FROM THE BLOG

Why AB Split Test Doesn’t Include Heatmaps & Session Recordings

When people think of conversion optimization, they often think of heatmaps and session recordings. With good reason. Its a great way to watch users use and misuse your website, ideate improvements and verify results. Tools like Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar, PostHog, and others make it easy to watch how visitors move across a site and see where they click.

So why doesn’t AB Split Test include these features? The answer is simple: because we’d just be reinventing the wheel – and a pretty expensive one at that.

The Truth About Heatmap & Session Recording Tools

Here’s something most people don’t realize: nearly every heatmap or session recording tool is built on top of the same open-source technology. That technology – called rrweb – is the most comprehensive, widely adopted session replay library available.

What that means is this: whether you’re using Clarity, Hotjar, PostHog, or any other provider, under the hood they’re all wrapping rrweb (or a close equivalent). The difference isn’t in the tech – it’s in the servers they’re running it on and how much they mark up the cost.

In other words, you’re usually just paying for someone else’s hosting bill.

Why We Don’t Build Yet Another Wrapper

At AB Split Test, we’re focused on building a tool that actually help agencies and marketers grow revenue. That means split tests that run directly inside WordPress, dynamic traffic allocation, actionable AI insights, and advanced conversion tracking.

Spending months building a “me too” wrapper around rrweb doesn’t help you. It would just slow us down from building the tools that actually give you an edge.

What We Recommend Instead

If you want session recordings and heatmaps, we recommend Microsoft Clarity.

  • It’s free
  • We’re integrated – Split tests visits and conversions are tagged in clarity, so you can view users using your test variations.
  • It’s GDPR friendly
  • It’s powered by rrweb, the same underlying technology everyone else uses

That way, you get all the insights you need without paying inflated subscription fees for the exact same data.

Focus Where It Matters

Our job is to help you design, launch, and measure split tests that grow client revenue. We’ll let Clarity handle the replays. By not duplicating tools that already exist, we can keep moving faster, focus on what actually matters for agencies, and help you look like the pro who shipped results.