When creating a website, we follow all previously defined goals. We may want to inform, sell or just build our email list. We then think about it, arrange the content purposefully and maybe even try with A / B tests, which is better accepted by the users. But that can cost a lot of time and is actually more of a tool for fine adjustment. In the beginning, the question should rather be how users perceive and use our website.

Bing, the search engine from Microsoft, has released an open source tool that will help. With Clarity, so to speak, a Replay Session is made, with which one can follow the user behavior. A heatmap is used, but also a scrollmap is included and mouse movements, clicks, etc. can be tracked in individual user sessions. So website owners can understand exactly how the website is used and where problems may occur, or which areas are not even looked at. With this knowledge, the website can then be adapted to the needs of the user.

The most beautiful website has nothing, for example, if no one clicks on the button to buy. But whether that’s due to the position of the button or the content of the website is not always easy to see – except for tools like Clarity. They have been around for some time, but they were often too expensive, especially for webmasters with many websites. However, the Bing tool is free to use and requires nothing more than a registration and a JavaScript code that you integrate on your own website. Bing also assures that no user data is collected during the evaluation. The sessions are sent anonymously and thus do not allow any further conclusions about the user.

As a small but nice extra, Clarity also makes it easy to see if you have become a victim of malware, because the sessions display the content that the user sees. If something other than your own website is displayed here, you can react quickly.