What is the Friction Map?
Friction Maps are a type of heatmap designed to help you visualize areas on your page where users experience click-based friction. It highlights click-rage, dead-clicks, and click-errors, making it a powerful tool for identifying user frustration points and optimizing page interactions.
Want to see this feature in action?đ Explore our interactive tour: Introduction to Friction Insights & Friction Map.
This heatmap can be accessed from three places within the Mouseflow app:
Widgets on the Friction Dashboard (identified by the flame icon)
The side menu and heatmap drawer on the heatmap list
The dropdown menu within a specific heatmap
The Friction Map is not yet supported within Live Heatmaps, so it wonât appear as an option when viewing a live heatmap.
Understanding Friction Maps
At first glance, the Friction Map resembles the Click Heatmap, but it focuses solely on friction events. Hereâs what makes it unique:
Exclusive Insights on Dead-Clicks
Dead-clicks (when a user clicks on non-clickable element or results in no change on the page) are only available within the Friction Map, giving you a focused view of where on your site users may encounter dead ends.
Expanded Click-Rage Detection
On the Friction Map, click-rage is displayed not only for clickable elements but for non-clickable elements as well. This broader perspective helps pinpoint frustration users might be running into on elements they assume are interactive.
No Heatspots
Unlike the Click Heatmap, the Friction Map currently does not display heat spots, offering a different visual representation of your data.
Interactive Element Highlighting
When you click on the flame icon in the âElements with most click frictionâ dashboard widget, the selected element is highlighted on the Friction Map, making it easy to locate and analyze high-friction areas.
Handling Missing Elements
There may be instances where an element in the Friction Map cannot be found, due to:
Dynamic content
Site changes, like the removal of an element
Merging pages in Settings
If we detect that the element cannot be located, you will see this modal appear:
Questions to Consider:
Are there areas with repeated click-rage that may signal user confusion?
Do dead-click events occur on elements that appear interactive but donât respond?
Are critical elements showing high friction that could benefit from redesign or repositioning?
Learn more about the other Heatmap Types.
Still have questions? Please reach out to our Support Team