User Research
Heatmap
A heatmap is a visualization that uses color to show where users click, tap, or scroll on a page, with warmer colors marking heavier activity. It aggregates many sessions into one picture of attention.
Why it matters
It helps beginners see what people actually notice and use, which often differs from what the team assumed they would.
In depth
Heatmaps are good at surfacing affordance problems and content that nobody scrolls down to reach, but they show what happened, not why. The common mistake is reading them as explanations rather than clues; pair a heatmap with session recordings or usability testing to understand the reasons behind the patterns.
Real-world example
A click heatmap might reveal that visitors keep tapping a bold heading that is not a link, suggesting it looks clickable when it should not.