Are you looking to add some WordPress instant chat plugins to your website? We take a look at some of the best WordPress chat plugin options available…
Most bloggers understand the benefits of taking a personal approach. Take a moment to look at your favorite blog to see what I mean. At a minimum, I bet it includes a contact form, email address, and social media profile links , am I right?
However, if you want to enhance the personal touch, nothing beats instant conversation.
Live chat enables you to provide exceptional customer service by promptly resolving customer issues. It can lead to more conversions too, as you can respond to sales inquiries in real time, eliminate buyer friction, and provide a reassuring human presence until customers are ready to withdraw their wallets.
8 Best instant chat plugins
If you want to know how to add live chat to your WordPress site, read on. Today, I am going to introduce you to eight of the best WordPress IM plugins
- LiveChat
- Sendinblue
- Olark
- Zendesk Chat
- Tidio Live Chat
- Live Chat Unlimited
- Formilla Live Chat
- Pure Cat
The best instant chat plugins
LiveChat
LiveChat is a very useful live chat solution that – as the name suggests – is designed to give everyone in the photo something really easy to use. This applies to both visitors/customers of your website and you (your agents).
On the client side, LiveChat greets people with a cute chat box at the bottom of the page. This box always remains in sight and can be accessed with just one click. Then, after the conversation is over, your clients can leave feedback and rate their experience with your agent. They can also give you a shout out on social media through the share buttons built into the chat box itself.
However, LiveChat really shines is the amount of great features it provides to you and its support customers.
- For example, you can engage customers directly (instead of waiting for them to contact you). By taking the first step toward the conversation, you increase the likelihood of the customer coming out with a positive experience.
- You can customize the chat window.
- You can control all conversations from one dashboard – even if you set LiveChat on more than one site.
- Each interaction with customers is marked with colored circles indicating how long the person is waiting (this allows you to interact faster).
- You get the full history of past chats.
LiveChat’s WordPress plugin allows you to easily integrate your site with its solution. The chat window is also friendly and simple. But be aware that prices may vary based on the number of agents on your team.
Sendinblue
sendinblue is a WordPress live chat plugin in its own right, but it’s still easy to integrate with your site though. You basically get a simple embed code that you can put in the footer of your site (which can be done via the WordPress Customizer ).
Sendinblue lets you:
- Send newsletters and broadcasts via email
- Set up email marketing automation
- Send an email via SMTP at Sendinblue
- Set up and manage Facebook ads
- Building landing pages
- Send SMS messages
- And yes, you guessed it, use live chat
Olark
Olark is a full-featured live chat add-on. While it is not a perfect example of a WordPress live chat plugin per se, it can be easily integrated with your WordPress website through an easy to use widget.
Most importantly, Olark really offers a lot…with many very advanced features:
- First, you get chat reports – you can track chat frequency, operator response, and customer satisfaction.
- There is CRM integration – with Salesforce, Highrise, Nutshell, and many more CRMs.
- You can set rules to hide and show the chat box, send messages automatically, and assign chats to specific sections.
- Help desk integration – with Groove, Desk.com, Zendesk, and more.
- You can group operators by team, such as sales team and support team.
- You can search the chat history and the detailed transcripts of the conversations.
- See what visitors have in their shopping carts to provide more informed answers and close sales faster.
- White Label Feature – Olark brand removed.
Zendesk Chat
Zendesk Chat is one of the most popular live chat services available for WordPress users. It is easily installed thanks to a dedicated WordPress plugin that is freely available from the official repository. Zopim chat boxes are among the most elegant you will find, with beautiful and customizable layouts and themes.
To respond to visitor messages, simply access the external Zopim Dashboard – if you want to access chats on the go, you can install a dedicated Android or iPhone app as well. The dashboard is packed with biometrics that allows you to review chat performance, track chat history, and learn about your visitors in real time.
Tidio Live Chat
Tidio Live Chat is one of the easiest live chat components to run – just activate the plugin, and you’re good to go. Chat boxes come in three designs whose colors can be fully customized to suit your brand.
Chats are handled from the Tidio Chat tab , which is accessed directly from your WordPress dashboard. You can also manage chats by installing a dedicated desktop, iOS, or Android app.
Live Chat Unlimited
Chats are handled entirely from the WordPress dashboard – ideal if you spend most of the day logged in. Chat boxes are simple but effective, with two colors that you can customize.
Formilla Live Chat
Formilla is an excellent and free instant messaging solution. If your website has modest traffic numbers, you can try Formilla for free – the free package allows for one proxy, one simultaneous chat, and up to 30 total chats/month, all handled via Formilla’s custom interface.
For those looking for live chat plugins that can handle the volume, 30 chats/month won’t be enough for everyone, so most of you will need to upgrade. For a single agent that handles unlimited chats, you will have to pay $11.99 per month.
Pure Cat
Pure Chat is one of my favorite instant chatting plugin because of the beautiful chat boxes it builds. Any part of the chat box can be customized with unlimited colors, attractive animations and custom images available.