Quick Answer
Review widgets often don't show up in Heatmap's preview because they're designed to only work on your specific domain. When you view your site through our preview, it runs inside an iframe on heatmap.com, not your actual domain, which causes most review widgets to block themselves.
Understanding the Issue
How the Preview Works
When you use Heatmap.com's preview feature, your website displays inside a frame hosted on our domain (heatmap.com). This allows you to view heat data overlaid on your pages, but your site isn't technically running on its original domain.
Why Review Widgets Disappear
Review widgets typically fail to load in the preview for these reasons:
Domain Restrictions: Your widget is licensed to run only on your domain. When loaded from heatmap.com, the widget detects the wrong domain and refuses to start
Built-in Security Features: Many review providers block their widgets from appearing in iframes to prevent unauthorized use. They check if their code is running in a frame and automatically shut down if detected
Browser Privacy Settings: Modern browsers restrict third-party cookies, which review widgets often need. Inside our preview frame, your widget becomes "third-party content" and gets blocked.
Your Live Site Is Unaffected
This preview limitation does not impact:
How the widget appears to your actual visitors
The heatmap data we collect from your live site
Your visitors' ability to see and interact with reviews
Your Analytics Still Work
Even though the widget doesn't appear in the preview, Heatmap.com still captures all user interactions with it on your live site, including:
Clicks on review elements
Scroll behavior around reviews
Time spent reading reviews
How to Verify Your Widget Is Working
Take these steps to confirm your review widget is functioning properly:
Visit your site directly (not through the preview)
Open your browser's developer console
Look for any error messages related to:
Domain or license mismatches
Frame-blocking messages
Cookie restrictions
Test the widget's functionality by interacting with it as a visitor would
Troubleshooting Steps
If you need the widget to work in testing environments:
Contact your review widget provider and ask:
Does the widget support iframe usage?
Can you whitelist additional domains for testing?
Is a staging license available for non-production domains?
Check your widget settings for options to:
Enable iframe compatibility
Add test domains to allowed origins
Adjust security settings for development
Review the documentation from your widget provider about domain requirements and iframe policies
Missing review widgets in the Heatmap preview is a normal limitation caused by security features; it's not a problem with your setup. Your actual website visitors see everything normally, and we continue collecting complete analytics data.
Questions? Reach out to support@heatmap.com - we're here to help you anytime!