Title: Parse.ly Tracker: Alternative Setup Methods Author: staff Published: August 1, 2022 Last modified: November 12, 2025 --- 1. [Installation resources](https://docs.parse.ly/installation-resources/) 2. [Parse.ly Integration](https://docs.parse.ly/installation-resources/parsely-integration/) 3. [Tracking code](https://docs.parse.ly/installation-resources/parsely-integration/tracking-code-setup/) 4. Parse.ly Tracker: Alternative Setup Methods # Parse.ly Tracker: Alternative Setup Methods Below are alternative methods for adding Parse.ly tracking to your site, if [the default](https://docs.parse.ly/parsely-integration/) is not possible. Always replace `######` in the examples with your site id, e.g.` mysite.com`, as its registered with Parse.ly. ## Load the tracker via JavaScript Use this method when you can’t add custom HTML to your templates, or if your tag management system only allows JavaScript. The following code dynamically creates an HTML ` ``` This allows you to perform setup and configuration in `PARSELY.onStart`. For example, you might disable autotracking and then call `trackPageView` directly: ```lang-php ``` When using the enhanced snippet, calls to `onStart` should be included on your webpage immediately after the snippet. > The enhanced snippet is only supported in tracker versions above 1.6.0. If you’re > unsure of your tracker version, contact [support@parsely.com](https://docs.parse.ly/installation-resources/parsely-integration/tracking-code-setup/support@parsely.com?subject=Video%20tracker%20version?) ## Configure the tracker to always use browser `localStorage` instead of cookies By default, the Parse.ly tracker [uses cookies to keep track of visitors and sessions](https://automattic.com/cookies/). However, this data can be stored in each browser’s [`window.localStorage`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window/localStorage) instead. To use `localStorage` instead of cookies, simply make sure `PARSELY.use_localstorage = true` prior to loading the tracker, as in this example: ```lang-php ``` One major limitation of `localStorage` is that, unlike cookies, data does not persist across subdomains. This means that if your site spans multiple subdomains (such as `blog.parsely.com` and `help.parsely.com`), cookies can use the same visitor and session data as a user navigates between them, but `localStorage` cannot. That difference would result in higher visitor counts and more [new visitors](https://docs.parse.ly/new-and-returning-visitors/) in the Parse.ly dashboard and API when using `localStorage`. The Parse.ly tracker automatically uses `localStorage` in browsers such as Safari where cookie expiration would otherwise prevent accurate data collection. No additional configuration is required for this behavior. ## Configure the tracker for each subdomain to have its own first-party Cookie Pool The Parsely JS SDK doesn’t always set cookies on subdomains. It actually sets its first-party cookies on the smallest domain possible. For example, if you load the Parse.ly tracker bundle on `something.domain.com`, the cookie will be set for `domain. com`. This behavior is configurable. On every pageload, before the bundle loads, you can set `PARSELY.cookieDomain = ;`. This will make the bundle set cookies on the explicitly provided subdomains instead of its default of the smallest possible domain. Here is an example of what that can look like: ```lang-php ``` Last updated: November 12, 2025