Website heatmap tools are valuable for evaluating the user experience on your website and measuring your website performance. With a visual representation of users’ actions, heatmap software tools help you understand which web pages are most popular and how you can further improve user engagement.

Also, by monitoring how individual visitors interact with your website, you can understand user behavior, conduct funnel analysis, make traffic segmentation, identify or fix issues in the conversion path, and ultimately increase conversions.

Finding the best heatmap software can be a little tricky, especially if you don’t know where to start. You might find yourself with thousands of options and no idea which one is the best.

In today’s blog post, we’ll explain the basics of website heatmap software and show you how to use it to improve your online business. You can start with FullSession, our web analytics tool, which comes with many valuable features, including heatmaps, session recording, session replay, and customer feedback tools.

Experience our product and sign up free to test our features and collect and analyze user behavioral data. You can also book a demo for more information

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What is website heatmap software?

website heatmap tool

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Heatmap software collects data from individual user interactions with your site on various devices and displays it with visual reports. Evaluating heatmap data will show where you need to make page elements, layout, or content changes to improve your customers’ journey.

Also, visualized data will help you better optimize your sales and conversion funnels and create high-performing product pages, landing pages, websites, or mobile apps.

The color palette and heatmap reports

The color scheme is the key in heatmap reporting as colors represent the intensity of each visitor’s activity – the warmer the color, the higher is the engagement. Heat map software displays the higher value data points in the brightest color and the lower value data points on the darker end of the color spectrum.

For example, green indicates that the visitor fully engages with the page, yellow means there is some engagement but you also need to make improvements, while red shows low engagement and areas you should focus your attention on.

Heatmaps can easily communicate large amounts of data to users quickly and intuitively. By using color-coded, interactive visualizations, you can get all of the information you need without having to spend hours working with spreadsheets.

Website heatmap tools use cases

With heatmap software tools, you can see which website or landing page areas visitors focus on the most. You will know what your users like or dislike while browsing your website.

Heatmapping software provides you with heatmap reports and heatmap data to help you:

  1. Understand why and where your website visitors drop off in the conversion funnel
  2. See which elements and sections increase or decrease engagement rate
  3. Monitor how your A/B tests perform
  4. Identify elements that confuse your users and affect their user experience
  5. See immediate results during real-time experiments

By analyzing heatmap data, you will have a complete understanding of user behavior, so you can make data-driven decisions and improve the overall performance of your website.

Types of website heatmap tools

Click heatmaps

Image source: mopinion.com

You can use different heatmap charts to analyze user behavior as heatmaps provide you with unique insights for conversion rate optimization. However, not all of them are appropriate for every situation, as each heatmap type has its use case. Let’s explore some specific examples.

Click heatmaps

Click heatmap shows you where your users click on the web page or tap on mobile devices, so you can focus on those areas and improve the user experience. You can also use this data for form analytics to understand what stops your users from converting.

Mouse movement heatmaps

Movement heatmaps track visitors’ navigation while browsing your website, their mouse movements, what catches their attention, and which elements they ignore. You can use these insights to optimize your navigation structure, increase conversions by identifying poor navigation flow and ineffective calls to action.

Scroll heatmaps

Scroll maps provide you with scroll data that helps you analyze the scroll depth on your web pages. By monitoring how far visitors scroll on your website, you will understand if they’ve seen the most important content or elements on your website page. You can turn users’ scroll data into an opportunity to define an optimal page length or reposition your CTAs increasing conversions in the process.

Attention heatmap

Attention heatmaps will tell you where users focus their attention, regardless of the devices or browsers they use to visit your website, web app, or landing page. If you notice that a single area of your web page gets the most attention, you can further improve that area and use it for conversion rate optimization.

Eye-tracking heatmaps

Eye-tracking heatmap allows you to understand which elements attract or distract your website visitors. It gathers data on the frequency and duration and shows how many times and how long a visitor looks at a single element, such as product image, sign-up field, or CTA button.

It then transforms the metrics into a visual report to help you create more appealing content that is more likely to persuade and convert your visitors into paying customers.

How can you use website heatmap tools to optimize your website?

You’ll never truly understand a customer’s experience on your site until you use a heatmap tool. By using heat mapping tools, you can finally learn what it’s like to walk in your customer’s shoes. With heatmap software, you can:

  1. See visit sources
  2. Learn more about user behavior and interests
  3. See your most popular website pages
  4. Understand which parts of your website have a high conversion rate
  5. Identify which features on your site people don’t use
  6. See what parts of your website are difficult to navigate
  7. Learn if you have any content that is hard to find or easy to miss
  8. Understand what content resonates best with your visitors
  9. Learn what is working well for your marketing and sales strategies

It might seem like a small task, but your website UX can have a significant effect on the success of your business. Using heat maps is a great way to determine where you need to improve your site’s usability and functionality to help users navigate as smoothly as possible and keep them coming back for more.

The best website heatmap tools (paid)

Now that you know more about website heat map software, let’s see what tools you can use for heatmap tracking. We created a list of the best heatmap tools to save your time and help you choose the one most suitable for your needs.

1. FullSession

FullSession Heatmap

With FullSession, our web analytics software, you can see what your returning or new users are doing on your site, react to their needs, and further improve your product. We provide you with all the tools you need to make informed business decisions, allowing you to uncover data insights in minutes and use them for conversion rate optimization.

FullSession heatmap feature

FullSession interactive heatmap tracking tool includes a heatmap report which helps you understand immediately where your visitors experience issues. You can use FullSession heatmaps to identify problem areas on your site, fix them quickly, and watch bounce rates decrease.

By analyzing clicks, visitors’ hot spots, page scrolls, or mouse movements on your site, you can uncover the sources of user frustration or the elements driving the most engagement. This data provides you with the information you need to capture visitors’ attention.

Not only is FullSession cost-effective, but it also gives you real-time data you can use to improve your sales, marketing, or development efforts right away. It means fewer surprises and faster results.

Other notable features

FullSession pricing

Fullsession pricing image

FullSession is the best way to analyze your product’s results and even start improving it before you sign up for a pricing plan. You can start with a free two-week trial today to see how FullSession can make your business more successful. If you’re satisfied with our solution, you can choose one of the following pricing plans:

  • With the Basic plan, you can record 5,000 sessions and invite 3 team members for $39/month
  • With the Business plan, you can record 25,000 sessions and invite 5 team members for $149/month
  • The Custom plan includes features tailored to your needs. Contact us today for more information.

2. Hotjar

hotjar heatmap

Image source: business2community.com

Hotjar is a user experience analytics tool that provides instant visual reports and allows you to gain data on where your customers drop off, where the traffic comes from, how your visitors find your site, and how your users interact with it. With these actionable insights, you can build your online presence from scratch or improve your existing website to ensure you’re reaching the goals you’ve set for yourself.

Hotjar heatmap feature

Hotjar’s built-in heatmapping tools let you measure and optimize your site, get feedback directly from individual users in real-time, and improve your bottom line. Hotjar’s heatmapping software provides a graphic representation of visitors’ interactions, displaying detailed click maps, scroll maps, and mouse movement maps that are clear, colorful, and easy to understand.

For example, you can use Hotjar to see how users navigate your website, what elements they click or tap, how far they scroll on your web or product pages, or what links grab their attention on desktop, tablet, or mobile devices.

Users are often scared of providing personal information, but with Hotjar anonymous visitor behavior tracking, you can find the important information you need without invading anyone’s privacy.

Other notable features

  • Incoming feedback
  • Session recording and replay
  • Surveys with predefined templates
  • Conversion funnels
  • Form analytics
  • User testing recruitment

Hotjar pricing

Hotjar offers a free version that lets you create unlimited heatmaps but has a limit of 35 daily session recordings, or up to 1,050 session recordings per month. If this option doesn’t suit your needs, you need to upgrade to a paid plan for more data:

  • The Plus package for small teams starts at $39/month and includes unlimited heatmaps with up to 3,000 recordings per month.
  • The Business package for growing companies starts at $99/month and includes unlimited heatmaps with up to 500 daily session recordings.
  • The Scale package for large companies starts at $389/month and includes unlimited heatmaps with up to 4,000 daily sessions and full access to every feature.

3. Clicktale (Contentsquare)

clicktale heatmap

Image source: softwareadvice.ie

Clicktale provides you with the technology and analytics to help you understand how customers behave while browsing your website or mobile app. With advanced tracking tools, you get the information you need for rapid development, product optimization, and stakeholder reporting.

Clicktale heatmap feature

Clicktale zone-based heatmaps help you gain a deeper understanding of your website visitors’ on-page behavior, such as clicks, hesitations, or scrolls, leading to more informed decisions about your site. It provides both aggregated and real-time data.

Also, Clicktale has a unique heatmap browser plugin that gives you immediate insights into how your users interact with specific sections of your web pages.

With the revenue and conversion data for every element on your pages, you can quickly see which parts of your site meet your goals, which don’t, and how changes to the layout affect each page.

Finally, you can use Clicktale heatmaps for A/B testing to identify what elements drive the most click-throughs, form submissions, and add-to-carts and use that information to improve your site’s conversion rates.

Other notable features

  • Customer journey analysis
  • Session replay tool
  • AI insights
  • Mobile app analysis
  • Merchandising analysis
  • Friction, page error, and site error detection
  • Impact quantification
  • APIs and web analytics integration

Clicktale pricing

Clicktale doesn’t provide pricing information on its website, so you can contact sales representatives for more information about its pricing plans.

The best website heatmap tools (free)

Now that we’ve covered the best heatmap software tools, let’s take a look at some of the top ones you can use right now, for free!

1. Smartlook

smartlook heatmap

Image source: softwareadvice.com

The Smartlook user experience research platform provides insights into your visitors’ behavior and mindset to help you understand, engage, and retain them. You’ll be able to track visitor actions and predict their next move to improve the usability of your website.

Smartlook heatmap feature

With Smartlook, you will get the click, move, and scroll map. It offers retroactive data with smart visualization tools to help you create reports quickly and save your time for other tasks.

You can use Smartlook heatmaps to create behavioral user segmentation, find out the difference between your new and returning visitors, and track conversions for each segment to create the best user experience for your product.

Further, you can share heatmaps with team members and clients for an effective way to understand the customer experience. These heatmaps are easy to interpret by everyone, whether they come from the marketing, sales, or development team.

Finally, with Smartlook, you can see how every page on your site works across any device. It makes it easier to put together an engaging, easy-to-use layout.

Other notable features

  • Session recording and session replay
  • Automatic event tracking
  • Conversion funnels optimization
  • Analytics and reporting
  • Retention tables
  • User recording on Android or iOS devices

Smartlook pricing

Smartlook offers a free version for personal use that includes only 3 heatmaps per month. With a Startup plan, you’ll get 10 heatmaps for €31 per month. The Business plan includes 30 heatmaps for €79 per month. There is also the Ultimate plan you can choose for a tailor-made solution.

2. MouseStats

Mousestats heatmap

Image source: paulolyslager.com

MouseStats lets you track visitor activity and learn how your audience interacts with your website, from clicks to purchases. With MouseStats, you can understand where users get lost, frustrated, or bored on your site and optimize accordingly.

MouseStats heatmap feature

MouseStat offers a comprehensive heatmap suite that includes click maps, eye-tracking maps, cursor maps, scroll heatmaps, attention heatmaps, and area stats.

With MouseStats, you get easy-to-understand, real-time heatmaps that show you where visitors focus their attention while they’re on specific pages. You can monitor their eye movement and click behavior to study what elements are crucial to convince them to perform actions like signing up or purchasing.

MouseStats heatmaps are responsive and work on desktop, mobile, and tablet devices. In addition, you can create custom heatmaps and conduct analysis based on visit sources.

Other notable features

  • Session recording
  • Form analytics
  • Website surveys
  • Element analytics

MouseStats pricing

If you want to test MouseStats, you can start with a free plan that includes 100 heatmap recordings. If it fits your needs, you can choose one of five paid plans, the lowest starting at 29$ per month for 15,000 heatmap recordings.

3. VWO

VWO heatmap

Image source: softwareadvice.com

VWO is a good platform for traffic and conversion experiments. With its easy-to-use dashboard, users can start collecting valuable data and measure the impact of changes to their website on any device, in real-time. The software focuses on the visitor experience and helps you generate more leads and sales through better conversion optimization.

VWO heatmap feature

VWO can help you see whether your visitors are actually paying attention to your website. You’ll be able to see clicks and scroll behavior so you can tweak your site accordingly. It provides dynamic heatmaps, click maps, scroll maps, click area reports, and click data for individual elements of your web page.

Also, you can add views or create user segments, download your heatmaps and share your website results with your team members. In addition, you can choose the device that suits your needs because heatmaps are displayed on desktop, mobile, and tablet devices.

Finally, notes are a great way for you to share your observations with your team. You can add them and save them on your heatmaps for future reference.

Other notable features

  • A/B testing
  • Funnel analytics
  • Session recordings
  • Form analytics
  • Mobile app testing

VWO pricing

If you want to see how VWO works, you can start a free trial. VWO offers many pricing plans that include different sets of features and limitations, but their pricing structure is not available on their official website. You have an option to request a demo or request pricing for more information.

Website heatmap tools overview

Here’s a quick rundown of all the tools we discussed in this article:

 FullSessionHotjarClicktaleSmartlookMouseStatsVWO
TrustRadius ratingN/AScore 8.7 out of 10 based on 82 user reviewsScore 8.5 out of 10 based on 13 user reviewsScore 8.9 out of 10 based on 144 user reviewsN/AScore 6.6 out of 10 based on 99 user reviews
Heatmap typeReal-time interactive heatmapsClick maps, scroll maps, and mouse movement mapsZone-based heatmapsClick maps, scroll maps, and mouse movement mapsClick maps, eye-tracking maps, cursor maps, scroll heatmaps, attention heatmaps, and area stats.Dynamic heatmaps, click maps, scroll maps, click area reports, and click data for individual elements
Unlimited heatmapsN/AYesN/ANoNoNo
SupportEmail and chat support, knowledge base, documentation, and guidesTutorials, installation guides, FAQ, email, and ticketing supportTraining and certification programs, FAQ, submit a request, and help centerEmail and live chat, help centerEmail, submit a ticket, and documentationKnowledge base, email, and phone support
Free planOffers free trialYesN/AYesYesN/A
PricingStarts at $39/month Starts at $39/monthN/AStarts at €31/monthStarts at $29/monthN/A

FullSession helps you grow your online business

FullSession Heatmap

A poor customer experience is bad news. If users are not satisfied with your website, they won’t become repeat customers or recommend your products or services to their friends. Without a website heatmap tool, you risk losing sales from frustrated users who have trouble finding items, can’t seem to navigate the checkout process, or run into some other difficulty.

FullSession is a web analytics platform that allows you to track key metrics by providing you with comprehensive real-time data. FullSession gives you broad analytics tools, advanced filtering options, behavior, and activity tracking, which helps you focus and gain clarity to help you grow and expand your online business.

It costs you nothing to test FullSession! You can sign up for a 14-day free trial without providing any payment info. This way, you get a hands-on look at our service and see if it’s right for you. Plus, you don’t need to worry about canceling as there are no hidden fees or penalties. Start today with your FullSession account.

Heatmap FAQs

Heatmap software solutions are becoming more and more popular as businesses understand the value they provide. We’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions about the best heatmap software tools, with answers you can use to choose to make informed decisions.

1. Website heatmap tools: How accurate are they?

You can use the website heatmap tool to identify website areas that attract most visitors and understand how users interact with them, but there haven’t been many assessments on does it actually captures “true” data. It can help you understanding what your customers like or dislike on your website, but it’s not a 100% accurate measurement of what visitors find valuable or interesting.

2. Which one is better: real-time or historical website analysis?

The answer depends on your needs. Real-time analytics tools provide immediate data on your web traffic. If you need a quick snapshot of your website performance, real-time website analytics software can give you that information. It also makes it easy to keep up with trends in your industry and see how your business is doing against competitors.

Historical web analytics features let you look at your site’s growth over time, provide an overview of how people interact with your site and give you information on how you can improve the site’s performance. Historical web analytics reports aren’t always up-to-date, so they might not give you accurate results. 

3. How do I create a heatmap for my website?

We will take our FullSession as an example because it consists of six easy steps.

  1. Create your free account.
  2. Add your first and last name.
  3. Place the URL of your website or web app in the field
  4. Choose where you want to install FullSession and get your Recording code or User ID code.
  5. Verify installation.
  6. Invite your team.

It will take only a few minutes to start with our web analytics tools, such as heatmaps, session recordings, and customer feedback. Create your free account and start testing FullSession today.

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