What are user sessions?
A user session is a group of interactions a visitor has with your website or web application during a single visit. It starts when a user lands on your site and ends after a period of inactivity. Sessions are the backbone of behavioral analytics, capturing how people navigate, where they linger, and when they drop off.
By looking at session data, you get a clearer picture of real-world user journeys—helping you improve performance, fix friction points, and create experiences that actually convert.
Why user session data matters?
Session data gives you critical context behind the numbers. It helps you:
Spot navigation issues or dead-ends in your UX flow
Uncover performance bottlenecks across sessions
Improve conversion rates by understanding where users give up
Personalize site experiences based on actual behavior
Every session is a story - reading enough of them lets you predict the next chapter.
How we measure user sessions?
User sessions are typically measured based on predefined rules and thresholds.
Session start: A session begins when a user lands on a webpage and triggers a request to the analytics tracking system.
Session duration and expiry condition : The session continues as long as the user interacts with the site. If there is a period of inactivity (30 minutes), the session automatically ends.
How we track user sessions?
At Uxify, we use JavaScript-based analytics scripts to monitor sessions in real time. These scripts:
Capture session start, duration, and end
Track key events like clicks, scrolls, and navigations
Send data to our backend for analysis and dashboard reporting
This session data not only powers your Experience dashboard but also enhances Navigation AI. The more accurately we track sessions, the better we can predict the next move - and preload it before users even ask for it.
Total user sessions
Total user sessions count the full number of distinct visits to your website or app, across all users and all devices, over the selected time range.
This is the raw volume of interaction - every time someone starts a new session (including return visits), it's counted here. This metric is useful for understanding:
Traffic trends across days or campaigns
Seasonal or daily fluctuations in engagement
How marketing efforts translate into visits
Comparing session volume across different pages or flows
If you're seeing a spike in total sessions, it usually means something is drawing users in - now it's time to check how engaged they are once they arrive.
Average user sessions
Average user sessions represent the mean number of sessions per user during the selected time period. This metric gives you insight into return behavior and user engagement.
For example:
If 500 total sessions were generated by 200 unique users, the average user session count would be 2.5. That means, on average, each user visited your site 2.5 times in that time frame.
Used to:
Track stickiness and user loyalty over time
Detect how compelling or addictive your content/product is
Understand how well retention strategies (like remarketing or notifications) are working
Spot trends like session frequency per user segment or region
A low average with a high total may suggest one-time visits or weak retention. A higher average points toward returning users - often a strong signal of value delivered.