This article is about Heatmaps for customers on our Free and Growth plans. If you're a Pro or Enterprise customer, learn about using the Zoning Analysis Heatmap mode in our article, Introduction to Zoning Analysis.
Heatmaps visualise user interactions by showing you clicks, movement, and scroll actions. By analyzing a heatmap, you can identify areas for improvement, understand where user frustration is occurring, and optimise your design across devices. In this article, we'll step through how to create a heatmap.
Before you begin
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Before you can create a heatmap, it's important to have captured at least one session on the URL(s) you're wanting to analyse.
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If you're not seeing any data in the desktop view of a heatmap, it might be worth checking the tablet and mobile views. Users may not have accessed the URL(s) from a desktop device.
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When using URL is exactly in the URL criteria dropdown, make sure to enter the URL exactly as shown in the browser after all redirects. This includes any trailing backslash and the HTTPS protocol.
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If a heatmap isn't available, ensure your session capture settings aren't limited to a specific page or reliant on an event, as this may exclude the URL(s) you wish to analyse.
Creating a heatmap
1. From your Heatmaps page, click 'New heatmap'.
2. Click the URL criteria dropdown and select an option.
Heatmaps can display data from a particular URL or a collection of URLs. When the URL criteria option that you apply results in showing data from a collection of URLs, the combined data is presented over a single screenshot.
Available options in the URL criteria dropdown
- URL is: This default match type targets a specific page on your site, disregarding query strings, fragments, the HTTPS protocol, and 'www'.
- URL is exactly: Displays data from users who accessed a specific URL, including the protocol, query strings, and fragments.
- URL contains: Displays data for all URLs containing the entered text. This rule is case-sensitive.
- URL starts with: Displays "Exact match" results for URLs starting with the entered text, including the protocol.
- URL ends with: Displays "Exact match" results for URLs ending with the entered text, including strings and fragments.
- URL matches regex: Displays data for all URLs that match the given regular expression.
3. Enter the URL for your heatmap, then click Continue.
4. (Optional) Choose the type of heatmap you'd like to analyze.
5. (Optional) Select the screenshot the matches your page, or click Take new screenshot.
Next steps to enhance your heatmap insights
After creating a heatmap, you can:
- Apply filters to refine your heat data, by clicking Add filter.
- View session replays of the heatmap URL with your applied filters, by clicking View replays.
- Change the map type between clicks, move, or scroll.
- Apply an overlay, such as the top 3 clicks.
- Return to your heatmap later with the applied filters, by clicking Save. The heatmap will appear in your Saved heatmaps sidebar.
- Download a jpg file of the heatmap or a csv file of the raw click data.