Short answer: A website heatmap shows how visitors use a page, built from many visits: click maps show where people click or tap, and scroll maps show how far down they get. Session recordings replay single visits. Microsoft Clarity is one free tool that offers all three; check its privacy settings and your consent rules before you turn it on.
What a heatmap is
Microsoft’s Clarity documentation defines a heatmap as a visualization tool that makes it easy to analyze aggregated information about how users interact with a website. Clarity tracks clicks and scrolls on mobile, desktop and tablet and builds the heatmap automatically.
Besides click and scroll maps, Clarity offers area, conversion and attention maps. It says there is no minimum traffic needed to generate a heatmap, though a pattern is easier to trust when many visits feed it.
| View | What it shows | A question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Click map | Where people click or tap, also on things that aren’t links | Does anyone click the main button? |
| Scroll map | How far down the page visitors get, and where they drop off | Do people reach the call to action? |
| Session recording | A rebuilt replay of one visit | Where does a visitor get stuck? |
Our summary of Microsoft Clarity’s documentation, read November 5, 2026.
Click maps: what people try to click
A click map shows where people click on a computer and where they tap on a phone or tablet. Microsoft notes it also reveals parts of the design that people mistake for links.
Dead clicks are clicks with no response, and rage clicks are rapid clicks in the same small area within a short time. Both point to something that looks clickable but doesn’t work as people expect.
Our call to action guide covers how to make your main button clear.
Scroll maps: how far people get
A scroll map shows how far visitors scroll and, for each 5% of the page height, the share of visitors who drop off there. Clarity says this helps you see whether people reach the most important content and where to put your calls to action.
In NN/g’s eyetracking, users spent about 57% of their page-viewing time above the fold, and 74% in the first two screenfuls, up to 2,160 pixels. Our homepage guide covers what that first screen should hold.
Session recordings: one visit at a time
A recording replays one visit: scrolls, clicks, taps and page changes. Microsoft explains they aren’t real video, but step-by-step reconstructions built from the page’s code and the visitor’s actions.
Clarity ends a session after 30 minutes without activity and keeps recordings for 30 days. Recordings show what a heatmap can’t, such as whether a visitor missed the call to action by not scrolling far enough.
Privacy and consent
Clarity masks sensitive content by default and never captures what is masked. Content typed in input boxes is masked in every mode, and the default Balanced mode also masks numbers and email addresses.
In the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland, Microsoft says explicit consent is required before Clarity places cookies. It also says Clarity shouldn’t be used on sites aimed at users under 18. Add any heatmap tool to your consent notice; our cookie banner guide covers how.
How to use heatmaps on your site
- Write down the question first: a button, a section or a form you want to understand.
- Choose a tool, add it to your cookie notice and privacy policy, and install its code on those pages.
- Check the masking settings before any data is collected.
- Wait until enough visits have built up to show a pattern, not just a few clicks.
- Read the click map for the main button and for clicks on things that aren’t links.
- Read the scroll map to see where most visitors stop, and move the main message and button above that point.
- Watch a few recordings of visits that stopped there, change one thing and compare.
Before you rely on a heatmap
- You know which question the heatmap should answer.
- The tool appears in your cookie notice and privacy policy.
- Typed content and personal details are masked.
- You look at phone and computer maps separately.
- Enough visits have built up to show a pattern.
- You change one thing at a time and compare again.
RememberHeatmaps show where attention goes across many visits, and recordings show single visits up close. Start with a question, protect what visitors type and change one thing at a time.
Analytics tell you how many people came; heatmaps show what they did on the page. To measure the visits themselves, see our Google Analytics 4 guide. Our web design service plans changes like these with you. Write to us through the form or on WhatsApp.
Quick answers about website heatmaps
What is a website heatmap?
A picture of how visitors use a page, built from many visits at once. Click maps show where people click or tap, and scroll maps show how far down the page they get.
Is Microsoft Clarity free?
Microsoft says Clarity is a free service forever, with no traffic limits and no paid version you have to move to. It also says Clarity shouldn’t be used on sites aimed at users under 18.
Do heatmap tools record what people type?
Clarity masks the content of input boxes in every masking mode, and its default Balanced mode also masks numbers and email addresses. Check the settings of any tool you use before you collect data.
Do I need consent to use heatmaps?
In the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland, Microsoft says explicit consent is required before Clarity places cookies. Wherever you are, add the tool to your cookie notice and privacy policy.
How long are session recordings kept?
Clarity keeps recordings for 30 days. After that it keeps 1% of them or 10 a day, whichever is higher, for up to 9 months. A session ends after 30 minutes without activity.
Sources
All read on November 5, 2026. Microsoft Clarity documentation: Heatmaps overview. Click maps. Scroll maps. Recordings overview. Masking content. Frequently asked questions. NN/g: Scrolling and Attention.