Session Recording
Video-like playback of individual user sessions showing mouse movements, clicks, and page interactions.
Definition
Session recording captures user behavior on websites as playable recordings showing mouse movements, clicks, scrolling, and page interactions. These recordings reveal the user experience in detail that quantitative data cannot capture—frustration, confusion, and workflow issues.
Tools like Hotjar, FullStory, and Microsoft Clarity provide this capability alongside analytics integration.
Why It Matters
Session recordings answer the "why" behind behavioral data. When conversion drops or users abandon, recordings reveal exactly what happened—whether it was confusion, technical issues, or unexpected behavior.
The qualitative insight complements quantitative analytics, providing context that drives more effective optimization.
Examples in Practice
A checkout team watches recordings of cart abandonment, discovering a confusing coupon code interface causing drop-off.
A product team reviews recordings of new users, identifying onboarding steps that cause hesitation or backtracking.
A support team uses recordings to understand bug reports, seeing exactly what users experienced before contacting support.