Web 2.0 developers have launched the latest in a growing line of visual usability and metrics tools.
Nitobi has rolled out RobotReplay and TapeFailure has also released its product; both allow website owners to play back video recordings of visitors’ browsing sessions.
Last year, we highlighted a range of these new-wave tools, including ClickTale, CrazyEgg and ClickDensity, which use a line of Javascript in pages to track visitors’ mouse actions.
While quantifiable user metrics are often more helpful, the ability to see user interactions with websites can give webmasters valuable insights into their information architecture and usability.
RobotReplay has garnered several favourable reviews and includes a proposed mouse trails feature that leaves a cloud path behind cursor movements, illustrating user journeys.
The tool, which is currently offered for free, monitors mouse movements, clicks, page scrolls, form interactions and more.
TapeFailure offers similar features but adds variable-speed playback, downloadable videos and an array of numerical data more in keeping with conventional analytics software.
Nitobi’s Andre Charland said marketers would not necessarily use such tools as a replacement for analytics packages but as an additional resource.