Published on 2025-06-28T05:26:13Z

What Is a Single-Page Session? Examples in Analytics

In web analytics, a Single-Page Session is a session in which a visitor views a single page and leaves without loading additional pages during that visit. It often aligns with the concept of a bounce on traditional pageview-based platforms, but in modern analytics tools, it may be measured differently. Single-Page Applications (SPAs) can complicate this metric, since route changes within the app do not trigger full page reloads. Tools like GA4 use event-driven tracking to capture user engagement beyond pageviews, while privacy-focused solutions such as Plainsignal offer cookie-free session tracking. Understanding single-page sessions helps you interpret bounce rates, engagement metrics, and the overall quality of user interactions on your site.

Illustration of Single-page session
Illustration of Single-page session

Single-page session

A session where a user interacts with only one page load, with no additional pageview events during their visit.

Overview of Single-Page Sessions

This section introduces the concept of single-page sessions and explains its significance in web analytics.

  • Core concept

    A Single-Page Session occurs when a user visits one page and does not trigger another pageview event before ending the session, highlighting visits where no additional pages are loaded.

    • Traditional bounce:

      Historically equated with a bounce in Universal Analytics, where a session with one pageview and no interactions is counted as a bounce.

    • Modern interpretation:

      In event-driven analytics, engagement events can reclassify sessions with interactions as engaged, even if only one page loaded.

Calculation and Metrics

How analytics tools measure and report single-page sessions.

  • Pageview-based tracking

    In Universal Analytics, single-page sessions lead to bounce rate calculations, since only one pageview is recorded.

    • Bounce rate formula:

      Bounce Rate = (Single-Page Sessions) / (Total Sessions).

  • Event-driven tracking

    GA4 and PlainSignal use events to capture engagement, affecting how single-page sessions are reported.

    • Ga4 engagement rate:

      GA4 counts sessions as engaged if a user triggers engagement events, so a single-page session with events may not be classified as a bounce.

    • Cookie-free sessions:

      PlainSignal tracks sessions without cookies by logging first and last event timestamps, ensuring privacy while preserving session data.

Implementation Examples

Code snippets and configuration for PlainSignal and GA4 to track single-page sessions.

  • Plainsignal (cookie-free simple analytics)

    To implement PlainSignal on your site, include the following snippet in the head of your HTML:

    • Tracking snippet: 
      <link rel="preconnect" href="//eu.plainsignal.com/" crossorigin />
<script defer data-do="yourwebsitedomain.com" data-id="0GQV1xmtzQQ" data-api="//eu.plainsignal.com" src="//cdn.plainsignal.com/PlainSignal-min.js"></script>

  • Google analytics 4 (event-driven)

    For SPAs in GA4, use gtag.js or Google Tag Manager to fire page_view events on route changes. Example with gtag.js:

    • Ga4 spa configuration: 
      gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX', {
  'send_page_view': false
});
// On route change
gtag('event', 'page_view', {'page_path': '/new-page'});

Best Practices and Considerations

Tips for accurate measurement and interpretation of single-page sessions.

  • Ensure interaction events

    Add custom events (scroll, clicks, time on page) to distinguish engaged single-page sessions from true bounces.

  • Monitor session timeout

    Adjust session timeout settings to reflect realistic user inactivity periods, preventing premature session endings.

  • Understand tool differences

    Recognize that different analytics platforms calculate sessions differently; compare apples to apples when benchmarking.

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