Session Recording
Session recording is the capture and replay of an individual visitor's on-page actions, including mouse movement, clicks, scrolling, and form interactions.
In depth
A recording tool drops a lightweight script on the page that streams events such as DOM changes, cursor coordinates, and input focus to a server, then reconstructs a video-like playback. Unlike aggregate analytics that tell you what happened, recordings show you the moment-by-moment why, surfacing rage clicks, dead zones, and the exact field where someone abandoned a form. This qualitative layer is what turns a flat drop-off number into an actionable hypothesis you can actually test.
The common pitfall is volume: teams record thousands of sessions and never watch them, or watch random ones with no question in mind. Pair recordings with a specific friction signal first. In a quiz-funnel context, you filter to sessions that bailed on a particular question or stalled at the lead-capture form, watch ten of them, and you will usually spot the offending step within minutes, whether it is a confusing answer layout, a slow-loading image, or a required field people resent.
Example in practice
Frequently asked questions
How is session recording different from heatmaps?
A heatmap aggregates many visitors into one view of where people clicked or scrolled, giving you a statistical overview. A session recording follows one visitor's full journey in sequence, so you see the exact order and context of their actions. They complement each other: heatmaps point to a problem area, recordings explain it.
Does session recording capture sensitive data?
By default most tools mask form inputs like passwords and payment fields, and you can manually block additional elements. You should still configure masking deliberately to comply with GDPR and similar rules. Never record raw PII unless your privacy policy and consent flow explicitly allow it.
How many recordings should I watch?
Quality beats quantity, so start with a focused filter such as visitors who abandoned a specific step. Watching 10 to 15 targeted sessions usually reveals a clear pattern. If nothing emerges, widen the filter rather than watching hundreds of random plays.