about the new stats? In a word, it’s anal. The lines and trends were more intuitive, this is like designed by R2D2. Overall I enjoy blogging with WP but the bar graph gives me a migraine.
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I liked the old chart system than the latest bar graph. Overall the stat page looks fantastic! 🙂 Nice Job!
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IMHO the new stats interface is not so “sexy.” The linear uniform graph for me was more clear that multiple bars.
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I’m afraid I’m an old coot who has difficulty dealing with change, especially if it doesn’t involve drastic improvement. This just seems like (as another blogger described it) fiddling around with something that was perfectly fine as it was. Maybe I’m just bitter with the fact that my readership coincidentally took a drastic drop at about the same time this page changed. Alas, there’s probably enough sentiment to prompt a consideration by staff of returning to the old page. I’d grown quite fond of it.
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Where do I find the number of subscribers. The former stats page used to have it, but I can’t seeit on this one. Thanks
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Big improvement, not only as they’re more accessible but because they’re visually more noticeable to the eye, I’m sure it will see several adaptations but I do feel they’re much better than the dots and lines, not so sure about the colors though.
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I feel the bar graph is disjointed, and not as conducive to continuous data (like ongoing web usage stats) as the line graph was. I haven’t seen any strong logical arguments for the new bars here, only people convincing themselves that they like it or will learn to like it.
That said, it may be possible that the technology change (from Flash to HTML/Ajax/jQuery) is a driving factor, and that Flot could not perform with line graphs in the way desired. The bars might be a by-product of that change. I can definitely agree with a shift away from flash in this case, but the bar graphs are unfortunate.
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LOL – I love the guys at wordpress! Yes, yes…I love the new and improved, sexy stats with the bar format. Thanks!
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I love that you switched to a bar graph. I’m sure you know that it’s the more correct form of representing the data!
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