Key Metrics<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\nThere are three key metrics that you can use to evaluate how sticky a site is:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n- Bounce<\/b>: Have you ever clicked on a website then immediately pressed the \u201cback\u201d button as you realize it\u2019s not what you wanted? That\u2019s called bouncing. Your bounce rate is the percentage of visits to your website that involve only one page view. You want this rate to be as low as possible, as this indicates that people are finding value from clicking around multiple pages on your site.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
\n- Time on site:<\/b> Once someone has decided to stick around, the next focus is how to keep them there as long as possible. A site like Netflix is a good example of a website that will have a very high time on site, as people will tend to use it for watching long form video content. Conversely, people may often go to Twitter whilst waiting for public transport, so the sessions there may be relatively short.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
\n- Pages visited:<\/b> This statistic gives context to the time on site. Are users actively browsing on the site or more passively staying to one page once they\u2019ve found what they wanted? Generally, you\u2019ll want a higher number of pages visited, as it indicates the user is interacting and interested in a wide variety of content on your site.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
Even amongst the top websites, some truly stand out for incredible numbers. There\u2019s a reason everyone knows about YouTube \u2013 the average visitor spends on average 21 minutes on the site and views 11 pages. DuckDuckGo has a remarkably low bounce rate of just 12.78%. Of course, the top sites do span across several categories, but looking at them as a whole, there are definitely some key tips any designer would do well to implement.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Front And Center<\/span><\/h2>\nSometimes designers try so hard to be different that they ignore a simple law which all top websites follow \u2013 they capture the attention of the visitor instantly with something bold at the top of the page.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This keeps people on the page for those vital few seconds that can make the difference between bouncing and not bouncing. About <\/span>57% of viewing time is spent above the fold<\/span><\/a>, so it makes sense to always place your most compelling content in this area.<\/span><\/p>\n
Show Recommendations<\/span><\/h2>\nAnother common feature that many top sites share is recommended content to the side of whatever content the visitor is currently consuming. YouTube is perhaps the best known master of this method, whereby every time you watch a video there are several similar videos in your eye line at all times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This is why people often complain of disappearing down a YouTube black hole because they come for one video but then watch another 10! In fact, <\/span>70% of YouTube traffic<\/span><\/a> is driven by recommendations. It\u2019s exactly how they are able to maintain such a high number of page views per visitor.<\/span><\/p>\n
Drive With Community<\/span><\/h2>\nIt\u2019s no surprise that the sites with the highest average page views are social media-based. As humans, we have a basic need for community, and websites that can provide this can keep users on their websites for longer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
People love to scan topics of user-generated content in contexts where they don\u2019t feel like they are being sold to or advertised to as much, as you can see in the success of Reddit, where people gather around topic niches and share content according to common interests.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/webdesigndev.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/How_Design_Teams_at_Top_Websites_Create_Sticky_Visitor_Experiences_IMAGE4a.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t need to actually build a social network to take advantage of the power of community. Many sites will include review sections or highlight posts from their audience on their homepages. What\u2019s great about sharing user-generated content is that the work for the business itself is limited.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t need to worry about whether or not it can be maintained as it\u2019s up to the marketing team to encourage user engagement. It gives an extra reason to stay on a site to see if anything has been recently updated.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mobile First<\/span><\/h2>\n
Experienced designers can sometimes be stuck in the old paradigm of desktop-first when in reality, we are using our phones more than ever before. In 2021, <\/span>79%<\/span><\/a> of all purchases will be on mobile. It makes sense for designers to prioritize this. That proportion, mind you, mirrors the Pareto principle, which tells us to focus on what drives 80% of the results.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- Time on site:<\/b> Once someone has decided to stick around, the next focus is how to keep them there as long as possible. A site like Netflix is a good example of a website that will have a very high time on site, as people will tend to use it for watching long form video content. Conversely, people may often go to Twitter whilst waiting for public transport, so the sessions there may be relatively short.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- Pages visited:<\/b> This statistic gives context to the time on site. Are users actively browsing on the site or more passively staying to one page once they\u2019ve found what they wanted? Generally, you\u2019ll want a higher number of pages visited, as it indicates the user is interacting and interested in a wide variety of content on your site.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
Even amongst the top websites, some truly stand out for incredible numbers. There\u2019s a reason everyone knows about YouTube \u2013 the average visitor spends on average 21 minutes on the site and views 11 pages. DuckDuckGo has a remarkably low bounce rate of just 12.78%. Of course, the top sites do span across several categories, but looking at them as a whole, there are definitely some key tips any designer would do well to implement.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Front And Center<\/span><\/h2>\n
Sometimes designers try so hard to be different that they ignore a simple law which all top websites follow \u2013 they capture the attention of the visitor instantly with something bold at the top of the page.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This keeps people on the page for those vital few seconds that can make the difference between bouncing and not bouncing. About <\/span>57% of viewing time is spent above the fold<\/span><\/a>, so it makes sense to always place your most compelling content in this area.<\/span><\/p>\n
Show Recommendations<\/span><\/h2>\n
Another common feature that many top sites share is recommended content to the side of whatever content the visitor is currently consuming. YouTube is perhaps the best known master of this method, whereby every time you watch a video there are several similar videos in your eye line at all times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This is why people often complain of disappearing down a YouTube black hole because they come for one video but then watch another 10! In fact, <\/span>70% of YouTube traffic<\/span><\/a> is driven by recommendations. It\u2019s exactly how they are able to maintain such a high number of page views per visitor.<\/span><\/p>\n
Drive With Community<\/span><\/h2>\n
It\u2019s no surprise that the sites with the highest average page views are social media-based. As humans, we have a basic need for community, and websites that can provide this can keep users on their websites for longer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
People love to scan topics of user-generated content in contexts where they don\u2019t feel like they are being sold to or advertised to as much, as you can see in the success of Reddit, where people gather around topic niches and share content according to common interests.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t need to actually build a social network to take advantage of the power of community. Many sites will include review sections or highlight posts from their audience on their homepages. What\u2019s great about sharing user-generated content is that the work for the business itself is limited.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t need to worry about whether or not it can be maintained as it\u2019s up to the marketing team to encourage user engagement. It gives an extra reason to stay on a site to see if anything has been recently updated.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mobile First<\/span><\/h2>\n
Experienced designers can sometimes be stuck in the old paradigm of desktop-first when in reality, we are using our phones more than ever before. In 2021, <\/span>79%<\/span><\/a> of all purchases will be on mobile. It makes sense for designers to prioritize this. That proportion, mind you, mirrors the Pareto principle, which tells us to focus on what drives 80% of the results.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
- Pages visited:<\/b> This statistic gives context to the time on site. Are users actively browsing on the site or more passively staying to one page once they\u2019ve found what they wanted? Generally, you\u2019ll want a higher number of pages visited, as it indicates the user is interacting and interested in a wide variety of content on your site.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/webdesigndev.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/How_Design_Teams_at_Top_Websites_Create_Sticky_Visitor_Experiences_IMAGE2a.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/webdesigndev.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/How_Design_Teams_at_Top_Websites_Create_Sticky_Visitor_Experiences_IMAGE3a.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/webdesigndev.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/How_Design_Teams_at_Top_Websites_Create_Sticky_Visitor_Experiences_IMAGE5a.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nDon\u2019t Reinvent The Wheel<\/span><\/h2>\nFinally, browse the top ranking sites and realize how familiar they all feel. None of them are extraordinarily unique. Many fall back on solid interactivity design principles that have been around for decades. When your primary aim is usability then this isn\u2019t surprising, and there\u2019s a way most users prefer to act.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Take a look at Google and Baidu \u2013 it makes sense for them both to focus heavily on their own logo and the search bar, because that\u2019s overwhelmingly why people come to their sites.<\/span><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/webdesigndev.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/How_Design_Teams_at_Top_Websites_Create_Sticky_Visitor_Experiences_IMAGE6a.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nThis isn\u2019t laziness; it\u2019s intelligence from the designers. Audience members get accustomed to common navigation patterns and will look in the same areas of different sites to find what they want. If they can\u2019t find it where they expect it, they could get frustrated and go to another website instead. This is exactly what you don\u2019t want. You want to do everything to keep them on the site and keep them happy to derive the benefits of the sticky user \/ visitor experience. By using similar designs, you\u2019re exploiting the <\/span>mere exposure effect<\/span><\/a>, where we like things more when they seem familiar.<\/span><\/p>\n
Wrap Up<\/span><\/h2>\nOn your next design project, when storyboarding and coming up with potential ideas for how you want the website to look, make sure you compare with the top ranking websites, not just what bloggers recommend. It\u2019s critical to make sure you\u2019re paying attention to what is actually working rather than just the latest darling of the design community bubble.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
These sites have very sticky visitor experiences which can lead you to higher engagement and more sales and advertising revenue. If it\u2019s for your own business, it directly affects your bottom line, and if it\u2019s for your client, then it\u2019s a great way to keep them happy and prove yourself a good return on investment.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source of top image: <\/span>https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/N8Pnhrcr73o<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web design trends move at a lightning-fast rate, and there\u2019s always something new on the scene. It\u2019s easy for designers to get carried away by the latest trends, … Continue \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":67998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
