Heatmap

A heatmap is a visual overlay that shows where visitors act on a web page. The tool records every mouse-click, tap or scroll event, then colours the page so hot red spots mark heavy activity and blue areas show neglect. The three most common views are:

• Clickmap – highlights buttons, links and images users press.
• Scrollmap – reveals how far people scroll and where they drop off.
• Move-map or hover-map – plots mouse movement, useful for desktop layout checks.
  

Free services such as Microsoft Clarity and paid suites like Hotjar generate these heatmaps by adding one script tag to your site. Screenshots turn abstract analytics numbers into a quick, intuitive picture: “Everyone misses the secondary call-to-action” or “Ninety per cent of visitors never see the pricing table below the fold.”

Exposes hidden friction

Traditional metrics tell you a page converts at four per cent; a scrollmap shows 60 per cent of visitors never see the sign-up form. Pinpointing such blind spots guides the next round of conversion optimisation.

Complements analytics with human context

Click and scroll patterns give qualitative insight that raw numbers cannot. You watch what users do, not what they claim in surveys, making heatmaps a fast, low-cost branch of qualitative research.

Prioritises design changes

By spotting true dead zones, you move high-value elements into hot zones and drop decorative clutter that no-one sees. Development queues become data-driven instead of opinion-driven.

1. Pick a user-behaviour tool

Compare lightweight free options in the user behaviour tools category or choose Hotjar for deep session replay, Microsoft Clarity for cost-free volume, or another platform that fits budget and compliance needs.

2. Install the script tag

Add the snippet before the closing  tag, publish, and verify tracking. Most tools start collecting clicks and scroll depth within minutes.

3. Gather a baseline sample

Let the heatmap run until you collect at least 1 000 page views or another statistically comfortable size for your traffic level. Avoid acting on tiny, noisy samples.

4. Read the patterns

Look for:

• Unclicked elements that appear mission-critical.
• Heat clusters on non-clickable graphics (sign of user confusion).
• Fold lines where scroll activity collapses.
  

Log issues and hypotheses in your qualitative research workbook.

5. Test and iterate

Move, resize or restyle problem elements, then rerun heatmaps after the change. Continuous cycles turn anecdotal design tweaks into evidence-based improvements.

For step-by-step setup instructions see the guides on the Hotjar and Microsoft Clarity tool pages.