The most engaging website is…

New analysis of website traffic data reveals which websites create the best user experience and capture audience attention.

In June 2023, Internet marketing agency platform DesignRush analyzed the 100 largest websites worldwide in 12 categories (1,200 total), measuring each domain’s average visit duration, pages per visit, bounce rate, monthly search traffic, and accessibility rating to reveal which receive the highest engagement from users.

YouTube ranked as the most engaging website, followed by Live (Microsoft website for Outlook email), LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Amazon. More detailed analysis of each site follows.

1. YouTube (81.9) DesignRush measured YouTube as having the highest monthly search traffic, with 4.6 billion searches per month. Users stay on site for an average duration of 20 minutes and 25 seconds, the sixth highest of all sites analyzed. YouTube’s bounce rate ranked 76th, with only one in five users leaving the site immediately. According to DesignRush  YouTube had an 84 accessibility score, the lowest in the ranking, revealing room to optimize the experience for assistive technology users, particularly on mobile.
2. Live (79.1) Live attracts around two billion monthly visits, and almost 250 million monthly searches, the 16th most-Googled site. Users spend just over eight minutes per visit, with DesignRush analysis also revealing that Live is accessible, achieving a near-perfect 98 accessibility score.
3. LinkedIn (78.4) LinkedIn receives around 1.7 billion monthly visits, around the same as Live, but generates higher search traffic at 274 million per month, 13th overall. Time per visit is also similar to that of Live, around 7.5 minutes. LinkedIn’s bounce rate just misses the top 100, with around one in four users leaving immediately. It also has a perfect accessibility score, as DesignRush says the site is fully optimized for assistive technology.
4. X (Twitter – 76.1) X lands in the top 100 sites for visit duration, with users spending an average of almost 11 minutes per visit. Its 6.5 billion monthly visits make Twitter one of the largest websites in the world, says DesignRush, with the fourth-highest search traffic. It also has the third-best bounce rate in the top 10, retaining two-thirds of visitors. X scored relatively low (88) for accessibility. 
5. Amazon (75.9) Amazon attracts around 2.3 billion visits per month, with almost 700 million monthly search traffic, the fifth-highest in the DesignRush study. Users stay on site for an average of just over seven minutes each visit, one of the lowest in the top 10. However, users navigate quickly through over nine pages on average, almost as many as YouTube and X. and Instagram. Amazon’s 34.5% bounce rate is comparatively high, the second-highest in the top 10 sites rated by DesignRush. Its accessibility score of 94 shows Amazon is almost fully optimized for accessible technology.

[Read more: Study: Quarter of online adults shop digitally on daily basis]