Hotjar
Store heatmaps for 365 days
Unlimited heatmaps on all plans
GDPR- & CCPA-ready
Click, tap & scroll
Team alignment
Private & protected
Crazy Egg
Surveys
Recordings
A/B Testing
Errors Tracking
Data backed Conversion
Click Data
Fullstory
User behavior patterns
Click maps and scroll maps
User segments
User engagement
Hypothesis testing
Smartlook
Click heatmap
Movement heatmap
Scroll heatmap
Device segmentation
Pre-existing data
Glassbox
Interaction maps
Zone analysis
Exposure tracking
Audience segmentation
A/B test analysis
Side-by-side maps
Mouseflow
Click heatmap
Scroll heatmap
Attention heatmap
Movement heatmap
Geo heatmap
Live heatmap
Lucky orange
Dynamic heatmapping
Element analytics
Segmentation
Session Recordings
Conversion Funnels
Form Analytics
In the competitive world of e-commerce, understanding customer behavior is key to optimizing user experience and increasing conversions. Two powerful tools that can help online store owners achieve this are heatmaps and session replay software. These tools provide deep insights into how visitors interact with a website, enabling data-driven decisions to enhance site performance. In this article, we’ll explore what heatmaps are and review some of the best heatmap and session replay software available for online stores.
What are heatmaps?
Heatmaps are visual representations of data where individual values are represented as colors. On websites, heatmaps track and display user interactions such as clicks, taps, scrolling behavior, and cursor movements. By using color gradients (from cool colors like blue to warm colors like red), heatmaps indicate areas of high and low user engagement. For instance, a bright red spot on a heatmap might indicate that users are frequently clicking on a particular button or link, whereas cooler colors may show areas of the page that are less interacted with.
Types of heatmaps:
- Click Heatmaps: Show where users are clicking on a page. This can help identify which links and buttons are most popular.
- Scroll Heatmaps: Display how far down the page users are scrolling, indicating if important content is being missed.
- Mouse Movement Heatmaps: Track cursor movements, which can hint at where users’ attention is focused.
- Attention Heatmaps: Combine data from clicks, scrolls, and mouse movements to give an overall view of where users are spending most of their time on a page.
Heatmaps provide a high-level overview of user behavior, helping website owners identify design issues, optimize layouts, and prioritize content placement.
The best heatmap and session replay software for online stores
Several software tools offer heatmap and session replay features, each with unique capabilities. Here’s a look at five of the best options for online stores:
Hotjar
Hotjar is one of the most popular tools for heatmaps and session replays. It offers an intuitive interface and a comprehensive set of features that include heatmaps, session recordings, conversion funnels, and form analysis.
Key features:
- Click, scroll, and move heatmaps
- Session recordings that allow you to watch real user sessions to see how they navigate your site
- Feedback polls and surveys to gather direct user input
Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses looking for an all-in-one tool with a user-friendly interface.
Crazy Egg
Crazy Egg is a well-established tool known for its simplicity and effectiveness. It provides detailed heatmaps along with scroll maps, confetti reports, and A/B testing tools.
Key features:
- Click and scroll heatmaps
- Confetti reports that break down clicks by referral source, search terms, etc.
- Overlay reports to see the number of clicks on each element
- A/B testing to compare different page designs
Best for: Online stores that want a straightforward tool for visualizing user interactions and running A/B tests.
FullStory
FullStory is a robust platform that offers more than just heatmaps and session replays. It provides advanced analytics, user segmentation, and detailed session insights, making it ideal for businesses looking to dive deep into user behavior.
Key features:
- Session replays with pixel-perfect accuracy
- Detailed event tracking that logs every click, scroll, and hover
- Automatic insights that flag unusual user behavior, such as rage clicks
- User segmentation to filter and analyze specific groups of users
Best for: Large e-commerce sites and businesses that require in-depth analysis and custom segmentation.
VWO (Visual Website Optimizer)
VWO is primarily known as a conversion optimization platform, but it also offers powerful heatmap and session replay features. It integrates seamlessly with its A/B testing and experimentation tools.
Key features:
- Heatmaps integrated with A/B testing campaigns
- Session recordings to watch user interactions
- Funnel analysis to track where users drop off in the conversion process
- Advanced targeting for running personalized experiments
Best for: E-commerce sites that are focused on conversion rate optimization (CRO) and want an integrated solution for testing and analytics.
Smartlook
Smartlook is a user behavior analytics tool that combines heatmaps, session recordings, event tracking, and funnel analysis. It’s designed to provide clear insights without requiring a steep learning curve.
Key features:
- Always-on session recordings that capture every visitor session
- Heatmaps for clicks, taps, and scrolls
- Event tracking to see how users interact with specific elements
- Automatic event detection that simplifies the tracking process
Best for: Small to medium-sized online stores looking for a balance between ease of use and powerful analytics.
Heatmaps and session replay tools are invaluable for online stores aiming to enhance user experience and increase conversions. Whether you’re just starting with user behavior analytics or looking for advanced features, there’s a solution that fits your needs. Hotjar and Crazy Egg are excellent choices for businesses seeking simplicity and effectiveness, while FullStory and VWO cater to those requiring more advanced features and integrations. Smartlook offers a user-friendly yet powerful alternative for smaller businesses.