What is form tracking?
Form tracking shows how many visitors start a form, how many submit it and how many leave before they finish. Only interaction patterns are tracked, never the values people type.
- Compare submission rate, success rate and visitors who left without submitting over 7, 30 or 90 days.
- Filter by device or exact page, then open the recorded visits behind a number.
- Entered values are never stored, only how visitors interact with the form.
The short answer
Form tracking counts what visitors do with a form: whether they start it, submit it or leave without submitting. When someone starts a form and never sends it, that is form abandonment. The form abandonment rate is the share of visitors who start a form but never submit it.
On Hitsteps the report is part of Experience:
- Compare submission rate, success rate and visitors who left without submitting over 7, 30 or 90 days.
- Filter by device or exact page, then open the recorded visits behind a number.
- Successful submissions are detected automatically. An optional signal from your own code can confirm or correct the result.
Form tracking and session replay
| Form tracking | Session replay | |
|---|---|---|
| What it collects | How visitors interact with forms, across visits | One visit, played back |
| What you look at | Starts, submissions and exits on a form | Clicks, scrolling, pauses and leaving, page by page |
| The question it answers | Where do forms lose people? | What did this person do? |
| When it runs | From the tracking code on the page | After you turn recording on for that site |
If you only remember one rule: use form tracking when the numbers point at a form. Open a replay when you want the visit that sits behind a number.
When to use which
Use form tracking when the question is about the form. Signup forms, contact pages, checkout steps. Which form loses the most visitors, on which device, on which page. The rates over 7, 30 or 90 days show where the drop sits, and the recorded visits behind a number show how.
Use session replay when the question is about one person. Someone reached the form and left. Someone looked stuck on one control. The replay sits next to that visit's pages, errors and form activity.
Form analytics count interactions, not typed values. If you need the visit itself, open the recorded visit behind the number. That uses session recording, which stays off until you turn it on for a website.
Turn it on
- Add the Hitsteps tracking code, or use a supported plugin or app. The setup steps are in How to track website visitors.
- Open Experience from the dashboard menu.
- Open the forms report and pick the form that matters most, such as signup or contact.
- Compare the rates, split by device and page, then open the recorded visits behind a number.
Opening the recorded visits behind a number uses session recording, which stays off until you turn it on for that website. You can change one thing on the form and compare a period before and after.
Frequently asked questions
What is form tracking?
Form tracking shows how many visitors start a form, how many submit it and how many leave without submitting. Only interaction patterns are tracked, never the values people type. In Hitsteps that report is part of Experience.
What is form abandonment?
A visitor starts a form and leaves without submitting it. Form analytics show those visitors who left without submitting next to the submission rate and the success rate.
What is the form abandonment rate?
The form abandonment rate is the share of visitors who start a form but never submit it. In Hitsteps you compare submission rate, success rate and visitors who left without submitting over 7, 30 or 90 days.
Does Hitsteps store what visitors type into a form?
No. Form analytics never store entered values. Only how visitors interact with the form is tracked.
How does Hitsteps know a form was submitted successfully?
Successful submissions are detected automatically. An optional signal from your own code can confirm or correct the result.
Can I look at one page or one device?
Yes. You can filter by device or exact page and open the recorded visits behind a number.
Does form tracking need session recording?
No. Form analytics count how visitors interact with a form. Opening the recorded visits behind a number uses session recording, which stays off until you turn it on for a website.
See where your forms lose people.
Create a free account, install the tracking code and open your first form.