Introduction to Dynamic Heatmaps

In this article:

• What’s a heatmap?
• Why use a heatmap? 
• What’s the difference between static and dynamic heatmaps? 

What’s a heatmap?

A heatmap is a visual representation of data about how people engage with a website – such as where people click, move, tap and scroll –  as they navigate through a website. 

They provide an easy-to-use illustration to help business owners, user experience (UX) professionals, web designers and others understand:

•  how people use a website
•  identify pain-points
•  validate design changes
• gain better insight into element placement, content, call-to-actions, and products

Why use a heatmap?

Heatmaps are a great tool to spot ways to make the website you're working on a more enjoyable experience for visitors. 

With a heatmap, you can improve your website by doing things like: 

• Evaluating a cluttered landing page to see if there are elements that can be removed from a better customer experience
• Determining whether your website’s navigation is clear or confusing
• Analyzing paid advertising traffic engagement compared to organic traffic
• Getting an unbiased evaluation of your website design through the eyes of your visitors  

For example: Let’s say you added a hero image rotating carousel to generate more conversions. You can use a heatmap to see whether or not anyone clicked on the hero image carousel and converted a result. 

What’s the difference between static and dynamic heatmaps?

Heatmap products on the market today are either static or dynamic.

Static heatmaps

These are essentially a snapshot of a website page with heatmap data overlaid on it. You can only load static heatmaps one at a time, and interactive elements are difficult to capture. 

In some cases, you can only run one report at a time, and it can take several weeks to adequately load a heatmap. 

Dynamic heatmaps

On the other hand, a dynamic heatmap shows how visitors engaged with the types of elements typically found on today’s websites.  

t gives you a more realistic picture of the engagement on your website because it shows how visitors engage with all elements, even those that are interactive. 

Here’s a quick guide to help you compare: