Session replay

A website “session” refers to the duration of interaction a user has within a website, within a certain window of time. The session can include multiple pages, events, purchases, and inputs. A session continues to be measured as the same session until the user is inactive for a period of time, typically 30 minutes. A session can also end at a specified time, like the end of a day. The start of a new session can also be a session-ending occurrence, such as if a user enters a website by clicking a paid search ad, clicks around, leaves, then enters again — this time by clicking an organic search result. 

So, a session recording is when software is used to track that user’s activity during that session. Clicks, scrolls, hovers, and other mouse data is tracked. So are keyboard inputs (except for anonymized forms) and navigation, documenting users as they fill out forms or search bars and navigate to different pages. 

Also referred to as session replay, session recording is a prolific practice in marketing, product management, UX design and research, conversion optimization, data analysis, and other areas of business. 

A common analogy for session recording is closed-circuit TV security systems found in most retail and commercial spaces. While those cameras can’t tell you a person’s name, address, or other identifying information, it can give you an idea of where they came from, what they do in the store, and more. 

For an interactive explanation of session recording, check out our live mouse tracking demo.

Session recording tools can be set to anonymize sensitive visitor data. Mouseflow’s default settings adhere to GDPR and CCPA guidelines and allow even further protection, such as blocking form field inputs. 

So, can you tell that a user came from California or Florida or Germany? Yes. But can you tell their exact IP address or personal identifying information? No. 

Can you record user engagements with forms and other interactive elements? Yes. But you can opt for seeing “**********” instead of a user’s Social Security number, for instance, to proactively protect user privacy. 

With session recording tools like Mouseflow, sensitive visitor information is either not collected based on default or customizable settings, or it can be anonymized to various degrees to suit the privacy needs of your users and industry. 

Health and finance websites can enable high levels of recording privacy in order to align with HIPAA and protect things like bank account numbers. Yet, entertainment and ecommerce websites can loosen the reins of privacy and anonymity since they’ll typically only collect non-sensitive information.

Ours can! Mouseflow’s session replay software is purpose built for optimization-hungry users that regularly deploy tactics such as A/B testing. As long as you can install Mouseflow’s tracking script in the code of your B version, you’ll have no problem capturing session recordings for both (or all) pages in your test. 

What’s more, session recording adds another layer of analysis to your test strategy. Not only can you analyze A/B test data to determine winners, losers, and indeterminate results — you can back up (or challenge) your findings with user recordings that exemplify your results. 

Mouseflow session recording software allows you to group by UTM, filter by URL, segment by source, and more, to make sure you’re measuring the right collection of users. You can even use live heatmaps to see how users interact with dynamic elements, such as drop-down menus.

Just like a desktop session, a mobile session is tracked by Mouseflow’s session replay software. Click — or tap — data can be combined or separated from desktop session recordings for even more granular optimizations. 

On the mobile version of your website, see how far users scroll, what they click, and more — not just when and where they convert, but how they got there. Segment session recordings by device, such as phone or tablet, to understand the distinctions between users on different viewports. 

While Mouseflow does not run on apps (such as those downloaded from Apple or Google), it can track on any browser as long as you’re able to drop the tracking code into the URLs.

Session replay software gives you a crystal-ball-view of your users’ actual interactions on your websites — which means you can see exactly what they like and don’t like on their path to conversion. For example…

Marketers can use a session recording tool to understand differences between the journeys of users coming from different sources, such as paid social or a referral program. They can also analyze how successful a website or journey is in driving a user to complete specific actions, or the efficacy of the latest campaign or message. 

Analysts look to record users on a website so they can analyze and understand what they may be seeing in their data. Instead of relying solely on data points and aggregations to inform their insights, analysts can use session replays to confirm or challenge data inferences. They can also use session recordings themselves as their data points, and analyze satisfaction levels, depth of journey or scroll, and other parameters that help them make sense — and actionable recommendations — of massive amounts of data. 

Product managers need to measure the reception to new feature rollouts and analyze the crossover of intended use and actual use — that’s when they turn to session recording tools. Even bird’s eye views of overall Friction Scores across web pages gives product managers important data they can use to improve their products and prioritize their next projects, with the actual user perspective top of mind. 

UX specialists want to build satisfying environments, and thus turn to session replay software during research, testing, rollout, analysis, optimization — every step of the way. Session recordings — especially when combined with heatmaps — help UXers visualize the ways in which users succeed or fail to properly engage with a website feature. 

CRO (conversion rate optimization) specialists can’t keep their hands off session recordings, as they provide a wealth of data to help guide testing strategies, prioritize optimizations, understand audiences, and zero in on the most effective converting elements. Without session recordings, CROs rely on best practices, user interviews, and traditional analytics data — all of which gives a partial picture, whereas Mouseflow session recording software provides the full story of user interaction and behavior. 

check out this blog post to learn what else you can learn from recording website visitors

How do I use session recordings alongside the rest of my web analytics data?

Traditional analytics, such as Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics, offer a seemingly never-ending stream of data. They might give you direction on where to look or the effects measured, but they can’t tell you what’s actually causing it — what the user is really doing. 

That’s where Mouseflow’s session recording data can complement data gathered from other sources, be it analytics; ecommerce platforms like Magento and Shopify; content management systems like WordPress, Wix, and Drupal; marketing platforms like HubSpot, Optimizely, and Unbounce; and even customer service and tag management systems. Check out our entire list of integrations to find the data handshake that takes you from analytics-savvy to analytics-savant.

Mouseflow’s recent accolades include:

G2 (Spring 2024): Leader, Momentum Leader, Fastest Implementation, Most Implementable, Best Usability, Best Results, and Best Relationship.

Capterra Shortlist for Web Analytics Software 2024

GetApp 2024: Category Leader in Web Analytics, Heatmaps, and Website Optimization Tools

We’ll let you decide — check out real user reviews on  GetApp, G2, and Capterra and look at similar tools side-by-side with our handy comparisons to tools like Hotjar, CrazyEgg, FullStory, Contentsquare, VWO, lucky Orange, and more.