Are you thinking about changing your website design? With all of the tips and how-to guides available online, you’ll have no problem finding suggestions on what to do next. Before you fix something that may not be broken, however, analyze your current web design and let your audience tell you what’s working and what isn’t with heat maps.
What are heat maps?
Heat maps use color to provide a visual representation of user engagement with your website as well as quantifiable data you can analyze. Warmer colors, like red, yellow and white, reflect action, while cooler hues (think blue, green and purple) show where less action is taking place. What type of data you’ll gather depends on the heat map option you use.
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- Hover maps give some indication of where users are spending their time and attention based on their mouse movement. Of course, users may not always hover over the content they’re reading or vice versa.
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- Click maps not only show you exactly where users are clicking on a webpage, but also where they aren’t. For example, you may find that visitors click on images that aren’t linked to content, while your primary CTA is left relatively untouched. This insight helps you make the most of the clicks you are receiving and eliminate potential distractions from your CTA.
- Scroll maps let you see how far users are scrolling down each page. This is beneficial when designing longer landing pages or sales forms; it shows you exactly how far your prospects are willing to scroll, and it gives you insight into where you’re losing interest. Use this info to prioritize must-have content so it appears before visitors typically abandon the page.
For more on how heat maps can be used as conversion optimization tools, check out these insightful case studies.