Pageview
Updated 2026-11-02
Definition
A pageview is one load of a page on your site. If someone opens your homepage, clicks through to pricing and then returns to the homepage, that's three pageviews.
Pageviews measure activity, and visitors measure audience. One visitor can create many pageviews.
Example
This example uses made-up numbers. In one month your site records:
- 40,000 pageviews
- 12,000 sessions
- 9,000 visitors
That's about 3.3 pages per session and 4.4 pages per visitor.
Suppose a page goes viral next month, and pageviews jump to 90,000 while pages per session fall to 1.5. Your audience grew, but most people saw one page. The pageview total alone would hide that.
Single-page apps
In a single-page app, the browser doesn't reload when the route changes. Older tags count one pageview for the whole visit unless you add code. Modern scripts watch the browser's history instead, so a route change counts as a new pageview.
What inflates pageviews
Refreshes count. So do bots, unless your tool filters them. Duplicate tags can double your numbers, which is a common mistake when a script is added in both a theme and a tag manager. If your pageviews doubled overnight, look there first.
How Headstream measures it
Headstream records a pageview on each page load and each route change in a single-page app, using the browser's history API. There's no extra code to add. Known bots and any paths and IP addresses you exclude are left out, and repeat deliveries are removed by event ID.
Pageviews are labeled as an exact count. They also count toward your plan's events, as described on the pricing page. The methodology page has the definition, and a Why this number page shows the raw rows behind the count.