Hotjar update: Funnels & Forms do not survive

On Dec. 14, 2020, Hotjar is removing the Funnels and Forms components from the tool. Hotjar is an online tool with several options for analyzing your website. The tool helps you collect qualitative data, in a visual way. The new set of tools in Hotjar should start to give a better picture of how your visitors experience the website and how the user experience can actually be improved. Read all about the Hotjar update here.

Tools in Hotjar

Hotjar currently consists of the following tools: Heatmaps, Recordings, Funnels, Forms, Surveys and Incoming Feedback. We briefly explain each tool:

• A heatmap shows how a specific page within the website is viewed and which parts are clicked on. Mouse movements and scroll movements can also be seen in the visual representation of the page.
• Videos are recorded under the heading of recordings . Such a video shows how a user navigates through the page, how much time he spends and what other pages he visits. This reveals errors or ambiguities in the website design.
• With the surveys tool, it is possible to create comprehensive surveys. There is no limitation on the number of questions or the number of respondents. The survey can either be on the website or link to an external URL.
• Incoming feedback allows website visitors to easily provide visual feedback. As a result, you will receive immediate feedback from your visitors. Giving feedback can also be done on an application.
• With the funnel tool, it was possible to analyze recordings of visitors when they drop out during a particular step in the funnel, the path to conversion. This tool will no longer exist as of December 14, 2020.
• The form analysis, like the funnel, is no longer usable after the Hotjar update. With this tool, it was possible to optimize certain fields in a form.

Why a Hotjar update

Hotjar is removing the funnel and form tool to offer a better set of tools for analyzing user experience in the future. In announcing the update, they indicate that the focus is being shifted from page views to sessions. A session is defined by Google Analytics as a period of time during which a user is active on your website or application. Thus, a session can consist of multiple page views. As a result, Hotjar is going to provide information about a user’s entire visit, rather than information about one specific page within the website.

By making this adjustment, it is possible to gather continuous insights from Hotjar instead of only seeing snapshots back.

The new version of Hotjar

Hotjar recommends linking to Google Analytics. According to Hotjar, it is important to use a detailed analytics tool, which can complement the behavioral insights from Hotjar. For example, in Hotjar, you focus on pages that generate a lot of traffic in Google Analytics. Also, Google Analytics has a funnel tool.

Many people are already familiar with heatmaps and recordings in Hotjar. In the new version, Incoming Feedback becomes more important to use, according to Hotjar. In fact, this tool also helps to understand why users of your website or application drop out at a certain point. You do this by asking for direct feedback. Users very easily indicate what they like and don’t like, and make suggestions or report bugs. This practical information is an important addition to the sometimes abstract statistics in Google Analytics.

By combining Hotjar with an analytics tool, you are going to create more insights into the user experience of your visitors. Want to learn more about how to improve your web design? Read more here.