Stop asking users for 'steps to reproduce'. just watch their session break in real time

Source: Dev.to

The Problem

The absolute worst message you can get from a user is “the checkout is broken” with zero additional context—no browser info, no console logs, nothing. You end up staring at GA4 trying to figure out where the drop‑off happened, but aggregate data is completely useless for debugging a frontend issue. You can’t see if it was an API timeout, a hidden element, or just a user doing something weird.

We faced this exact headache a few weeks ago: users were bouncing on the pricing page and we had no idea why.

Our Approach

Instead of guessing, we started using session recordings combined with error tracking. By watching the playbacks of users getting stuck, we saw exactly what was triggered. It turned out to be a clunky layout bug on specific mobile viewports that we had missed. We fixed it in 10 minutes and conversions went up.

Introducing Zenovay

This is why we built Zenovay. In the sidebar we placed “Errors” and “Sessions” right next to each other. The goal is to stop switching between an analytics tool, a heatmap tool, and an error‑monitoring tool.

We wanted a simple dashboard where you see an error spike, click it, and watch the exact session of the user who triggered it.

How You Can Help

We’re a tiny bootstrapped team of developers building an alternative to the massive Google monopoly. We have fewer than 200 users and are looking for honest feedback from other devs.

We offer a free tier that gives you core tracking. If you’re willing to drop our script into a side project and test the error tracking and session replays, let us know. We’ll happily upgrade your account to the Pro plan for a few months in exchange for constructive feedback on our UI and workflow.

This isn’t about self‑promotion; it’s about taking on monopoly power and building a tool that actually saves developers time. We’re grateful for any feedback.