Repeat and first time visits reports

What are repeat and first time visits?

When someone comes to your site we count a visit. After that, there are two possibilities: either that person has never been to your site before or he/she has come at least once in the past (whether a few hours ago or several months ago). In the first case, we speak of first time traffic (it's the first time the visitor ever sees your site), in the second case, we speak of returning or repeat traffic.


  • A 'visit' or 'session' is started when a visitor opens your site in a browser. It is terminated when that same visitor (defined by his IP address or a cookie) has been inactive for more than 30 minutes. If the visitor comes back to your site after more than 30 minutes, a new session is counted.

  • A 'repeat visit' is a visit by someone who has already been to your site at some point in the past (one hour ago, one week ago or one month ago - there is no time limit). A visit to your site by a repeat visitor will be recorded as a 'visit', as well as a 'repeat visit'.

  • A 'first time visit' is a visit by someone who has never been to your site before. A visit to your site by a first time visitor will be recorded as a 'visit', as well as a 'first time visit'

Note that to recognize repeat visitors we depend on cookies on the visitor's browser. If cookies are not enabled or if they get reset, a repeat visitor will not be recognized by Web-Stat and will be inaccurately identified as a 'first time visitor'. This is a limitations of the system ; unfortunately there is no better way of measuring this metric and all stats providers are subject to the same issue.


Repeat Visits Graph:

Repeat and first time visits report example

The background of this graph shows the total visits on your site. Superimposed in green are the repeat visits (the exact number can be read at the bottom of each bar or by hovering your mouse over the bar)

First Time Visits Graph:

Repeat and first time visits report example 2

The background of this graph shows the total visits on your site. Superimposed in purple are the first time visits (the exact number can be read at the bottom of each bar or by hovering your mouse over the bar)