Pagination and how to handle paged lists

Long lists of products or posts are split across pages. Here is how to keep them easy to crawl and use.

What it is#

Pagination means splitting a long list, such as a shop category or a blog archive, across several pages: page 1, page 2, page 3 and so on. Visitors click Next or a page number to move through it.

Why it matters#

Two things can go wrong. Visitors give up before reaching an item on page 6. Crawlers may not follow the links deep enough to find items that only appear on later pages, so those items never get indexed or found.

How to check#

1. Open a long list on your site and click through to the last page.
2. Check that each page has a normal address you can copy, not one that only works after a click.
3. Confirm the Next and Previous links are real links, not buttons that load content with no new address.

How to handle it well#

• Give each page its own address and its own link, so a crawler can follow it.
• Link to page 1 consistently and let each page link to its neighbours.
• Do not point every page at page 1 with a canonical tag. That tells engines the later pages are copies, and the items on them can be missed. See what a canonical tag is.
• Show a sensible number per page, enough that visitors are not clicking constantly.
• Help people skip ahead with filters, search or links to your best items.
• Use a different title for each page where your tools allow it, such as adding the page number.

A practical tip: look at which items on your later pages matter most to the business, such as best sellers or your newest work. Link to them from the home page, a category page or a related article, so they do not depend on a visitor clicking through six pages. Fewer, better-organised lists are usually easier for everyone than very long ones.

Common mistakes#

• An endless scroll that never gives later items a real address.
• Hiding page 2 onward from search with noindex while those pages hold your only links to items.
• Letting filters create thousands of near-identical list addresses.

Your own internal links are the best way to make sure important items are never left only on page 9.