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Code-based Usability Testing
Code-based Usability Testing

Add prototype testing integration like Hotjar to your designs

Leonardo Hurovich avatar
Written by Leonardo Hurovich
Updated over a week ago

User testing interactive code-based prototypes give teams more relevant feedback, better product outcomes, and the ability to test at scale. In this article, you’ll find out how you can easily create and test these live prototypes yourself—without writing a single line of code!


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What is prototype testing?

A prototype is a model of your final product. Prototype testing is when you observe how users interact with that model, and then get their feedback. This way you can make any necessary improvements before developer handoff, and launch a final product that’s already aligned with users’ wants, needs, and expectations.


Low fidelity vs high fidelity prototypes

Low fidelity prototypes are static, non-interactive, and include very basic representations of a design’s structure and functionality.

They’re inexpensive to produce, and changes can be implemented quickly and easily. Their goal is to test early assumptions and help guide the design of the high fidelity prototypes that follow. (A low fidelity prototype example, source:)

The most effective high fidelity prototypes are fully functional, responsive, and include all of the final design assets.

High fidelity prototype testing is the closest you’ll get to testing your final product without actually building it. But some high fidelity prototypes are more effective than others. Prototype testing is most valuable when your prototype looks, feels, and behaves like the real thing which means that live prototypes need to be code-based. Not all high fidelity prototypes are code-based and interactive, but with the right tools you can create live prototypes with automatically generated code. (A high fidelity prototype example, source:)


How to create prototypes that feel real

Here are the essential elements of a code-based prototype—and how to create one in your design tool without writing a single line of code.

  1. Responsiveness → your prototype should adapt to any device you aim to target

  2. Interactive components → components should have unique states for every action

  3. User testing tool integration → you should be able to connect your prototype to tools like HotJar and Fullstory.

💡 Tip: Here’s an example of a fully functional code-based prototype built with Anima


Hotjar integration

Code-based prototypes allow you to integrate powerful user testing tools like Hotjar and Fullstorythat help analyze user behavior and perform user tests at scale.

Hotjar uses code to track user interactions with a product or prototype, and Figma prototypes aren’t natively code-based. With Anima App, however, you can create fully functioning code-based prototypes in Figma, then integrate Hotjar for scaled user testing. The Anima plugin allows you to build high fidelity, interactive prototypes in Figma, Adobe XD, and Sketch.

Here’s how to add Hotjar to your Figma or Adobe XD prototypes with Anima:

  1. Get started with Anima

  2. Install Anima’s plugin for Figma or Adobe XD

  3. Select Preview on the plugin to run your prototype and click Sync Project to upload your prototype to Anima’s platform (for Figma, for XD)

  4. Click Share then click Prototype link to generate a public link

  5. Copy your prototype link (i.e my-prototype.animapp.io)

  6. Signup for Hotjar

  7. Paste your prototype link

  8. Click “Add code manually,” then copy the code

  9. Go back to Anima’s plugin in your design tool and click “embed code

  10. Paste the code on the project level, so it applies to all pages

  11. Click Sync to update your prototype


    🚀 That’s it! Now you can share your animaapp.io link with anyone, then view corresponding screen recordings and heatmaps in Hotjar.


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