Step by Step Guide to Building a Hotjar API Integration in PHP

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to dive into the world of Hotjar API integration? You're in for a treat. We'll be using the detain/myadmin-hotjar-analytics package to make our lives easier. Buckle up, and let's get started!

Prerequisites

Before we jump in, make sure you've got:

• A PHP environment (you're a pro, so I'm sure you've got this covered)
• Composer installed (because who doesn't love dependency management?)
• A Hotjar account with API credentials (if you don't have one, go grab it – I'll wait)

Installation

Let's kick things off by installing our package. Fire up your terminal and run:

composer require detain/myadmin-hotjar-analytics

Easy peasy, right?

Configuration

Now, let's set up those API credentials and get our Hotjar client ready to roll.

use \Detain\MyAdminHotjar\HotjarApi;

$api = new HotjarApi('YOUR_API_KEY');

Replace 'YOUR_API_KEY' with your actual Hotjar API key, and you're good to go!

Basic Usage

Time to get our hands dirty with some basic operations.

Fetching Site Data

$siteId = 123456; // Replace with your site ID
$siteData = $api->getSite($siteId);

Retrieving Heatmaps

$heatmaps = $api->getHeatmaps($siteId);

Accessing Recordings

$recordings = $api->getRecordings($siteId);

Advanced Features

Ready to level up? Let's explore some advanced features.

Filtering and Sorting

$filteredHeatmaps = $api->getHeatmaps($siteId, [
    'date_from' => '2023-01-01',
    'date_to' => '2023-12-31',
    'sort' => 'created_desc'
]);

Handling Pagination

$page = 1;
$limit = 20;

do {
    $recordings = $api->getRecordings($siteId, ['page' => $page, 'limit' => $limit]);
    // Process recordings
    $page++;
} while (count($recordings) == $limit);

Error Handling

try {
    $data = $api->getSomeData();
} catch (\Exception $e) {
    error_log('Hotjar API Error: ' . $e->getMessage());
}

Example Implementation

Let's put it all together with a practical example – displaying heatmap data on a dashboard.

function displayHeatmapDashboard($siteId) {
    $api = new HotjarApi('YOUR_API_KEY');
    $heatmaps = $api->getHeatmaps($siteId, ['sort' => 'created_desc', 'limit' => 5]);

    echo "<h2>Latest Heatmaps</h2>";
    echo "<ul>";
    foreach ($heatmaps as $heatmap) {
        echo "<li>{$heatmap['name']} - Created on: {$heatmap['created_at']}</li>";
    }
    echo "</ul>";
}

Best Practices

• Rate Limiting: Be mindful of Hotjar's rate limits. Implement exponential backoff if you hit them.
• Caching: Cache API responses where possible to reduce API calls and improve performance.
• Security: Keep your API key secret. Use environment variables or secure vaults to store it.

Troubleshooting

Running into issues? Here are some common pitfalls:

• API Key Issues: Double-check your API key. It's always the simple things, right?
• Rate Limiting: If you're getting 429 errors, slow down those API calls, champ!
• Data Not Showing: Ensure your site ID is correct and you have data for the specified date range.

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped to integrate Hotjar's powerful analytics into your PHP projects. Remember, the detain/myadmin-hotjar-analytics package documentation is your friend for more advanced use cases.

Now go forth and analyze those heatmaps like a boss! Happy coding! 🚀