Problem signals: how device context hides (or reveals) friction

Mobile users tap; desktop users click and hover. That difference changes what heatmaps reveal—and which fixes move the needle.

• Mobile sign-up stalls while desktop holds: often tap-target sizing, keyboard overlap, or validation copy that’s truncated on small screens.
• Checkout coupon rage taps on mobile only: hitbox misalignment or disabled-state logic that doesn’t visually communicate.
• Scroll-to-nowhere on long pages: mobile scroll depth heatmaps show where attention dies; desktop hover maps may incorrectly suggest engagement.
• Variant wins on desktop, loses on mobile: responsive layout shifts move CTAs below the fold, raising scroll burden on smaller viewports.

See Interactive Heatmaps

Root-cause map (decision tree)

1. Start with the funnel step showing the drop (e.g., address form, plan selection).
2. Is the drop device-specific? Mobile only → inspect tap clusters, fold position, keyboard overlap. Desktop only → check hover→no click zones, tooltip reliance, precision-required UI.
3. Is engagement high but progression low? Yes → likely validation or hitbox issue; review rage taps and disabled CTAs. No → content/IA problem; review scroll depth and element visibility.
4. Do you see API 4xx/5xx near the hotspot? Yes → jump to Session Replay to inspect request/response and DOM state. No → stay in heatmap to test layout, copy, and target sizes.

How to fix it in 3 steps (Interactive Heatmaps deep-dive)

Step 1 — Segment by device & viewport

Filter heatmaps to Mobile vs Desktop (optionally by iPhone/Android or breakpoint buckets). Enable overlays for rage taps, dead taps, and fold line. This reveals whether users are trying—and failing—to perform the intended action.

Step 2 — Isolate the misbehaving element

Use element-level stats to evaluate tap-through rate, time-to-next-step, and retry attempts. On mobile, prioritize: tap target size & spacing (44px+ recommended), keyboard overlap, disabled vs loading states.

Step 3 — Validate with a short window

Ship UI tweaks behind a flag and re-run heatmaps for 24–72 hours. Compare predicted median completion from your baseline to the observed median post-fix, and spot-check with Session Replay to ensure there’s no new friction.

Evidence

Case snippet

A consumer subscription site saw flat desktop conversion but sliding mobile sign-ups. Heatmaps showed dense rage taps on a disabled “Continue” button and shallow scroll depth on screens ≤ 650px. Session Replay confirmed a keyboard covering an address field plus a hidden error message. The team increased tap-target size, raised the CTA above the fold for small viewports, and added a visible loading/validation state. Within 48 hours of rollout to 25% of traffic, the mobile heatmap cooled and retries dropped. A week later, mobile completion stabilized, and desktop remained unaffected. With masking on, no sensitive inputs were captured—only interaction patterns and system states required for diagnosis.

View a session replay example

Next steps

• Enable Interactive Heatmaps and segment by device and viewport.
• Prioritize rage tap clusters and below-the-fold CTAs on mobile.
• Validate fixes within 72 hours, confirm via Session Replay, and roll out broadly.