Heatmaps are visual tools that show how users interact with your website. They use color gradients to represent activity—warm colors like red and orange show where users click, tap, or scroll the most, while cooler colors like blue and green show areas with less engagement. These insights help website owners understand what’s working and what’s not. For example, if visitors ignore a button or skip over a section, that’s easy to spot in a heatmap.

Using heatmaps is a smart way to measure user behavior without having to rely solely on analytics dashboards or guessing where people are getting stuck. They can be an eye-opener, revealing hidden patterns and helping you design better experiences.

Types of heatmaps and what they show

There are several types of heatmaps, and each offers different insights. The most common are:

• Click maps: Show where users are clicking on desktop or tapping on mobile.
• Scroll maps: Indicate how far users scroll down a page before leaving.
• Mouse tracking maps: Visualize where users move their cursor, often hinting at what draws their attention.

Each type of heatmap can give you a deeper understanding of how your site is performing. For instance, if users stop scrolling halfway through a landing page, it may suggest that your content isn’t engaging or your call-to-action isn’t visible enough.

How heatmaps improve website performance

Heatmaps play a huge role in conversion optimization and SEO. By identifying what grabs users’ attention and what they ignore, you can tweak your layout, copy, and visuals to better guide visitors toward your goals. Whether it’s getting them to sign up for your newsletter or explore your services, heatmaps help you make smarter decisions based on real behavior—not just numbers.

They’re especially helpful when paired with A/B testing. You can run two different versions of a page and use heatmaps to see which one gets more engagement. This makes your updates more strategic and less of a guessing game.

When should you use heatmaps

You don’t need to use heatmaps all the time, but they’re especially valuable when:

• Launching a new website or redesigning an existing one
• Noticing high bounce rates or low conversions
• Testing new content or layouts
• Trying to figure out why users aren’t completing actions

They’re also great for optimizing content like blog posts or product pages. If people only read the first paragraph or ignore your sidebar, heatmaps will show it clearly—so you can do something about it.

Tools and platforms that offer heatmaps

Many tools offer heatmaps as part of their analytics suites. Some popular ones include:

• Hotjar
• Crazy Egg
• Microsoft Clarity
• Lucky Orange

These tools are generally easy to install and start working right away. Most integrate well with website builders, making them perfect for small business owners or marketers who want a visual way to understand performance without learning complex analytics.

FAQs about heatmaps

What is a heatmap used for in web design?

A heatmap is used to track user interaction across a website. It helps web designers and business owners visualize where users are clicking, scrolling, and spending the most time. This information guides design improvements and can boost conversions by showing what elements need more attention.

Are heatmaps accurate?

Heatmaps are generally accurate for understanding user behavior trends, but they’re not perfect. They should be used alongside other tools like Google Analytics for a fuller picture. Still, heatmaps offer an easy and visual way to catch big problems fast.

Do heatmaps affect website speed?

Most modern heatmap tools are lightweight and shouldn’t noticeably affect your website’s performance. However, adding too many third-party scripts can slow things down, so it’s best to choose one solid tool and keep your site optimized.

How do heatmaps help with SEO?

Heatmaps reveal which parts of your page are getting attention, helping you place keywords, CTAs, and internal links in the right spots. By improving user experience and engagement, heatmaps can indirectly support your SEO efforts.

Are heatmaps only for desktop websites?

Nope—heatmaps work on both desktop and mobile versions of your site. In fact, mobile heatmaps are essential since mobile behavior is often very different. A button that’s easy to click on desktop might be totally ignored on mobile, and heatmaps help reveal that.

See where users click—then act on it

If you’re building a site or improving an existing one, using heatmaps is just one of the smart tools that can help you grow. The key is pairing those insights with a website that’s easy to update and designed for results. B12’s AI website builder makes it simple to create a site that’s not only beautiful but also optimized for how visitors behave. Get started today and start building smarter!