SessionSight: Heatmaps
Overview
Use this page to visualize click, scroll, area, and conversion heatmaps for pages in a selected application. A heatmap is a visual overlay of how visitors interacted with a page, where they clicked, how far they scrolled, which areas held attention, and where they converted, instead of raw analytics counts alone. It turns session interaction data into a layout you can read at a glance.
Heatmaps depend on an application that already has SessionSight tracking installed and recording visits, configured on the SessionSight configuration page; without recorded sessions for the chosen application and time range, the Pages list and canvas stay empty. Patterns found here, like rage or dead clicks, or weak conversion zones, typically lead into session replay or into page layout decisions.
On this page you pick a Tenant, Application, time range, and page to inspect, then choose an interaction Mode, click, scroll, area, or conversion, and narrow results with Viewport, Min Threshold, Rage Clicks, and Dead Clicks. The Pages list on the left selects which page's heatmap renders on the canvas to the right.
Key concepts
- Heatmap - A visual overlay that aggregates how visitors interacted with a specific page, rendered as a density map of clicks, scroll depth, attention, or conversion points over the page layout.
- Rage Clicks - Rapid, repeated clicks in the same spot, usually meaning a visitor expected a response from an element that didn't happen. (related: SessionSight: Replay)
- Dead Clicks - Clicks on elements that aren't actually interactive, often meaning a visitor mistook static content for a button or link. (related: SessionSight: Replay)
- Segment - A saved filter that narrows session data to a specific subset of visitors. On this page, selecting a segment other than All segments currently has no effect on the heatmap, since segment filtering is not yet wired into the heatmap data. (related: SessionSight: Visitors)
- Viewport - The device category, desktop, tablet, or mobile, that a recorded session was captured on, used to filter the heatmap to one device type at a time.
When to use it
- You want to see which parts of a page visitors click, scroll to, or dwell on before changing its layout or content.
- A page's conversion rate dropped and you want to check whether visitors are even reaching or engaging with the call to action.
- You suspect a control is broken and want to use Rage Clicks or Dead Clicks to find elements visitors click that don't respond.
- You want to compare how a page performs on Desktop versus Tablet or Mobile before deciding on a responsive layout fix.
- You changed a page recently and want to confirm the change increased or decreased engagement on a specific element.
Before you begin
- An application with SessionSight tracking installed and already recording visits, set up on Configuration: SessionSight: SessionSight.
- Enough recorded visits on the page you want to inspect within the time range you plan to use, otherwise the heatmap canvas has nothing to render.
- Access to the correct Tenant if your account manages more than one, selectable from the Tenant dropdown at the top of the filter bar.
Common workflows
Diagnose a broken page element with Rage Clicks
Persona: Load-test operator reviewing a usability complaint
- Select the Application and a time range that covers the reported issue.
- Expect: The Pages list reloads with pages from the selected application and time window.
- Enable Rage Clicks.
- Expect: The heatmap overlay, once a page is selected, is filtered to rage-click hotspots only.
- Select a page from the Pages list.
- Expect: The canvas replaces its placeholder with that page's click data, filtered to rage clicks.
Verify: A hotspot appears over the element receiving repeated rapid clicks, pointing you to the control to investigate next in SessionSight: Replay.
Compare engagement across viewports
Persona: Operator checking a responsive layout
- Select a page from the Pages list with Viewport set to All.
- Expect: The canvas shows combined interaction data across all device types for that page.
- Switch Viewport to Mobile.
- Expect: The heatmap reloads to show only mobile interactions; a Show all viewports link appears if no mobile data matches.
- Switch Viewport to Desktop.
- Expect: The heatmap reloads again, now showing only desktop interactions.
Verify: You can see whether clicks or attention on key elements differ meaningfully between Mobile and Desktop, indicating whether the layout needs adjustment for one device category.
Steps
Step 1
Open Heatmaps from the SessionSight section of the navigation.
Expected result: The page loads with the filter bar set to its defaults, 7d time range, All interaction mode, all viewports, and the Pages panel on the left. In this instance the Pages panel shows 'Couldn't load pages: the backend returned an error' instead of a page list, and the heatmap canvas on the right stays in its placeholder state until a page can be selected.
This is the starting point for picking a page and viewing its heatmap, the main task on this page.
- Pages panel: shows a Retry button when the list fails to load, as seen here.
- Default filters: 7d time range, All interaction mode, All viewport, Min Threshold at 1.
- The heatmap canvas prompts 'Select a page from the list to view its heatmap' until a page is chosen.
Field reference
| Field | Purpose | Format / Validation | Required | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenant | Selects the tenant whose applications and page data you want to inspect. Switch this only if your account has access to more than one tenant. | dropdown | No | LoadGen B.V. |
| Application | Selects which tracked application's pages populate the Pages list and the heatmap data below. Changing it reloads the page list for the newly selected application. | dropdown | No | Production Web App |
| Time range (1h / 4h / 8h / 24h / 7d / Custom) | Sets the observation window for heatmap data. Shorter windows (1h, 4h) surface very recent interaction patterns, useful right after a deploy; longer windows (24h, 7d) smooth out day-to-day noise and better reflect typical usage. Custom opens a start and end date picker for an explicit range. | button group: 1h, 4h, 8h, 24h, 7d, Custom | No | 7d |
| Segment | Intended to narrow the heatmap to a saved visitor segment. Selecting a segment other than All segments currently has no effect on the data shown, because the heatmap data source does not yet apply segment filtering. | dropdown | No | All segments |
| Mode (All / Click / Scroll / Area / Conversion) | Chooses which interaction type the heatmap overlay renders. Click shows where visitors clicked, Scroll shows how far down the page visitors scrolled, Area shows attention or dwell time per element, and Conversion shows where visitors were positioned when they completed a goal or smart event. All overlays every type together for a general view. | button group: All, Click, Scroll, Area, Conversion | No | All |
| Conversion source (Goal / Smart event) | Appears only when Mode is set to Conversion. Chooses whether the conversion overlay plots goal completions or smart event completions as the conversion points, letting you separate the two conversion definitions when they don't overlap. | button group: Goal, Smart event | No | Hidden until Mode is set to Conversion |
| Viewport (All / Desktop / Tablet / Mobile) | Filters the heatmap to interactions captured on a specific device category. Use this to check whether a layout problem is specific to mobile or tablet visitors rather than desktop. | button group (icons): All, Desktop, Tablet, Mobile | No | All |
| Min Threshold | Sets the minimum number of recorded interactions an area needs before it renders on the heatmap. Raise it to suppress low-signal noise and surface only the strongest hotspots; lower it toward 1 to see every recorded interaction, including rare ones. | number slider | No | 1 |
| Rage Clicks | Filters the heatmap to rage clicks, rapid repeated clicks in the same spot. Enable it when you suspect a control is unresponsive and want to find exactly where visitors are clicking in frustration. | checkbox | No | unchecked |
| Dead Clicks | Filters the heatmap to dead clicks, clicks on non-interactive elements. Enable it to find content visitors mistake for a clickable control. | checkbox | No | unchecked |
Controls reference
Select a page (Pages list)
Loads the heatmap canvas for the chosen page using the current Mode, Viewport, and Min Threshold filters.
When to use: Use once the Pages list has loaded successfully and you know which page you want to inspect.
Side effects: Read-only: replaces the canvas placeholder with that page's heatmap data; no records are changed.
Retry
Reloads the Pages list after a failed load attempt.
When to use: Use when the Pages panel shows 'Couldn't load pages: the backend returned an error'.
Side effects: Read-only: re-fetches the page list. If the backend is still unavailable, the same error reappears.
Prev / Next
Moves to the previous or next page of results in the Pages list.
When to use: Use when the application has more pages than fit on one screen of the Pages list.
Side effects: Read-only: only changes which page rows are currently displayed.
Show all viewports
Resets the Viewport filter back to All.
When to use: Use when you've filtered to Desktop, Tablet, or Mobile and no interactions match, so the canvas has nothing to show.
Side effects: Read-only: changes the Viewport filter to All and reloads the heatmap for the already-selected page.
Raw Data Tables
Expands or collapses the Click Data Points and Scroll Depth Data tables beneath the heatmap canvas.
When to use: Use when you want exact interaction counts per element alongside, or instead of, the visual heatmap.
Side effects: Read-only: shows or hides a data table; does not change any filter or data.
Configure
Navigates to the SessionSight configuration page for setting up application tracking.
When to use: Use when the Pages list or heatmap stays empty because the application has no tracking installed yet.
Side effects: Navigates away from Heatmaps; no data on this page changes.
Verify the result
When the Pages list loads successfully, selecting a page replaces the canvas placeholder with that page's heatmap, rendered according to the current Mode, Viewport, and Min Threshold settings. Enabling Rage Clicks or Dead Clicks narrows the overlay to those specific interaction types instead of the full interaction set. If you instead see 'Couldn't load pages: the backend returned an error' in the Pages panel, no page can be selected and the canvas stays on its placeholder. The first thing to check in that case is whether Retry resolves the error; if it persists, confirm the selected Application actually has SessionSight tracking data for the chosen time range.
Troubleshooting
- Symptom: The Pages panel shows 'Couldn't load pages: the backend returned an error' and no pages can be selected. Fix: Select Retry; if the error repeats, confirm the Tenant and Application are correct and try a narrower time range before retrying again.
- Symptom: The heatmap canvas stays on 'Select a page from the list to view its heatmap' after choosing a page. Fix: Confirm the Pages list actually loaded a row for that page rather than showing the error state, then reselect the page once the list has loaded.
- Symptom: Changing the Segment dropdown doesn't change the heatmap. Fix: This is expected for now, the heatmap doesn't filter by segment yet; use Min Threshold, Mode, and Viewport instead to narrow the data.
- Symptom: Switching Viewport to Desktop, Tablet, or Mobile shows no data. Fix: Select Show all viewports to reset the filter, or widen the time range so more interactions from that device category are included.
- Symptom: No pages appear in the Pages list even though the panel loaded without an error. Fix: Confirm the selected Application has SessionSight tracking installed and recorded visits in the chosen time range; configure it on Configuration: SessionSight: SessionSight if not.
Related articles
- Prerequisite: Configuration: SessionSight: SessionSight - Application tracking must be configured here before any pages or heatmap data can appear.
- See also: SessionSight: Dashboard - Shows overall session metrics for the same applications before drilling into a page-level heatmap.
- Next step: SessionSight: Replay - Replay individual sessions to see exactly what a visitor did at a rage-click or dead-click hotspot.
- See also: SessionSight: Visitors - Visitor-level data that segments describe, relevant once segment filtering is supported on this page.
- See also: SessionSight: Funnels - Analyze multi-step conversion paths rather than a single page's click, scroll, or area pattern.
- See also: Configuration: Credential Profiles - Where to reissue the API token referenced in the credentials-expiring notice shown on this page.