What is Pageview?

A pageview is recorded each time a page on your site loads (or, in a single-page app, each time the route changes) for a visitor. It is the rawest volume metric in analytics: ten people reading one article is ten pageviews, and one person refreshing the same article ten times is also ten pageviews.

Because pageviews count views rather than people, they inflate easily. Refreshes, back-button visits, and one enthusiastic reader can all pump the number up. That is why pageviews are usually read alongside unique visitors and sessions: pageviews tell you how much content was consumed, visitors tell you by how many people. On single-page apps, make sure your analytics script tracks route changes as pageviews, or your counts will miss most navigation.

Pageviews divided by sessions gives you pages per session, a quick read on how deep visitors go.