Creating heatmaps with Contentsquare is designed to be straightforward and typically involves just a few clicks. Contentsquare acts as a sophisticated heat mapping tool that overlays real user activity directly onto a screenshot of your actual page, which makes it much easier than struggling with fussy spreadsheets.
Here’s how you can create a website heatmap using Contentsquare:
Step 1: Access the Heatmaps or Zoning Analysis module. If you are using the Free or Growth plans, you will navigate into "Heatmaps" and select "New Heatmap." If you are a Pro or Enterprise user, you will head into "Zoning Analysis" and click "Select a page or page group".
Step 2: Specify the page(s). You will define the page(s) you want to create heatmaps for by listing the URL. If you are on the Enterprise or Pro plan, you can also select page groups.
Step 3: Contentsquare collects the data. Your heatmap will be available to view once Contentsquare has collected enough data.
Step 4: Explore engagement zones (Pro & Enterprise plans). For a comprehensive view of aggregated data points from click, move, and scroll heatmaps, all in a single view, you can select "Zoning" from the dropdown. This feature helps you quickly spot which elements of your page users engage with most and identify those that don’t get the attention they deserve.
Step 5: Filter your data for deeper insights. You can get a lot more value from your heatmap by filtering the session data to only show a relevant time period or specific user cohort. For instance, you can filter by "Rage click" to see where visitors click in frustration, by "New users" to see how first-time visitors behave, or by "Browser" or "Operating system" to troubleshoot tech-specific issues. You can even set up user attributes to filter heatmaps by custom metrics such as 'users who signed up in the last 30 days' or 'customers who spent more than $200'.
Contentsquare provides all heatmap types to give you a comprehensive understanding of user behavior:
Move map: This shows you where users move their mouse on a page.
Click or tap map: This illustrates exactly where users click (web) or tap (mobile and tablets) on a page.
Scroll map: This reveals how far users scroll down a page.
Engagement zone: A type of heatmap that combines move, click, and scroll data into a grid-like view.
Zone-based heatmaps (Zoning Analysis): Available for Pro and Enterprise plans, these offer a visual representation of aggregated data from click, move, and scroll heatmaps in a single view, highlighting user engagement with specific page elements through different shades.
To effectively use heatmaps for optimization, follow these steps:
Analyze the Visual Insights:
Identify "Hot" Areas: Look for the red and orange spots. Are users clicking where you want them to click (e.g., CTAs, product images)? Or are they clicking on non-clickable elements, indicating confusion?
Spot "Cold" Areas: Blue areas might indicate ignored content or features. Is important information being missed?
Evaluate Scroll Depth: For scroll maps, determine the "fold" (where most users stop scrolling). Is your most critical content above this fold? Are users missing key information lower down?
Uncover UX Issues: Observe patterns like "rage clicks" (repeated clicks on a non-responsive element) or chaotic mouse movements that suggest user frustration.
Formulate Hypotheses and Test:
Based on your observations, formulate hypotheses about why users are behaving a certain way (e.g., "Users aren't clicking this button because it blends in with the background" or "The crucial information is below the fold, so users aren't seeing it").
A/B Test Solutions: Use A/B testing to validate your hypotheses. For example, if a button isn't getting clicks, test a different color or placement. If content isn't seen, try shortening the page or moving content higher.
Iterate and Optimize:
Continuously monitor heatmaps after making changes to see if your optimizations have the desired effect.
Heatmaps are a powerful tool for ongoing conversion rate optimization (CRO) and user experience (UX) improvements, providing a visual understanding of user engagement that complements quantitative data.