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Getting visitors to a website is only part of the battle, getting them to stay there for a while is a different challenge. Retention is key in building conversion, repeat business, and overall business growth.

1. Intuitive navigation. One of the biggest impacts on retention is how easily users can navigate the site. Keep navigational elements intuitive and highly visible. Avoid hamburger menus or anything that causes the user to search for where to go next. Make CTAs prominent with borders, utilize clear font with contrasting color, and keep navigational elements in a consistent location page to page.

2. Testimonials. Testimonials serve as peer recommendations to validate the legitimacy of a website and the brand it represents. Testimonials build trust, and trust improves retention.

3. AI support. Artificial intelligence is a great way to provide 24-hour support with a much lower overhead than employing customer service reps. Being available to help users day or night increases retention and builds brand loyalty.

4. Visuals. Visuals command attention, improve SEO, and keep users on websites. Include infographics, micro-interactions, videos, animations, or other visual elements that will have an impact on the user’s experience without overdoing it.

5. Trust badges. People spend more time on a website when they feel safe there. Include awards, security seals, and other trust badges to provide users with a sense of security.

6. Regularly updated content. Including content such as articles, blogs, videos, and press releases on websites help provide social proof, industry authority, and also provides linking opportunity, all of which legitimize the brand and improve user retention.

7. Links. Links provide user value and establish positive social proof. Backlinks lend a brand credibility and authority while outbound links provide additional user benefits by helping users to find related information. Both types of links improve the user experience, build trust, and improve user retention.

8. Simple designs will appeal to the target audience. Keep websites clean and simple to allow important elements such as navigation, information highlighting brand benefits, shareable content, and compelling images to stand out. Utilize imagery, fonts, and colors that will appeal to the target audience as well as represent the brand.

9. Navigational hierarchy. Utilize a hierarchy in navigation which helps users get to the most important places on the website to achieve the brand’s goals, as well as the user’s. Designing with navigational hierarchy provides solutions quicker for the user, improving retention.

10. Quick loading speed. While speed isn’t necessarily called a “feature,” it certainly is an essential element in user retention. Slow loading speed causes extremely high bounce rates and is one of the primary reasons users abandon a site. Utilize a quality hosting service and obtain professional assistance in cleaning up the code, plug-ins and other back-end elements that can slow speed.

Avatar New York is an innovating, award-winning web design New York firm dedicated to providing clients with responsive websites to grow brands and convert visitors to customers. With an expertise in web development, branding, cloud hosting, mobile app development, and CMS and e-commerce solutions, Avatar New York's top tier designers have the ability to create intelligent websites for any type of business.