When should I use a hotspot heatmap?

The hotspot heatmap shows a respondent an image and asks them to click on the parts that draw their eye. It collects every click across the study and shows you where attention landed, as a heat map laid over the image.

When to reach for it

Reach for this when you want to know where attention falls on an image rather than whether people can find one specific thing. It fits open prompts like clicking on what looks most important, or on anything confusing, where there is no single right answer. If you have one target in mind and want to check whether people reach for it, use the First-click test for a Figma prototype or the Image click test for a static image. Those mark each respondent’s first click; the heatmap pools everyone’s clicks into one picture.

Good to know

Results pool respondents’ clicks into a heat map over the image. Areas that received more clicks appear hotter, so you can see where attention clustered without defining regions in advance.