Dynamic URLs

Normalize dynamic URLs containing user IDs, session tokens, or other variable parameters into consistent patterns. This improves privacy by removing identifying information, prevents accidental collection of personal data, and creates more meaningful analytics by grouping similar pages together.

What Are Dynamic URLs?

Dynamic URLs contain variable segments that change based on user context, making them difficult to analyze collectively:

• User-specific pages - /users/john123/profile, /users/mary456/profile
• Product pages - /products/abc-xyz/reviews, /products/def-789/reviews
• Content with IDs - /articles/12345/comments, /articles/67890/comments
• Session-based URLs - /dashboard/sess_abc123/overview, /dashboard/sess_xyz789/overview
• Dashboard sections - /dashboard/user123/overview, /dashboard/user456/overview

Without normalization, each unique URL appears as a separate page in your analytics, making it impossible to see aggregate patterns.

Basic URL Normalization

Once you’ve installed the Betterlytics tracking script, you can normalize URLs using the data-dynamic-urls attribute.

Simple Wildcard Patterns

Add URL patterns to your tracking script using comma-separated wildcard patterns:

<script
  async
  src="https://betterlytics.io/analytics.js"
  data-site-id="your-siteid"
  data-server-url="https://betterlytics.io/track"
  data-dynamic-urls="/users/*,/products/*,/articles/*"
></script>

This configuration will:

• Transform /users/john123/profile → /users/*/profile
• Transform /products/abc-xyz → /products/*
• Transform /articles/12345/comments → /articles/*/comments

import betterlytics from '@betterlytics/tracker';
 
betterlytics.init("your-siteid", {
  dynamicUrls: ["/users/*", "/products/*", "/articles/*"]
});

Wildcard Types

The dynamic URL feature supports two types of wildcards:

Single Wildcard (*)

Matches one URL segment and preserves the path structure:

data-dynamic-urls="/users/*"

Results:

• /users/john123 → /users/*
• /users/john123/profile → /users/*/profile
• /users/john123/settings/security → /users/*/settings/security

Double Wildcard (**)

Matches multiple URL segments and flattens them to a single wildcard:

data-dynamic-urls="/users/**"

Results:

• /users/john123 → /users/*
• /users/john123/profile → /users/*
• /users/john123/settings/security → /users/*

Advanced Pattern Matching

Multiple Wildcards

You can use multiple wildcards in a single pattern to normalize complex URLs:

data-dynamic-urls="/dashboard/*/users/*,/workspaces/*/projects/*"

Results:

• /dashboard/123/users/456 → /dashboard/*/users/*
• /dashboard/123/users/456/profile → /dashboard/*/users/*/profile
• /workspaces/acme/projects/789 → /workspaces/*/projects/*

Mixed Wildcard Types

Combine single and double wildcards for precise control:

data-dynamic-urls="/users/*/posts/**,/admin/**/logs"

Results:

• /users/123/posts/456/comments → /users/*/posts/*
• /users/123/posts/456/comments/789 → /users/*/posts/*
• /admin/super/user/logs → /admin/*/logs
• /admin/super/user/system/logs → /admin/*/logs

<!-- Good: Specific before general -->
data-dynamic-urls="/users/*/profile,/users/*"
 
<!-- Avoid: General pattern matches everything first -->
data-dynamic-urls="/users/*,/users/*/profile"

Common Use Cases

<!-- Normalize all user-related pages -->
<script
  async
  src="https://betterlytics.io/analytics.js"
  data-site-id="your-siteid"
  data-server-url="https://betterlytics.io/track"
  data-dynamic-urls="/users/*,/profiles/*,/accounts/*"
></script>

<!-- Normalize product and category pages -->
<script
  async
  src="https://betterlytics.io/analytics.js"
  data-site-id="your-siteid"
  data-server-url="https://betterlytics.io/track"
  data-dynamic-urls="/products/*,/categories/*/products/*"
></script>

<!-- Normalize dashboard and admin pages -->
<script
  async
  src="https://betterlytics.io/analytics.js"
  data-site-id="your-siteid"
  data-server-url="https://betterlytics.io/track"
  data-dynamic-urls="/dashboard/*/analytics,/admin/*/settings,/workspace/*/overview"
></script>

<!-- Normalize content pages -->
<script
  async
  src="https://betterlytics.io/analytics.js"
  data-site-id="your-siteid"
  data-server-url="https://betterlytics.io/track"
  data-dynamic-urls="/blog/*/posts/*,/cms/*/pages/**"
></script>

<!-- Normalize tenant and workspace URLs -->
<script
  async
  src="https://betterlytics.io/analytics.js"
  data-site-id="your-siteid"
  data-server-url="https://betterlytics.io/track"
  data-dynamic-urls="/workspaces/*,/tenants/*/dashboard/**"
></script>

Privacy and UTM Parameters

This ensures your marketing attribution remains intact while still normalizing the private path components.

Pattern Matching Rules

Case Sensitivity

URL patterns are case-sensitive:

• Pattern /Users/* will not match /users/123
• Pattern /users/* will not match /Users/123

Exact Matching

Patterns must match from the beginning of the path:

• Pattern /users/* matches /users/123 ✅
• Pattern /users/* matches /users/123/profile ✅
• Pattern users/* does not match /users/123 ❌

Multiple Patterns

When multiple patterns could match a URL, the first matching pattern is used:

data-dynamic-urls="/users/*,/users/**"

For URL /users/123/profile:

• First pattern /users/* matches → Result: /users/*/profile
• Second pattern /users/** is ignored

Best Practices

1. Start with Common Patterns

Begin with the most common dynamic URL patterns in your application:

<!-- Start with user and content pages -->
data-dynamic-urls="/users/*,/posts/*,/products/*"

2. Use Specific Patterns

Be as specific as possible to avoid over-normalization:

<!-- Good: Specific to user profiles -->
data-dynamic-urls="/users/*/profile,/users/*/settings"
 
<!-- Avoid: Too broad, might normalize static pages -->
data-dynamic-urls="/users/**"

3. Test Your Patterns

Verify your patterns work correctly by checking normalized URLs in your analytics:

• Test with real URLs from your application
• Monitor for unexpected normalizations
• Adjust patterns based on actual usage

4. Ensure User Privacy

Use dynamic URLs to improve privacy by removing identifying information:

<!-- Remove session IDs and user tokens -->
data-dynamic-urls="/dashboard/*/overview,/profile/*/settings"

Questions about dynamic URLs? Join our Discord community  for help!