A website heatmap aggregates the behavior of many visitors and shows it as colors laid over a screenshot of the page. Click maps show where people click or tap, move maps show mouse movement, and scroll maps show how far down the page people get. Heatmaps help spot ignored CTAs, confusing elements and content few people reach.
Types of heatmaps
Each type answers a different question. Use them together rather than relying on one.
- Click or tap maps: where people interact, including on elements that are not links.
- Scroll maps: what share of visitors reach each part of the page.
- Move or hover maps: where the mouse travels on desktop, a rough and imperfect proxy for attention.
- Rage click and dead click views: repeated or unanswered clicks that suggest frustration.
Reading them well
Segment heatmaps by device, since mobile and desktop layouts differ, and by traffic source, since a visitor from a comparison search behaves differently from one from a newsletter. Make sure enough sessions are included that a hot spot is a pattern rather than a handful of visitors. Dynamic pages, such as those with tabs, carousels or personalization, can produce misleading overlays if the tool captured a different state from what visitors saw.
Tools and privacy
Tools such as Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar and others record interactions with a script on the page. Configure them to mask form inputs and personal data, mention them in your privacy policy and respect consent requirements in regions that need opt-in for this kind of tracking.
Example
Clicks on something that is not a link
Hypothetical time-tracking tool Wickerfold sees a cluster of clicks on a feature screenshot on its homepage. The image is static, so those clicks go nowhere. The team links the screenshot to an interactive product tour and watches whether tour starts and signups follow.
Common mistakes
Drawing conclusions from a few sessions
Heatmaps look authoritative even with very little data. Check the session count before acting.
Treating hover as attention
Mouse movement roughly tracks where some people look, but many people read without moving the mouse. Use move maps as hints only.
Questions
Any third-party script adds some weight. Load the tool asynchronously, limit it to the pages you are studying, and check Core Web Vitals after adding it.
