Session Replay

Hidden usability issues frustrate visitors without your knowledge. Broken elements cause abandonment you can't detect. Conversion blockers hide in paths you thought worked perfectly.

Session replay shows you what's really happening. Watch visitors interact with your website—every click, scroll, and tap recorded. Turn invisible problems into actionable insights you can fix today.

See every click, scroll, and tap

Session replay records  visitor interactions across their entire journey. You'll see every page transition, mouse movement, and interaction as if you're looking over their shoulder.

Key insights you'll uncover:

• Usability roadblocks that frustrate visitors and kill conversions
• Broken elements causing rage clicks and immediate abandonment
• Conversion path breakdowns showing exactly where journeys fail
• User confusion patterns revealing design and content problems

Watch complete multi-page visits from start to finish. You'll understand what visitors actually do versus what you think they do.

Getting Started

Access Your Session Recordings

Navigate to the Sessions page in your main menu. Your dashboard loads with recent visitor sessions ready to review. Each row shows one visitor's complete journey across your website.

Understanding Your Dashboard

Available filters:

• Domain dropdown — Select which website to analyse
• Page filter — Focus on specific pages or view all pages
• Date range — Choose your timeframe (today to 14 days back)
• Search bar — Find sessions by ID or referrer URL
• Drop-off toggle — Show only visitors who entered your funnel but didn't complete it
• Human traffic only — Remove bot activity and see real human behaviour

Session overview table:

Each session displays key details:

• Session ID — Unique identifier for each visit
• Timestamp — When the visit started
• Duration — How long they stayed active
• Device — Desktop, mobile, or tablet (mobile: 375px wide, tablet: 768px wide, desktop: 1200px wide)
• Browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and others
• Referrer — Where they came from (Google, direct, social media)
• Pages — Complete journey across all pages they visited

Sorting and Searching

Sort by different metrics:

Click any column header to sort sessions by date/time, duration, device, or browser. Click the same header again to reverse the sort order.

Search for specific sessions:

Type in the Search sessions box to find session IDs or referrer URLs. Results update as you type. This helps you review sessions users mentioned in support conversations.

Watching Visitor Sessions

Start Playback

Click the Play button next to any session. The replay player opens in a drawer on the right side of your screen.

The session loads with:

• Exact website content the visitor saw
• Their complete multi-page journey in chronological order
• All page transitions showing how they navigated
• Authentic device experience (sessions play in their native viewport size)
• All interactions timestamped and ready to watch

Playback Controls

• Play button — Start the session replay
• Pause button — Stop at any moment to examine behaviour
• Stop button — End playback and return to the beginning
• Speed slider — Adjust from 0.25x to 4x speed (default is 1x real-time)
• Progress timeline — Shows total session length with red markers for clicks
• Eye icon — Show or hide the engagement panel

Click anywhere on the timeline to jump to that exact moment. Drag the progress bar to scrub through the session.

Playback speed recommendations:

• Use 1x speed when examining specific interactions closely
• Use 2x speed for general overview of visitor behaviour
• Use 4x speed to quickly scan long sessions
• Use 0.5x speed to catch subtle usability issues

What You'll See During Playback

Page transitions:

Watch smooth movement between pages as visitors navigate. You'll see loading screens, exact timing of page changes, and how quickly each page appeared. This reveals slow-loading pages that might be causing abandonment.

Mouse movements:

A bright pink cursor shows pointer location throughout the session. The cursor uses a dot and ring design so you can't miss it. You'll see natural movement patterns, hesitation when visitors can't find something, hover behaviours on interactive elements, and reading patterns as they scan content.

Note: The cursor only shows when the visitor was moving their mouse. On mobile sessions, you won't see a cursor—you'll only see tap interactions.

Click interactions:

When visitors click, you'll see ripple effects at the exact spot. Clicked elements highlight briefly so you know what they interacted with. This works for button clicks, link selections, form field interactions, and touch interactions on mobile devices.

Scroll behaviour:

Watch smooth scrolling that matches visitor speed. You'll see how far down pages they scroll, where they stop reading, what content gets skipped, and mobile scroll gestures. Scroll patterns show which content engages visitors and which gets ignored.

Track Clicks in the Engagement Panel

Click the eye icon in the playback controls to show or hide the engagement panel. The panel lists every click the visitor made during their session.

Each entry shows:

• Seconds into the session when the click happened
• Percentage down the page where they clicked
• Text of the element they clicked (when visible)
• Which page they were on

Click any entry to jump straight to that moment in the replay. This helps you quickly find important interactions without watching the entire session.

Spotting Usability Issues

Navigation Problems

Watch for visitors clicking non-interactive elements. They think something is clickable when it's not.

Look for:

• Clicking images that look like buttons
• Tapping headings expecting them to expand
• Confusion between similar-looking buttons
• Difficulty finding important features in your menu

When multiple visitors click the same non-interactive element, make it clickable or change its design.

Form Struggles

Forms show the clearest usability problems.

Watch for:

• Repeated attempts to complete the same field
• Abandonment at specific fields (usually phone numbers or addresses)
• Confusion about required versus optional fields
• Validation errors that visitors don't understand
• Mobile keyboard issues covering important buttons

If three or more visitors struggle with the same form field, simplify that field.

Mobile Experience Issues

Mobile sessions reveal touch-specific problems:

• Difficulty tapping small buttons or links
• Horizontal scrolling when content doesn't fit
• Elements too close together causing mis-taps
• Content hiding behind fixed headers
• Forms where the keyboard covers submit buttons

These issues rarely appear in desktop analytics but kill mobile conversions.

Broken Elements Causing Rage Clicks

Rage clicks happen when visitors repeatedly click the same element in frustration. You'll see three or more rapid clicks on the same spot, clicks on elements that don't respond, and abandoned sessions immediately after rage clicking.

Rage clicks signal broken functionality or unclear interface design. Fix these first—they're actively driving visitors away.

Reading and Attention Patterns

Mouse movements and scroll behaviour reveal content problems:

• Visitors scanning past your main message
• Stopping before reaching your call-to-action
• Repeatedly scrolling up and down looking for information
• Leaving after reading only the first section

When visitors can't find what they need, they leave. Reorganise content based on actual reading patterns.

Identifying Opportunities

High-Engagement Areas

Not everything will be broken. Find what's working well:

• Pages where visitors spend most time — These pages engage effectively
• Elements receiving multiple clicks — Visitors find these valuable
• Content that encourages scrolling — They want to read more
• Smooth conversion paths — Sessions that complete without hesitation

Do more of what works. Replicate successful patterns across other pages.

Popular Features

Watch which features visitors interact with most:

• Navigation items they click repeatedly
• Filters they apply to search results
• Expandable sections they open
• Videos they watch completely

Make your most-used features more prominent. Move underused features lower in your layout.

Content That Converts

Compare sessions that converted against ones that dropped off:

• What did converters read that drop-offs didn't?
• Which pages did successful visitors view?
• How long did they spend on key pages?
• What was their navigation path?

You'll spot the critical content that influences purchase decisions.

Mobile Versus Desktop Behaviour

Watch the same page on different devices:

• Do mobile visitors scroll further?
• Which device shows more form abandonment?
• Are desktop visitors clicking different elements?
• Does navigation work better on one device?

Optimise each device experience based on actual behaviour patterns.

Analysing Conversion Funnels

Set Up Funnel Tracking

Tick "Show drop-offs only" and select a specific page. A "Select funnel" dropdown appears. Choose which funnel step you want to analyse. The system shows only sessions where visitors reached that point but didn't complete the goal.

Funnel options:

• Single-step Funnel — Sessions that visited the page but didn't convert
• Multi-step Funnel — Sessions that progressed through multiple steps but dropped off

Pick the option matching what you're investigating. This focuses your review on the exact problem area.

Analyse Drop-Off Sessions

When you filter by drop-offs, you see sessions with the highest conversion potential. They showed interest by entering your funnel but encountered something that stopped them. Fixing their issue will directly increase conversions.

Watch at least 10 drop-off sessions to spot patterns. One session might be an outlier—ten sessions reveal systemic problems.

Working More Efficiently

Start With Drop-Offs

Always tick "Show drop-offs only" first. These sessions contain your biggest opportunities for improvement. You'll spot conversion blockers quickly by watching where real visitors abandon your funnel.

Focus on One Page at a Time

Pick a single page from the dropdown. You'll understand that page's usability much faster than trying to review everything at once. Watch 10 sessions for that page. You'll see patterns emerge—similar confusion points, repeated struggles, common paths to success.

Watch Converting and Abandoning Sessions Back-to-Back

Pick a session that converted, then immediately watch one that dropped off on the same page. The difference will be obvious:

• Where did the successful visitor find information the drop-off didn't?
• What did the drop-off click that led nowhere?
• How did their navigation paths differ?

This comparison reveals exactly what needs fixing.

Delete Unwanted Sessions

Click the Delete button next to any session. Confirm you want to delete it. This permanently removes the session from your account.

Use this to clean up:

• Test sessions you recorded yourself
• Bot traffic that slipped through filters
• Sessions from internal IP addresses
• Incomplete recordings with no valuable data

Deleted sessions can't be recovered. Double-check before confirming deletion.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

"No Sessions Found" Message

This means no sessions match your current filters.

Try:

• Expanding your date range to 14 days
• Unticking the drop-offs filter
• Selecting "All Pages" instead of a specific page
• Removing any search terms

Your account might not have recorded sessions yet if it's brand new. Wait 24 hours after installation for the first sessions to appear.

Playback Won't Start

Click Stop then Play again. This resets the player if it got stuck.

If that doesn't work:

• Refresh your browser page
• Clear your browser cache
• Try opening the session in a private/incognito window
• Use a different browser

Still not working? Contact support with the session ID.

Can't See the Full Page

Some sessions use screenshot fallbacks if the HTML wasn't captured correctly. The replay still shows clicks and scrolls accurately.

Engagement Panel Is Empty

Sessions without clicks won't show entries in the engagement panel.

They might be:

• Bounce sessions where the visitor left immediately
• Sessions where visitors only scrolled without clicking
• Very short visits (under 5 seconds)

Scroll events still play back even when the panel is empty. These sessions show reading behaviour but no interaction attempts.

Playback Is Too Slow

Increase the speed slider to 2x or 4x. If playback still feels sluggish, close other browser tabs. Session replay requires processing power to render pages smoothly.

Can't Find a Specific Session

Use the search box to search by session ID or referrer URL. Search doesn't cover page content or visitor actions—only metadata attached to the session.

Privacy and Data Handling

What Gets Recorded

Session replay captures:

• Mouse movements and clicks
• Scroll positions and speed
• Page views and transitions
• Device type and browser
• Screen resolution
• Referrer source

What Doesn't Get Recorded

The tool automatically excludes:

• Password fields (always hidden)
• Credit card inputs (masked by default)
• Any fields marked as sensitive
• Personal data in form fields (optional masking)

This protects your visitors' private information while still showing usability patterns.

Visitor Privacy

Session replay doesn't record:

• Visitor names or email addresses (unless you enable it)
• Keyboard input in sensitive fields
• Data entered in password managers
• Content from other browser tabs

Visitors can't be personally identified unless they enter information you've configured to capture.

Need More Help?

Can't find what you're looking for? Contact our support team at help@serp360.ai