Heatmap

A heatmap is a picture of a web page with colours that show where visitors clicked, moved their mouse or how far they scrolled. Warm colours mean much activity, cool colours little.

Common types

• Click maps show where people click or tap, including on things that aren't links.
• Scroll maps show which share of visitors reached each part of the page. They make the fold visible: you see how many visitors never scroll past the first screen.
• Move maps show where the mouse moved. They say less, because people don't always look where their mouse is.

What a heatmap tells you

Heatmaps show patterns in what real visitors do. They are useful for finding a call to action that nobody clicks, an image that people try to click, or important content that most visitors never scroll to.

What it can't tell you

A heatmap shows where people act, not why. It also only shows visitors who stayed long enough to do something. A visitor who left in three seconds leaves almost no trace. To understand why people leave right away, you need to ask them, for example with a first-impression test on StayOrBounce.

Heatmap tools record visitor behaviour, so check how they relate to your cookie banner and privacy policy.