THIS ARTICLE WILL HELP YOU:
- Understand Convert’s native Heatmaps
- Check plan requirements
- Enable Heatmaps in your projects
- Use Heatmaps
- Troubleshoot common issues
What Are Heatmaps?
A heatmap is a color‑coded overlay that shows where visitors click, tap, and scroll on a page. Red, orange, and yellow areas represent high activity, while cooler colors indicate low engagement. By visualizing how users interact with your page, heatmaps complement quantitative metrics and help you spot friction points or content that attracts attention.
Before the native heatmaps feature, Convert users relied on third‑party tools like Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity. Convert’s native heatmaps remove that friction by generating click, tap and scroll heatmaps automatically for every page and variation in your experiment.
Prerequisites & Availability
Heatmaps use the same Visitor Insights infrastructure that powers Convert Signals, our session‑recording feature. This shared tracking means heatmaps are available only when both of the following conditions are met:
- Your plan includes Visitor Insights. Convert Signals is a session recording feature embedded in the Reports and Locations section of Convert Experiences. Plans that include Signals also unlock heatmaps, because they use the same tracking and limits.
- Project‑level setting is enabled. Signals and heatmaps must be turned on in the Project Configuration settings. In the Signals article, the recordings are accessible only if the project‑level setting is enabled. Convert has consolidated this into a single toggle labeled Convert Signals & Heatmaps.
Signals and Heatmaps share the same usage quota. When quota information is available, Convert shows usage indicators directly in the Heatmaps tab so you can see how much of your shared Signals & Heatmaps capacity has been used.
If the Signals & Heatmaps quota reaches 100%, new recordings and new heatmap data collection are temporarily paused until more capacity becomes available or the quota resets. Existing heatmaps remain visible where data has already been generated, but new heatmaps or missing device/variation combinations may not populate until the quota resets.
Additional availability considerations:
- Web projects only. The Heatmaps tab appears only in web projects. Full‑stack projects hide the tab entirely. If you open a full‑stack project you won’t see heatmaps.
- Experiments and deploys. Heatmaps work for client‑side A/B tests and Deploys. They are not supported for server‑side or full‑stack experiments. If your project is locked or you see a message asking you to enable Signals & Heatmaps, ensure the toggle is on and that your plan includes Visitor Insights.
- Same limits as Signals. Because heatmaps share the Visitor Insights quota, any limits on Signals recordings (e.g., recordings per month) also apply to heatmaps.
Enable Heatmaps in Your Project
Follow these steps to activate heatmaps for a project:
- Open your project settings. In the Convert app, navigate to Project Settings → Configuration.
- Locate the Convert Signals & Heatmaps toggle. This toggle controls both session recordings and heatmaps. When off, the Heatmaps tab is locked and displays a message instructing you to enable Signals & Heatmaps. The screenshot below shows the Heatmaps tab locked with the enable message.
- Enable the toggle. Turn on the Convert Signals & Heatmaps switch. You’ll see a confirmation pop‑up asking you to accept the terms and conditions for session recordings and heatmaps. Click Enable.
- Publish your changes. Once enabled, heatmaps and Signals become active for all new experiments and deploys in that project. If you return to an experience summary page, you’ll now see the Heatmaps tab visible between Report and Change History.
For older experiences, Convert may ask you to pause and reactivate the experience before heatmaps can be generated. If this applies, the Heatmaps tab will show an in-app message explaining that action.
If you disable the toggle later, both features will be hidden and existing heatmaps will stop updating. Enabling again restores access.
Use the Heatmaps Tab
The Heatmaps tab provides a unified interface to explore click, move, tap and scroll behavior across devices and variations. When you first open the tab, a screenshot of your page appears with a color overlay and a panel of controls at the top. The example below shows a click heatmap with the left panel listing the most‑clicked elements and a color legend at the bottom.
1. Choose an Action Type
Use the Action dropdown to select Clicks, Taps or Scrolls. Clicks show where users clicked, Moves display mouse movement (helpful for desktop hover interactions) and Taps show touch interactions on mobile. Selecting Taps automatically switches the device to Mobile, and selecting Mobile automatically sets the action to Taps.
2. Select Device & Resolution
Heatmaps can be filtered by device (Desktop, Tablet or Mobile) and resolution. Device and resolution are grouped together in a single dropdown similar to the Visual Editor. This lets you quickly switch between form factors without cluttering the UI. The default view uses the resolution associated with the variation.
3. Switch Variations
Use the Variation dropdown to view heatmaps for different variations or the original. Each variation in your experience has its own heatmap per variation. When you switch pages or variations, the left panel and legend update automatically.
4. Check Signals & Heatmaps Quota Usage
The Heatmaps tab may show a Convert Signals™ & Heatmaps quota indicator. This indicator displays how much of your shared Signals and Heatmaps capacity has been used.
When quota usage is below the limit, the tooltip shows the current recording quota percentage and the reset date. For example:
“Recording Quota: 75%. Used for Signals and Heatmaps. Capacity resets on June 15, 2026.”
When quota usage reaches 100%, Convert may show a warning that new recordings are temporarily paused until more capacity is available. For example:
“You’ve reached the 100% usage limit of Signals & Heatmaps for your project. New recordings are temporarily paused until more capacity is available, limit resets on June 15, 2026.”
Because Signals and Heatmaps use the same quota, reaching the limit can affect heatmap creation as well as session recordings.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
I don’t see the Heatmaps tab. What is wrong?
If the Heatmaps tab is missing, locked, or the heatmap does not appear, check the following:
1. Confirm that you are using a supported project type
Heatmaps are available for web projects, client-side experiments, and deploys. They are not available for full-stack or server-side experiments.
2. Confirm that your plan includes Visitor Insights
Heatmaps use the same Visitor Insights infrastructure as Convert Signals. If your plan does not include Visitor Insights, the Heatmaps tab may be locked or unavailable.
3. Confirm that Convert Signals & Heatmaps is enabled
Go to Project Settings → Configuration and make sure the Convert Signals & Heatmaps toggle is enabled. This setting controls both session recordings and heatmaps.
4. Check Signals & Heatmaps quota usage
Signals and Heatmaps share the same quota. If your usage reaches 100%, new recordings and heatmap data collection are temporarily paused until the quota resets. Convert shows quota usage indicators in the Heatmaps tab when usage information is available.
5. Wait for the first sampled visitor
A heatmap base image is generated only after the first visitor is captured in the sample, based on the sampling rate, for that specific device and variation combination. After the base image is generated, activity layers such as clicks, taps, and scrolls populate over time.
6. Try another device, resolution, variation, or action type
Heatmaps are generated per device and variation combination. One device or variation may already have data while another is still waiting for enough sampled visitor activity.
Why does Convert say “Heatmap creation is paused due to the usage limit”?
This message appears when your Signals & Heatmaps quota has reached 100% while a heatmap is still being created or waiting for more data. In this state, Convert cannot continue collecting new heatmap data until the quota resets.
The message shown in-app is:
“Heatmap creation is paused due to the usage limit. It will resume automatically when the limit resets.”
Once the quota resets, heatmap creation resumes automatically. You do not need to reinstall the Convert tracking code or create a new experience.
Recommended screenshot:
(Add the screenshot showing the message “Heatmap creation is paused due to the usage limit. It will resume automatically when the limit resets.”)
Why does Convert say this experience has not collected any heatmap data yet?
This message may appear when the experience was created or activated after the Signals & Heatmaps quota was already exhausted, or when no sampled visitor has been captured yet for the selected device and variation.
The in-app message may say:
“This experience hasn’t collected any heatmap data yet. Once your quota resets, it will be captured and the heatmap will populate over time.”
Heatmap data will start populating automatically once quota is available and a visitor is captured in the sample for the selected device and variation combination.
Why does Convert say “This heatmap isn’t available yet”?
This message means the selected heatmap cannot be displayed yet. It usually means one of the following:
- Data is still being collected.
- No sampled visitor has been captured yet for the selected device and variation.
- The Signals & Heatmaps usage limit has been reached.
- The base image or activity overlay is still being generated.
The in-app message may say:
“This heatmap isn’t available yet. This usually means data is still being collected, or your usage limit has been reached. It will appear automatically once data is available.”
The heatmap will appear automatically once data is available.
Can I use heatmaps on Deploys?
Yes. Heatmaps are available on client‑side Experiments and Deploys. They are not supported for server‑side experiments or full‑stack projects.
Do I need to install additional scripts?
No. Native heatmaps rely on Convert’s tracking integration and therefore require no external scripts. Your existing Convert installation is sufficient. Third‑party tools like Hotjar still require their own scripts and manual triggers.
Can I export heatmap images?
Not yet. We’re working on export options. In the meantime, you can use a screen capture tool to save the view.