A tool that captures a user's clicks, scrolls, and keystrokes as a replayable video to show how visitors interact with a page.
Marketers use this information when analyzing visitor behavior on a webpage.
01What it is and how it works
When a visitor loads a page that includes a session‑recording script, the script injects invisible listeners for mouse movements, clicks, scroll depth, and form inputs. Those events are streamed to a backend service, which stitches them together into a time‑coded video file. The video can be played back in a dashboard, often with a cursor overlay that mimics the original mouse pointer. The recording respects privacy settings: personal data such as passwords or credit‑card numbers are typically masked or omitted according to GDPR‑compliant defaults.
It records what a visitor does on a website and plays it back as a video.
02What to do about it
Start using session recordings this week to surface friction points:
- Install the vendor’s JavaScript snippet on all high‑traffic pages.
- Configure the privacy filter to mask sensitive fields.
- Create a schedule to review 5 recordings per day, focusing on drop‑off points in the checkout funnel.
- Tag recordings with URL, device type, and traffic source for easy segmentation.
03How it is measured or noticed
In your analytics dashboard you will see a new metric called "recordings" or "sessions captured." The count rises when the script loads successfully. Look for a heat‑map overlay that shows click density; a spike in silent recordings (no mouse movement) often indicates a bot or a page that failed to load the script. Alerts can be set up to notify you if the capture rate falls below a threshold, such as 80 % of pageviews.
04Common mistakes
- Leaving the script on pages with sensitive forms without masking fields.
- Recording every single visitor, which can overwhelm storage and breach privacy laws.
- Relying on recordings alone without quantitative data; they are qualitative insights, not a substitute for conversion metrics.
- Ignoring mobile‑specific gestures like swipes, which many basic scripts miss.
05Limits and confusion
Session recordings do not capture server‑side errors, API latency, or network‑level failures. They are often confused with heat maps, but heat maps aggregate clicks while recordings show a single user's path. Recordings also cannot measure intent; a user may scroll past a product without noticing it, which looks like normal behavior in the video.
06Worked example
"I opened the product page, scrolled down, clicked the size selector, then abandoned the cart. The recording showed the size dropdown was hidden on mobile, which explained the drop‑off." – Marketing analyst, 2024
Frequently asked questions
How is session recording different from heatmaps?
It captures a full, replayable video of each user's clicks, scrolls, and keystrokes, while heatmaps only show aggregated click or scroll density. This means you can see the exact sequence of actions that led to a conversion or drop‑off.
Should we implement session recording on every page of our site?
It depends on the page’s importance and traffic; start with high‑traffic or conversion‑critical pages such as product listings and checkout. Adding the script to low‑value pages can increase data volume without giving useful insights.
How do we set up session recording?
Usually you add the vendor’s JavaScript snippet to the head of the pages you want to track, and the script injects invisible listeners for mouse movements, clicks, scroll depth, and form inputs. Once the script loads, recordings appear automatically in your dashboard.
Does session recording still work with browsers that block third‑party scripts or cookies?
Usually it works as long as the script itself isn’t blocked by the user’s privacy settings; strict content‑security policies or ad‑blockers can prevent the script from loading, which stops recordings for those visitors.
What happens if the session‑recording script fails to load on a page?
If the script fails, the “recordings” metric will drop and you won’t capture any user interactions for that page. You’ll typically see console errors or a missing network request, which signals you need to fix the script inclusion.
How long does it take for a new recording to appear in the analytics dashboard?
Typically a few minutes after the page load; the dashboard updates in near‑real time, so you can start reviewing recordings shortly after the visitor leaves the site. While you wait, you can monitor live view or other metrics.
Asked out loud
spoken, not typedThe same term in the words somebody uses speaking to an assistant rather than typing into a box — written from the situation, which is why each one carries the situation it came from.
Yes, you can view a session recording of that checkout page in the analytics dashboard; just open the recordings list and filter by the page URL. The video will show the user's clicks, scrolls, and form inputs so you can spot where they got stuck.
Usually you can pull the latest recordings instantly; select the homepage in the recordings view and play the most recent session. If none appear, verify that the recording script is correctly installed on that page.
Yes, a session recording will replay the user's keystrokes and clicks on the form, letting you see if they triggered an error. Open the recordings, filter by the form page, and watch the video to identify the issue.