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Set up the chat widget

The chat widget lets visitors write to you from any page of your site. Its settings are in Settings → Chat widget. Cliedesk Admins and Owners can change them (Manage settings). For colour, logo and where the widget shows, see Email, chat and forms. For what visitors see in a chat, see Chats with visitors.

Turn the widget on

Select Show the chat widget on this website. The widget then appears on your site by itself; you add no code. It loads after the page, so it does not slow the page down. A guest’s chat stays after a page reload and comes back when they visit again. Agent replies show in the widget. Internal notes never do.

To show the widget on another website, copy the Embed code for other websites and add that site under Other websites that may show the widget (for example shop.example.com, *.example.com).

Spaces and Home cards

Under Spaces and Home cards, choose the Spaces: Home (always there), Messages (the visitor’s conversations) and Help (a search of your public help articles). Opens on sets the space the widget opens on. With more than one space, the widget shows tabs.

Home cards show on Home. Select Add a card and pick Start a conversation, Article search, Link or Text. For each card, Shown to is Everyone, Guests or Signed-in visitors. Use the arrows to change the order. There is no limit on the number of cards.

Mode per page

Under Mode per page, select Add a page rule. Enter text in Page address contains (a * matches anything) and pick what the widget Opens on:

  • Search first: an article search. After a search the visitor sees Still need help? Send us a message.
  • Form first: the request form of a conversation type (enter its key in Form (type key)).

The first matching rule wins. “Ask first” with AI and “call first” are available with Cliedesk Pro.

Who can start conversations

  • New conversations in the widget: Everyone, Signed-in customers only or Nobody (help only).
  • Search the help center before the message button appears.
  • One open conversation per customer: new messages join it. A new widget message or email joins the customer’s open conversation for the same product. Only if it was active in the last (days) limits this (30 by default).
  • Help only on checkout and order received pages (no Home cards): on by default. With WooCommerce, a message sent from checkout also stores the checkout step and the payment error the page showed. Agents see both above the page details in the conversation.
  • Reopen an open chat if it was active in the last (hours, 0: always open on home): 24 by default. After that quiet time the widget opens on Home. The conversation is still in Messages.

Opening hours and away messages

Live chat sets when visitors can chat:

  • Always on.
  • While an agent is online; otherwise visitors leave a message.
  • During business hours; outside them visitors leave a message.
  • Off; visitors leave a message and get the answer by email.

While you are away, the widget says We’re away right now. We’re back … with the next opening time in the visitor’s time zone. The visitor picks a topic from Topics for messages left while away (up to 8), writes a message and must give an email. The topic becomes the subject. They get one confirmation email, and their answer to it joins the same conversation.

Reply promise is the text that shows during business hours while someone on the team is online. With everyone offline, no promise shows. When you set your own status to away and nobody else is online, Cliedesk warns you.

Texts and languages

Under Texts and languages, pick a Language and change any widget text. Empty fields keep the built-in text. On your own site the widget uses the page language (WPML and Polylang switch it). On other websites it uses the browser language, or the same base language, or your default. A missing text falls back to the default language, then to the built-in translation. Writing texts with AI is available with Cliedesk Pro.

Security

  • Only your site and the websites you list can start a widget session.
  • Each visitor IP can make a limited number of widget calls a minute (setting widget.rate_per_minute, 60).
  • When the widget is off, its API is off too.
  • In strict or under-attack mode with a bot check set, a chat starts only after the check. See Security and privacy.