What you will learn #
Use a heatmap to see where visitors click, move the pointer, and scroll on a page. This chapter walks through creating a heatmap, choosing the pages it covers, reading its activity and device views, and exporting or sharing the result. Heatmaps show recorded behavior. They do not explain why a visitor acted, and a color pattern alone does not prove that a design change caused an outcome.
Before you begin #
Availability: This feature is being opened gradually. An eligible plan or trial does not by itself enable it for every website. The following instructions apply when your website has access; follow its displayed access message.
- Sign in to the Hitsteps dashboard and choose the site you are authorized to manage.
- The legacy page heatmap uses the site's existing visitor and page data. For its click collection, the site's heatmap tracking setting must be enabled. The exact current customer-facing availability and quota should be checked in your plan and dashboard; do not rely on a number copied from an older guide.
- Experience heatmaps require an eligible paid Experience entitlement. The inspected product source labels Experience as included with active Pro plans and above, while paid Growth/Deluxe access can be limited to heatmaps and plan-specific limits. Availability can depend on account access and rollout. If the Experience link is missing or the page shows an access message, check the account's current feature access. Do not treat a pilot or a gated menu as universal availability.
- Experience heatmap management actions require a user role with permission to manage the selected site. Read-only shared links are available only when the sharing controls are offered to that account.
- Experience heatmap collection starts after you create a heatmap. It does not backfill earlier visits. Allow matching visits to arrive before expecting a map.
Step by step #
Create an Experience heatmap
- Open Experience → Heatmaps, then select Create heatmap. If the account has reached its active-heatmap limit, pause or delete an unneeded definition only if you are authorized and understand the effect; the current plan limit is shown in the dashboard.
- Enter a Name that identifies the question you want to answer, such as “Product page primary button”. Description (optional) can record the question or campaign context. Do not put personal or sensitive data in either field.
- Under Collect data when, choose one of the available match types:
- A specific page collects one page. Enter its domain and path, for example
your-store.example/products/coat. - A group of similar pages combines pages with a shared URL rule. Choose Starts with, Ends with, Contains, or Regular expression (PCRE) and enter a rule that covers the intended page family. Use a narrow rule, then test representative URLs before saving. - A JavaScript trigger collects an interactive state when your site calls the named trigger after the Hitsteps tracking code. It does not choose visits by page address. The interface shows an example call. Trigger heatmaps are a full-plan feature; limited plans do not offer a new trigger definition. - Choose Capture method and URL matching when those controls are available. Match page URL applies the chosen URL rule. The rule choices include Same domain and path, Exact URL including query and fragment, Starts with, Ends with, Contains, and Regular expression (PCRE). The first option ignores a query string and a
wwwprefix; exact matching includes query and fragment. Advanced rules should be tested carefully because an overly broad rule combines unlike pages. - Optionally enter a Test a page URL. The checker evaluates the unsaved rule as you type; it does not collect data. A future matching visit supplies the preview.
- Set a Pageview target. This is the requested collection target for the definition, not a promise that a complete sample will arrive by a particular date. The dashboard shows account limits and may offer suggested values; available values depend on the current plan.
- Leave Status at Collecting to gather data, or choose Paused when you want to stop that definition. Select Create heatmap and confirm that the new definition appears in Your heatmaps.
- If collection is off for the site, the page shows that state and a Turn on heatmap collection control for an authorized manager. Turning collection on is a site setting change. Only do it when the site owner intends to collect the data and the site's privacy and consent setup permits it.
- Visit the matching page in a normal browser visit and allow telemetry to reach the dashboard. Collection continues in the background while the dashboard is closed. Return to the heatmap and use Refresh heatmap if you need to reload its displayed state.
URL rule examples
| Goal | Rule type | Example | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| One product path, regardless of query tags | Same domain and path | your-store.example/products/coat |
A query string and www prefix do not change the match; another subdomain or another path does. |
| Only a campaign variant | Exact URL including query and fragment | https://your-store.example/offer?campaign=spring |
The query and fragment are part of the exact match. |
| A product family | Starts with | /products/ |
Confirm that unrelated pages do not share that prefix. |
| A category excluding nested product pages | Regular expression (PCRE) | /collections/(?!.*/products/) |
Test both a category URL and a nested product URL in the rule examples. |
Read the heatmap
Open a definition from Your heatmaps. The viewer begins with Clicks and All devices. Pick one activity and one device at a time to keep comparisons meaningful:
- Clicks shows where click interactions were recorded.
- Movement shows pointer movement, not intent or attention. A pointer can move without a visitor reading or understanding the content.
- Scroll depth shows how far the page was scrolled. It is not the same as a click or a completed action.
- All devices, Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile select the device grouping for the map. Compare device groups separately when layouts differ.
- Show heatmap hides or restores the colored overlay while leaving the page preview visible.
- The legend runs from Less activity to More activity. Color intensity is a relative visual summary; it is not a conversion rate.
- Appearance adjusts Opacity and Point size for legibility. Reset appearance restores the default display. These display controls do not change collected events.
- Expand view gives the page preview more room; use Close expanded view to return.
The page preview is a visual reference for where collected interactions occurred. It may be unavailable if the page cannot be loaded for preview. A map can still have collected data when its screenshot needs to be retaken. Use Retake screenshot only when the preview is ready; it replaces the screenshot and keeps the collected heatmap data. A future matching visit supplies the replacement image.
Safe worked example
Suppose a fictional shop, your-store.example, creates a heatmap for /products/coat and receives matching visits from desktop and mobile. Start with Clicks → Desktop, then inspect Clicks → Mobile separately. If the main button is cold on one device, check the corresponding page preview and a few visitor sessions before deciding whether the button is hard to see or simply not the next step visitors need. Then inspect Movement and Scroll depth as separate clues. Do not infer a reason from the colors alone or report a lift without a controlled measurement.
Inspect rows and export
- Choose Raw data to inspect the table for the selected view. The table presents an Element, Count, and Share; use Find a row to search by element or scroll depth, and Previous rows / Next rows to move through results. Export table CSV downloads the rows currently shown by this table. Back to heatmap returns to the visual view.
- All data CSV exports interactions from every activity type and device, not only the current visual selection.
- Export PNG exports the selected activity and device when a page preview is ready. Long pages are split into numbered PNG sections; choose a section and select Download section.
- An export can be empty when no matching interactions have arrived. Check the collection state, URL rule, page, device selection, and preview readiness before treating an empty file as a product fault.
The interface labels Count and Share but the inspected source does not define the denominator for every row type. Confirm the current UI's definition before interpreting Share as a percentage of visits, sessions, or clicks.
Settings, sharing, and lifecycle
Open Settings on a heatmap, or expand Heatmap settings on its page. Managers can update the name, description, matching rule, pageview target, collection status, and other form fields shown for their entitlement. Saving new settings keeps already collected data. To start a fresh collection with the same setup, use Make a copy; the copy begins with fresh data while the original remains.
The Experience list shows each definition’s collection state, pageviews collected against its target, report views, and available actions. Its states include Collecting, Paused, Complete, and Needs attention. Use Find a heatmap to search its name, description, URL, or trigger. Collection filters active or paused definitions; Progress filters completed or in-progress targets; Capture method filters URL rules, a single page, a group, or a custom trigger. Under More filters, set Minimum pageviews or Maximum pageviews. Sort by offers newest/oldest, most/fewest pageviews, latest/oldest data, or most/least viewed. Clear filters resets the list. These controls filter the displayed list, not the underlying collected data.
When available, Create a 7-day share link makes a read-only view link after the first visit is collected. Copy it from the confirmation area. Treat the link like access: anyone who has it can view the shared heatmap until it expires. A manager can Replace share link or Revoke share link; replacing it stops the prior link from working. Limited plans may not show these controls. Do not paste a share URL into a public page or an untrusted channel.
Delete heatmap permanently removes its collected data and disables its share link. This cannot be undone. Pause rather than delete when you only need to stop collection and preserve the definition.
Date ranges and interpretation
The inspected Experience viewer does not expose a date-range picker. It displays the data collected for that heatmap, subject to the plan's active-heatmap, per-heatmap pageview, and age limits shown in the account. Do not imply that changing the main analytics date picker filters this Experience view unless the current UI demonstrates that behavior.
The legacy heatmap uses the dashboard's date request. Its inspected source sets a default 90-day range and supports a selected range; verify the visible picker and current plan retention before relying on those defaults. Legacy and Experience heatmaps use different collection and display paths, so do not combine their counts as though they were one sample.
Read patterns cautiously:
- Check the selected page or rule, device, activity, and collected pageview count.
- Look for a pattern across many visits, not one isolated bright point.
- Compare pages with the same layout and compare desktop with mobile separately.
- Pair the map with visitor details or session replay if available. These tools provide context, but they do not establish causation.
- Change one thing at a time, then collect new visits and compare under similar conditions.
Worked example #
Illustrative example: A fictional shop creates a heatmap for /products/coat. Compare Clicks → Desktop with Clicks → Mobile, then inspect Movement and Scroll depth separately. A cold button is a clue to investigate on that device; colors alone do not explain a visitor’s reasons.
Controls and metrics #
| View or control | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Clicks | Recorded click locations for the selected page, activity and device. |
| Movement | Recorded pointer movement; it is not eye tracking. |
| Scroll depth | How far the sampled visits reached on the page. |
| URL rule | The pages or interactive state selected for collection. |
| Device | A separate desktop, tablet or mobile view; do not combine unlike layouts. |
| Date range | The available observation period; counts depend on retained collected data. |
Problems and fixes #
| What you see | Check this |
|---|---|
| “Waiting for recorded visits” or no map | Confirm collection is on, the definition is Collecting, the tested URL matches the rule, and new matching visits occurred after creation. A target or preview cannot be backfilled from earlier traffic. |
| A page group includes the wrong pages | Test a representative in-scope and out-of-scope URL. Narrow the rule, especially for Contains or regular expressions. |
| A page does not match | Check domain, path, trailing slash, query, fragment, and www behavior for the selected matching rule. Use Test a page URL before saving. |
| The preview is blank or outdated | The site may block embedding or the page may have changed. Wait for a future matching visit, then use Retake screenshot when enabled. Retaking changes the preview only. |
| A device view has little data | Check that visitors use that device class and that the page layout is meaningful for that viewport. Do not treat a small group as a reliable pattern. |
| The target cannot be set or no heatmap can be created | Review the plan's active-definition and per-heatmap limits. Pause an unused definition or ask the account owner about access. |
| A control is missing | The account may have limited plan access, the user may lack management permission, sharing may require collected data, or the feature may not be exposed in the current rollout. |
| A shared link stopped working | It may have expired after seven days, been replaced, or been revoked by a manager. Create a new link only if you are authorized. |
| Legacy click data is empty | Check that the site's legacy heatmap setting is enabled and that the selected page and dates include visits after tracking was enabled. Current click quotas and sample behavior must be checked in the live account. |
Access, privacy and limits #
Heatmaps summarize interactions on matched pages. Experience heatmap collection is described by the UI as separate from session recording: matched visits contribute heatmap interactions and are not saved as session recordings when the limited heatmap collection setting is used. The UI also says collected interactions and the page preview are preserved independently of recording retention. Do not extrapolate this into a general statement about all stored data or a legal privacy guarantee.
Only collect data on pages and states the site owner has approved. Review the site's consent, privacy, and data-minimization requirements before enabling collection. Avoid matching pages that expose personal, payment, account, or other sensitive content. Do not include names, email addresses, order details, tokens, or customer URLs in heatmap names, descriptions, screenshots, exports, or shared links.
Plan limits can include active heatmaps, pageviews per heatmap, and a maximum data age. The current values are displayed from the account's plan and can vary; this guide intentionally does not quote a fixed quota. Experience access and management are entitlement and role dependent. A read-only share link gives viewing access, not management access, and remains available only for the displayed expiry period. Legacy heatmap click quotas are separate from Experience limits and require a current live check.
Last checked #
Checked 8 November 2026 using product documentation and source, with public pages and safe sample screens where available. Account-specific access, provider controls and effective limits can differ; use the current message shown for your website. Examples are illustrative.