A Guide to Using Zipy for UX Research

Overview

Ever wish you could actually see what your users are doing?
Not just the happy path - but the confused clicks, the rage scrolls, the “why did they drop off here?” moments?

Zipy gives you that superpower.

This guide is a quick tour of Zipy’s best tools for UX research:
- Session replays
- Heatmaps
- Crash & ANR tracking for mobile apps.

We’ll go step-by-step, with examples and questions to ask as you explore. No fluff. Just helpful stuff.

Let’s peek into the minds (and clicks) of your users.

Prerequisites

• Ensure you have a Zipy account with access to a project.
• Zipy is installed in your application.
• Basic understanding of UX research principles.
• For crash/ANR tracking, you need a mobile app integrated with Zipy.

Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1 - Watch a Real User Session

Jump on to the Sessions tab in your Zipy dashboard. You’ll see a list of actual user sessions - like a video history of what people did.

Click on one. Watch it.

 Now ask yourself:

• Where did they go first?
• Did they hesitate or click around randomly?
• Did they get stuck?
  

Look for patterns: repeated clicks, long pauses, quick exits. These are clues.

Now compare it to what you thought users would do. Any surprises?
That’s where your UX work begins.

Start noting areas that seem confusing - those are your redesign candidates.

Step 2 - Explore a Heatmap (a Click Map of Curiosity)

Go to the Heatmaps section in Zipy. Pick a screen you care about (URL for web, screen name for mobile). Then… wait a bit while users do their thing.

Open the heatmap. What you’ll see is a “hot-and-cold” map of clicks:

• Bright red spots → users click here a lot
• Faded areas → less action

Now the fun part: switch between All Clicks, Rage Clicks, and Dead Clicks. Each tells a different story.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Are people clicking where they should?
• Are they clicking on things that do… nothing?
• Any “ragey” spots where people are clearly frustrated?

You can even click a hot spot and jump straight into the related session replay. That’s how you connect what users did with why they did it.

Step 3 - Track Crashes & Freezes (a.k.a. The Pain Points)

If you’re working on a mobile app, Zipy helps you catch those dreaded ANRs (App Not Responding) and crashes.

Start in the ANR section:

• Each entry shows where a user’s screen froze.
• Open one, and you’ll jump right into the replay at the exact freeze moment.

Pro tip: rewind a few seconds. What did the user click just before everything froze? That’s your clue. Note the UI element and the context so you can reproduce it later.

Now check the Crash section:

• Here you’ll see sudden app crashes, again linked to replays.
• Step back a few seconds in the session to see what triggered it.

The pattern is the same: watch, rewind, identify, reproduce, fix.
Zipy makes sure you’re not guessing - you see exactly what the user did before things went boom.

Spot Patterns & Pick Your Battles

Now that you’ve played with replays, heatmaps, and crash tracking, it’s time to zoom out.

Look for patterns across everything you saw:

• Do lots of users hesitate on the same screen?
• Are rage clicks piling up in one spot?
• Is a crash happening over and over again?

Some issues will show up once in a blue moon. Others? They’ll hit your users over the head every single day.

Don’t try to fix everything at once (you’ll burn out). Instead, ask:

• What’s breaking things for lots of people?
• What’s making the experience super frustrating?

Tackle those first. The rest can wait their turn.

Troubleshooting (When Things Look Weird)

Sometimes the data looks… off. Don’t panic. Here are quick checks:

• Is integration set up right? Double-check settings and permissions.
• Are session recordings actually on? (It happens!)
• For mobile apps: did you add the Zipy SDK properly?

Most “incomplete data” problems come down to one of these. Fix them, and you’re back in business.

Best Practices (Stuff That Makes Life Easier)

• Don’t let your heatmaps get stale. Check them often - user behavior changes faster than you think.
• Use replays with heatmaps. One shows you where people click, the other shows you why.
• Crashes and nasty UI bugs? Fix those first. They hurt your users the most, and they’ll thank you!.