What Heat Maps Tell Us about Web Design
But as someone who is already familiar with your site and services, it can be difficult to spot issues with your design and copy. In fact, it’s easy to miss the elements that prevent potential customers from converting because you already understand your navigation and content.
That’s where heat maps can be extremely useful. Keep reading to find out what they are, how to use them, and what they can tell you about your company’s web design. And give us a call at 888-601-5359.
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What are heat maps?
Heat maps are tools that show you which parts of the pages on your site receive the most attention. They can help you better understand visitor behavior in order to improve your site.
There are a few different ways to use heat maps, but the most common is with click or mouse tracking. These kinds of maps show where users place their cursors on your site and where they click.
Another (less common) form of heat map can be made with eye tracking software. However, this kind of tracking is much more expensive and arguably less valuable in terms of the information it provides.
Unlike mouse tracking, which allows you to monitor the behavior of your site visitors, eye tracking is typically done with a control group. This means that they aren’t as likely to be your actual potential customers, and they may not be interested in your products or services at all.
At WebFX, we prefer to use click-based tracking software since it gives more insight into your potential customers. After all, they’re the people you need to grow your business.
What heat maps tell us about web design
When you first look at heat maps of your website, it can be difficult to figure out what to take away from them. In fact, it may look like nothing more than large red splotches all over your pages.
But once you spend some time looking at which areas receive clicks and which ones don’t, you can identify the following three things:
What your visitors want
The first things you’ll notice on each heat map are the areas where your visitors click most. They’re usually identified in bright red. But depending on the platform you use, they could be any color that stands out from the rest of the page.
If your site is designed well, these areas will be on your navigation buttons and calls to action. And if they’re not, that can give you some insight as to which elements are distracting your visitors from taking the actions you want them to take.
What kinds of images work best
In addition to your navigation, many of your visitors will likely hover over certain images. If you run A/B tests in conjunction with your heat maps, you’ll be able to identify which images they’re most interested in.
That being said, if you want visitors to focus on your copy, it may not be a wise idea to include too many distracting images. Instead, use visual content that helps them better understand your products or services.
What elements are confusing
Finally, one of the biggest advantages to using heat maps is the ability to see which elements your visitors find confusing. Are they clicking on things that aren’t clickable? Hovering too long on certain areas that aren’t important? Dropping off at a certain point in your content?
As you identify weak spots on your pages, you can improve the areas of your site that visitors find confusing. And when you continue to do so, you can see your bounce rate drop and your conversion rate skyrocket.
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Want to use heat maps to improve your website?
Heat maps can be an extremely useful tool for analyzing and improving any website. If you’d like to use them for your business, WebFX can help.
We have years of experience building and testing successful sites for our clients, and we’ll do the same for you. Contact us today to speak with a strategist about how our designers and developers can help your business grow.