Have you ever wondered how many pages a website has? Maybe it’s a competitor’s site or even your own. Knowing this can be useful for SEO planning, content strategy, and benchmarking your digital presence. In this guide, we’ll share three simple ways to check how many pages are on a website.
How To Find Out How Many Pages a Website Has
As mentioned above, there are three easy ways to accomplish this:
1. XML Sitemap
Using the XML sitemap is a simple way to count the number of pages on a website. Plus, the sitemap method is available to anyone! To access a website’s sitemap, scroll to the website footer and follow the link to their XML sitemap.
If you can’t locate a “Sitemap” link on the website, there is another quick solution. View any sitemap in your browser by using either of the following URLs. All you need to do is replace “sitename” with the name of the website!
For example, if you wanted to check the number of indexed pages on our website, marion.com, you would search: https://marion.com/sitemap.xml
If the website you are checking uses advanced sitemap plugins, such as YoastSEO, the URL count will be automatically shown. Otherwise, you’ll need to count the number of pages manually.
Should every business create an XML sitemap?
Yes, in most cases. Even small businesses benefit from making their content more accessible to search engines. Sitemaps are quick to generate and can be submitted through Google Search Console for free.
2. Site: Operator
For this method, you will need to open a new Google search and copy the following search query, replacing “sitename” with the name of the website you are looking for:
site:sitename.com
For example, if you were checking our website, marion.com, you would search: site:marion.com.
Keep in mind, this number is approximate. Google doesn’t always display the exact count, and the number may fluctuate over time. Still, it’s a quick way to get a rough idea of how many pages a domain has in Google’s index.
3. Google Search Console
For your own website, Google Search Console gives the most reliable picture of indexed pages. To use it, you’ll need to be a verified site owner or have access granted. Once inside, you can open the Index Coverage report (previously called “Index Status”) to see total indexed pages, errors, and exclusions. The Sitemap report also shows how many pages you’ve submitted and how many Google has accepted.
This method is particularly useful for spotting issues. For example, if you’ve submitted 500 pages but only 300 are indexed, it signals that you may need to review your site’s crawlability, content quality, or technical SEO setup.
Why is the page count different between a sitemap and Google Search Console?
Sitemaps show what a site owner submits to Google, while Search Console shows what Google actually indexes. Some pages may be excluded if they’re duplicates, low-quality, or blocked in robots.txt.
Why Your Website Needs an XML Sitemap
XML sitemaps are especially beneficial for large-capacity websites, new websites, and websites that use rich media content. However, almost all websites will benefit from incorporating this feature. Sitemaps allow Google to easily locate web pages and determine when they were last updated.
In addition, website page counters can be used for:
- Clarifying how many active web pages your site has
- Seeing all of the pages on your competitor’s domain
This is especially useful for:
- Large websites with hundreds or thousands of pages
- New websites with few external links
- Sites with complex navigation or rich media content
Competitor research is another perk. By reviewing a competitor’s sitemap, you can see the breadth of their published content and how they organize it.
Refresh Your Website with MARION
With these three methods, you now know how to check the number of pages on any site. Most websites make their sitemap easy to find, but even if they don’t, Google’s tools provide alternate routes to the same insight.
MARION is a trusted Texas marketing agency with 40+ years of experience helping businesses grow through website design, digital marketing, and SEO services. We design with both strategy and execution in mind, so your site works hard for your business.
Schedule a free marketing consultation with MARION today and learn how we can help grow your business.
