How it works
A small tracking script records how visitors interact with a page. The tool then adds up thousands of sessions and paints the results over a screenshot of the page, so patterns are easy to spot at a glance.
The main types
Click maps show where people click or tap. Scroll maps show how far down the page people get before leaving. Move maps follow mouse movement on desktop, which loosely tracks where people are looking.
Where heatmaps fit
Analytics tells you what happened, like a high bounce rate. Heatmaps help explain why, like a key button sitting below where most people stop scrolling. Session recordings and A/B tests then confirm what to change.
Why Heatmap matters
Heatmaps turn guesses about a page into evidence. They show when people ignore your main call to action, click on things that aren't links or never see important content, so you can fix the parts of a page that cost you leads and sales.
The button nobody saw
A service company's quote form sat near the bottom of a long homepage. A scroll map showed most mobile visitors left before reaching it. Moving a short form and a quote button near the top led to more requests without any extra traffic.
Common mistakes
Reading too few sessions
A heatmap built from a handful of visits can mislead. Wait for enough traffic before acting, and compare mobile and desktop separately.
Treating mouse movement as eye tracking
Move maps are a rough signal, not a true measure of attention. Use them as a hint, then confirm with clicks, scroll depth and testing.
Collecting data and never changing anything
Heatmaps only help if they lead to changes. Pick one problem, fix it and measure whether results improve.
Where we work on this