Recording and session replay tools for visitors makes it possible for companies to record, save, monitor and if need be, replay activities done on their websites by visitors or their users. Using such tools have been of help to digital marketers in having the full knowledge of the experiences had by users of their respective websites. These tools have been in use for a while, not minding the controversial issue of privacy sake.
How do these tools work?
Recording and session replay tools would record and save every step by step activities of visitors. It records what they click on, how they scroll, their navigation across several pages, etc. When users watch the recorded activities, it helps them determine the weak spot and some other part they need to improve on. Let’s quickly look at the benefit and ugly side of using these tools.
Merit
• Web owners can watch a live view of visitors’ interaction.
• Observe sessions of each visitors
• Observe the problems faced by visitors while surfing the net.
• Finding and reproduction of bug to aid the experience of users
• To test run new features that are added to the website.
The ugly side of these tools include:
• Personal data of visitors are not secure.
• Analyzing bulk visitor sessions is difficult.
• There is no audio explaining the actions of visitors.
Recommended tools for recording website users
In this section, we’ll be sharing with you a list of services with free plans or try to check them out and their respective benefit when it comes to recording website users. The number one on the list is Hotjar.
Hotjar
Hotjar offers real-time session recordings for observing users’ activities. Hotjar beneficial features include:
I. Options to record every page visited or must a particular page.
II. Hotjar allows configuration in the case of recording a session with a duration of over 30 seconds.
III. You can tag the recorded videos.
IV. You can filter recorded video in order to search for any desire session.
V. You can always share recorded videos with your team.
Smartlook
Smartlook provides a solution for web owners and app builders in knowing the reason behind their actions on their websites. Their services include:
I. Provision of the real reason behind visitors’ action
II. They provide you with the chance of understanding visitors’ behaviour to the micro level.
III. Turning on visitors recordings every time enables you to know the last action that occurred on your website.
IV. Smartlook offers its user with a free package for the first month with 1500 recordings per month.
Inspectlet
This is another software you can use for recording website users.
I. They offer 100 sessions of recording per month for free.
II. Recorded video can also be filtered.
III. Returning or new visitors are pointed out in the video.
Conclusion
Other software you can try out include Mouseflow, Hoverowl, etc. out of all the above listed, Hotjar and Smartlook has proven to be the best but however, the choice of software to use depends on you and the kind of features you are looking.