What is a pageview?

A pageview is counted each time someone opens a page on your website. Example: a visitor reads your homepage and then your price list – that is two pageviews.

Definition

In PureMetrix, a pageview is recorded when a browser loads a page that contains the PureMetrix script. One visit can contain several pageviews. Visits with only one pageview count towards the bounce rate.

Pageviews are not people. One person can open many pages in a day. To count people, see unique visitors.

What usually creates a pageview

A full page load creates a pageview when the PureMetrix script runs—HTML snippet, WordPress, Shopify storefront, or a layout wrap in Next.js. Single-page apps that swap content without a reload must send a pageview on each route change (Next.js, npm). Classic multi-page sites usually work once the snippet is on every public page.

Cached pages must still include the script for visitors who are not logged in. Edge caches, Shopify theme caches, and WordPress speed plugins that strip scripts are a common reason pageviews drop after a performance change.

PureMetrix specifics

The script is under 3 KB. An optional same-origin /px proxy loads it from your own domain, so fewer visits are lost to ad blockers.

Exclude your own team: WordPress roles, Shopify staff accounts, or a staging hostname—so preview clicks do not inflate the charts.

How to read pageviews

Pageviews show which pages get attention. On a shop or business site, read them together with landing pages and goals. A sudden spike in pageviews without more goals reached is a content success, not automatically more sales.

PureMetrix takes campaign tags (UTM parameters) out of the page address and keeps them as separate campaign filters, so /pricing/ stays one row in your reports.

Messy URLs and duplicate page rows

Without this clean-up, UTM tags and session IDs would split one page into many rows. Keep campaign parameters as filters so /pricing/ stays one page. Otherwise every newsletter send creates a new “page” and your top-pages report becomes unusable.