Heatmap
Definition
A visual representation showing where users click, scroll, and spend time on a webpage.
Example Use Case
A marketing team uses a heatmap to identify that users rarely scroll past the fold, prompting a redesign.
A heatmap overlays visitor behaviour onto a page so you can see, at a glance, where attention and effort actually go. Click maps show what attracts interaction, scroll maps show how far people get, and movement maps show where the cursor lingers.
They are best used to generate questions rather than to prove answers. A bright patch over an element that is not a link often means people expect it to be clickable, which is a layout problem worth investigating. A scroll map that shows most visitors stopping well before your call to action tells you the page is longer than the audience’s patience.
Heatmaps describe what happened, never why, and small samples produce misleading pictures of behaviour. Treat them as the start of an investigation — combine them with session recordings and, where traffic allows, a controlled test before making changes.
