Our recent migration to GA4 left a lot to be desired and led us to explore for better google analytics alternatives. We tried just about everything out there, including Plausible, Fathom, and several others, all with their own pros and cons. The biggest hurdles were: limited features and higher costs.

That’s why we were so excited when we stumbled across Fullres recently. Not only do they have the best pricing around but they’re bundling multiple tools we use—ad revenue, analytics, web vitals—all into a single platform. Usually, you have to subscribe to multiple services and jump between browser tabs to see that amount of data together. Looking at their roadmap, there’s a lot more coming too.

Fullres also stood out with their quick 5-second installation setup. You get instant access to audience statistics in a GDPR-compliant manner and built-in Web Vitals data to continuously improve key metrics such as First Contentful Paint (FCP), Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), and other more.

For those who found the switch to GA4 challenging, Fullres is worth a try. It’s currently invite-only, so join the waitlist as soon as possible to get early access.

But heat maps aren’t the silver bullet they’ve been made out to be. They aren’t really compatible with the modern web. That’s why FullStory developed their Page Insights feature, complete with Click Maps that simply outclass those colorful, but tired old heat maps. Let’s find out why.

The Limitations of Heat Maps

While traditional heat maps look undeniably cool, they have some real limitations when it comes to functionality:

They’re Not So Responsive
You may have noticed that visitors to your site are using all sorts of devices and screen resolutions. And that can be a problem for the good old heat map. While they can provide you with a map for a specific resolution, they can’t give you an aggregate view of all devices and resolutions. That puts your data in several silos – making it hard to get the whole picture.

They Don’t Account for Dynamic States
A single web page can be made up of several different “states”. For example, think of a page that has a modal popup window. When the popup is visible to the user – that’s a state. It’s another state entirely when that popup isn’t being shown. Heat maps don’t account for the various states a given page can be in. Items such as sliders and dynamically populated content are all treated as the same thing. That leads to a distorted view of user interaction.

They Don’t Provide Context
When a specific part of your page’s heat map is painted orange – that means it’s “hot”. But that still doesn’t provide you with any sort of in-depth knowledge as to exactly what element users are interacting with. And it doesn’t provide the context you need to turn the data into actionable information. In the end, it’s just…orange.

They Can Be Difficult to Set Up
Many heat maps require an advanced setup process that can be very frustrating – even for seasoned pros. You’re asked to configure complicated URL patterns and regular expressions in order to try and get accurate results. It can take a lot of effort and research to get right.

Click Maps Prevail Where Heat Maps Fail

FullStory actually considered adding heat maps to their service based on user demand. But as they researched all the limitations mentioned above, they decided that something new was in order. That’s how Click Maps were born. They bring a level of insight and flexibility that is simply too hot for a heat map to touch:

Click Maps are Resolution Independent and Dynamic
Because FullStory understands the structure of your website, they can translate that information across screen resolution or device type to provide you with an accurate picture. Even dynamic, data-driven interfaces are accurately interpreted, as FullStory Page Insights are focused on elements – not just screen position. That’s a smarter way to view the modern web.

Click Maps Show Every State
As you browse a web page, many elements will pop into and out of existence. FullStory lets you see that page in all its various states and provides data accordingly. In other words, you’ll only see data for that modal popup while it’s on the screen. When the popup isn’t there, its click statistics will also be hidden. You’ll only get data on the elements you see in any given state.

Click Maps are Actionable
Since Click Maps are part of FullStory (which records everything a user does on your site), that means you can use their powerful OmniSearch feature to gain incredibly deep insights. You can create segments for things like user behavior, geography, devices or make your own custom variables. With just a few clicks, you can get answers to just about any question you can think of with regards to user engagement.

Click Maps Just Work
There is no fancy setup process, no headaches and no frustration. FullStory Page Insights with Click Maps just works.

Use FullStory for Free

As we’ve discovered, FullStory’s Page Insights with Click Maps bring a whole new level of actionable data to your screen. You’re no longer limited by inaccurate heat maps. Instead, FullStory will show you exactly how users are interacting with your site – across devices and dynamic states.

Sign up for your free FullStory account today and see user engagement in a whole new way.

This article has been sponsored by Syndicate Ads.

While you can’t literally get inside a user’s head, you can see exactly how they interact with your website. It’s possible with FullStory.

More Complete than User Testing

FullStory enables you to replay user sessions and see every click, key press and page transition with pixel-perfect accuracy. What’s more, it’s a fully-inspectable re-recreation of your website – complete with DOM, JS console and assets. That means, for example, that when a JavaScript error occurs during a user’s session, you’ll see it. You’ll get a detailed log of every JS error from your customer’s browser.

It’s a complete solution that brings you more detail than user testing – not to mention much more convenience. Using the FullStory TV feature, you can auto-play all sessions or a saved segment. This provides you with non-stop insight into user interaction. You’ll become aware of patterns as they emerge – such as rage, error and dead clicks. It’s valuable information that will help you determine what’s working and what’s not. All of it can be done much faster than with traditional testing methods.

Take Advantage of Powerful Tools

It’s one thing to have access to session playbacks. But it’s quite another to hunt through mountains of them, looking for a specific type of interaction. That’s where FullStory’s OmniSearch really shines. You can find customers, pull up page analytics, build funnels and more. Even better is that this can all be done instantly – just start typing.

Searchies, as FullStory refers to them, are powerful visual insights. They consist of items like pie charts and funnels that automatically accompany each search and segment. So you not only have the raw session playback information, you also have convenient visualizations as well.

Plus, FullStory can integrate with a number of popular third-party apps. You can send FullStory data to collaboration apps like Trello, HipChat or Slack. It also works with support systems such as Desk.com, HelpScout and Zendesk. You can hook into Google Analytics Universal and Google Tag Manager. Or, bring insights directly to your BigCommerce, Shopify, Squarespace or WordPress/WooCommerce site. There are a wide range of integrations available to meet your needs.

If you work as part of a team, you’ll love that FullStory is collaboration-friendly. Send individual session playback links to team members inside or outside of your organization. This makes it easy to gain valuable feedback and perspective from others.

Using the Identify API, you can send customer information directly to FullStory. That makes customer data searchable within the app. Custom User Attributes allow you to populate unique user fields. For example, you can add a customer’s subscription level or their lifetime spend amount. Privacy is also a priority and FullStory makes it easy to exclude sensitive customer data by using a simple point and click system.

Start Using FullStory for Free

When it comes to how users interact with your website, it’s time to stop playing guessing games. Instead, sign up for a free account with FullStory and see what you’ve been missing. The insights you’ll gain will make for a better website and it just might make you a hero.

This article has been sponsored by Syndicate Ads.