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What is Hotjar?
It offers 5 key features: heatmaps, session recordings, surveys, feedback tools, and user interviews.
The platform captures data and reconstructs user events.
Hence, it doesnt offer real-time analytics or data.
It was founded by Dr. David Darmanin in 2014 on the island of Malta.
Currently, it is used by 900K websites in 180 countries.
Hotjar is an excellent pick for eCommerce sites.
For example, Credo saw a 220% revenue increase after using Hotjar.
Other industries also benefit from the use of Hotjar, including:
The tool is GDPR-compliant and CCPA-ready.
You must use most of these features together to get the best results.
For example, heatmaps with recordings give a clearer picture of user behavior than just relying on heatmaps.
Additionally, surveys enable you to get direct feedback from users.
Itll show the user activities through color the brighter it is, the more activity there is.
Heatmaps also support filters for better clarity.
you’re able to also save unlimited heat maps and analyze them according to your needs.
Recordings
The Recordings feature enables you to find user behavior patterns or bugs.
Furthermore, Heatmaps recordings are a robust way to validate data-based decisions.
It also offers a seek bar that shows activities and actions, such as page reload or U-turn.
Recordings can be added to a collection, shared, or deleted.
you’re able to create custom surveys or templates to gather user feedback and visitor insights quickly.
Feedbacks
Feedback is part of Surveys, where you might add a Feedback button to a webpage.
This helps in different use cases, be it a new product, campaign, or feature.
Similar to Surveys, it supports AI feedback analysis, while offering recordings for further examination.
It provides seamless connections with existing user stacks.
Businesses can also invite users for an interview to get a better understanding.
User Interviews via Engage
Hotjar lets you find and interview users through its Engage feature.
It highlights high-quality participants by automating the research process, including recruitment, scheduling, hosting, and recording.
It also lets you connect your calendar with the option to schedule without clashes.
Trends
Trends let you spot user behavior by visualizing captured metrics.
It supports filters that help refine visuals.
It supports visualization in line, pie, and bar formats.
you might also change the duration to suit your needs (24 hours to 12 months or custom).
Funnels
Funnels lets you find conversion blockers and optimize the site for the best results.
It helps you see beyond the numbers, through filters and comparisons via segments.
This results in personalized insights with access to quantitative and qualitative data.
With funnels, we can set up recordings to show the success and non-success rate.
To see it, we set up the following sessions and filters.
And here are the results.
Administrators can view recordings to find conversion issues and optimize them as needed.
Like Trends, Funnels can also be added to the dashboard.
Hotjar Data Security
Hotjar takes data security seriously and has certifications and audits in place.
The free Basic plan is helpful for small businesses and guides them in understanding the fundamentals of user behavior.
We suggest checking out their free plan first and then switching to a 15-day free trial.
Once satisfied, you’re able to choose a plan.
It supports Google Analytics and Segment in analytics integration and custom integration via Zapierall without coding.
Who Should Use Hotjar?
Hotjar is primarily aimed at small to medium-scale businesses.
However, it is equally useful for larger websites with high traffic.
It has a low learning curve and comes with a user-friendly interface.
For example,Mizzen+Mainincreased their Add-to-Carts conversion rate by 39% in just 3 weeks.
Who Shouldnt Use Hotjar?
Hotjar is an analytical tool that primarily guides businesses on improving conversion rates and user experience.
However, it is not a substitute for Google Analytics, A/B testing, or bug-tracking tools.
Companies that work with sensitive data and are looking for advanced AI-driven insights should avoid Hotjar.
Instead, they should opt for on-premises solutions.
It shines for B2B and eCommerce projects where it can directly help the business improve its sales.
On the other hand, Hotjar is equally good at finding bugs and getting direct feedback from users.
Its core Heatmaps feature is handy and easy to use.
Additionally, the free plan is its biggest plus point.
It is self-sufficient for small businesses that can get positive information to make actual changes.
It also works with Zapier for custom integrations and automations.
However, Hotjar does have some drawbacks.
It doesnt support mobile apps, and works only for website apps and services.
As for customization, surveys only offer basic options, and you cannot create custom reports.
To summarize, Hotjars pros and cons are shown below.
In the sections below, Ive provided details on what each tool offers and how it differs from Hotjar.
Hotjars biggest strength is its Heatmap feature, which lets you visualize user behavior.
Trends and Funnels are helpful for understanding user information and optimizing the overall user experience.
Additionally, its free plan is generous and useful for small businesses, with unlimited heatmap options.
However, it is limited in features and can become restrictive as a business grows.
This leads us to its paid plans.
While their plans offer value for money, they can quickly become expensive for growing businesses.
Overall, I liked Hotjar despite its limitations, such as its lack of mobile app support.
It offers a versatile user analytics tool and provides a complete package.
