WordPress live chat is an instant messaging feature that allows businesses to communicate with customers in real time. A WordPress live chat plugin streamlines communication throughout the buyer’s journey, from answering pre-sale questions to providing after-sales support.
Seamless communication is critical for building your brand reputation, which I’m sure you already know! But did you know you can choose from hundreds of WordPress live chat plugins that offer similar features? So, the question is, what is the best live chat plugin for WordPress, and how do you find it?
In this article, we will explore the 7 best WordPress live chat plugins and highlight their key features to help you find the right one for your business. But first, let’s walk you through the fundamentals of WP live chat plugins and learn why you need one.
What is a WordPress Live Chat Plugin?
A WP live chat plugin allows business owners, marketers, and sales and support teams to communicate with customers and website visitors in real-time. Live chat plugins are generally installed with marketing platforms, chatbots, CRM, knowledge bases, etc. You can integrate pre-built WP live chat plugins manually or use a custom chatbox depending on your coding expertise and appetite for customization.
Benefits of Adding a Live Chat Plugin to Your Website
Here are the top five benefits of adding a live chat WordPress plugin to your website.
Enhance the User Experience
Your customers love quick responses and resolutions. WordPress live chat efficiently delivers a better user experience by letting you answer questions in real-time.
Increase Customer Acquisition and Engagement
By replying quickly or simply letting website visitors know that you’re available if they need assistance, you are building trust. Hence, live chat improves customer engagement and streamlines acquisition.
Gain Customer Loyalty
When your customers know you’re around to help them out of a problem, they are more likely to buy from you than competitors. You can capitalize on the opportunity with personalized messages, quick replies, and authentic solutions.
Boost Customer Conversion
You can effectively shorten the buyer’s journey by guiding potential customers down the sales funnel and promptly addressing their queries from the time they land on your website. This can significantly improve conversion rates.
Provide Better Customer Support
Live chat is the most productive customer support channel, as it helps you address customers’ queries more quickly than traditional communication channels, such as email and voice calls.
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Top 7 WordPress Live Chat Plugins
These are our 7 favorite WordPress live chat plugins, in no particular order. Each tool offers unique benefits, values, and features. Compare the highlights carefully and choose a plugin that best suits your requirements.
Zendesk – Flexible WP Live Chat Plugin
Zendesk’s widget is the best live chat for WordPress. The plugin offers several smart features, such as AI agents, pre-defined macro responses, action-based prompts, and more. For example, say a customer is stuck on the checkout page. Zendesk’s smart live chat plugin will autonomously notify a service agent and initiate a live chat with the distressed customer. This feature streamlines the customer’s journey, influencing them to buy from you again.
Key Features
- Dynamic Chat Support: Action-based triggers notify service executives when a customer has met a preset condition, such as spending a certain amount of time on a product page. Your agents can initiate a live chat to offer support, resolve problems, and provide a superior user experience.
- Integrated Service Dashboard: Access all your customer data and conversations on an integrated dashboard. Service agents can seamlessly toggle communication channels and deliver a holistic user experience with Zendesk.
- Real-time Performance Analysis: Track user engagement, conversion, agent performance, and other key metrics, identify areas for improvement and fine-tune strategies for better customer engagement.
PROS
- Live chat integrates seamlessly with the Zendesk product suite
- The plugin packs intuitive features like behavioral triggers, file sending, conversion ratings, and live visitor monitoring.
- Zendesk live chat is affordable and offers more value than its rivals.
CONS
- The widget does not offer AI chatbots out of the box. However, you can integrate a custom chatbox using the Zendesk API.
LiveChat – Best Live Chat Plugin for E-commerce
LiveChat’s WP plugin is a simple, accessible, and efficient way of communicating with customers. It is compatible with most WordPress site builders and e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Shopify, and more. You can personalize the widget with your brand colors and add photos of team members so customers know who they are talking to.
Key Features
- Unified Dashboard: LiveChat provides a unified dashboard for monitoring customer interactions across various channels. Track all communications in a single dashboard for enhanced efficiency and productivity.
- Mobile Application: LiveChat offers a web-based platform and Android and iOS applications for managing chats and providing customer service on the go.
- Data Protection: Customer data is secured with cutting-edge end-to-end encryption, enabling you to assign and manage team members’ access levels independently. You can also store chat records to comply with regulatory norms.
PROS
- The intuitive and user-friendly interface is easy to navigate and saves time while training new employees.
- LiveChat’s helpdesk is available 24/7, and the trained service agents quickly resolve problems encountered with the widget.
CONS
- High enterprise pricing makes it difficult for SMEs to justify using LiveChat when cheaper alternatives are available.
Tawk.to – Best Free Live Chat Plugin for WordPress
Tawk.to is a free WordPress live chat plugin offering useful features like a customizable chat window and real-time typing view. While the feature list is limited, Tawk is reliable and free, making it the top choice for SMEs.
Key Features
- Localize Messages: Tawk supports over 45 regional languages, enabling businesses to interact with customers in their local dialect.
- Analyze Performance: Monitor live website traffic and receive personalized insights based on customers’ browsing habits.
- Respond Quickly: Provide quick and consistent support with handy shortcuts and a built-in Knowledge Base.
PROS
- Completely free for life
- It has a simple and user-friendly interface
- Offers all the essential features that you need to talk to customers
CONS
- You need to purchase an add-on to remove the Tawk.to branding.
Olark – Accessible Live Chat Plugin for WordPress
Olark’s live chat WordPress plugin offers the perfect blend of simplicity and sophistication. The widget is customizable and easy to install and allows you to create workflows, save transcripts, and customize without professional guidance. Gather real-time data on agent performance, track visitor activity, and set up macro responses to accelerate client communication.
Key Features
- Compatible API: The WordPress live chat plugin can easily integrate with all the top CRM and email marketing software, streamlining workflow.
- Localize Communication: You can set live chat preferences to localize all communications in the visitor’s local language.
- Integrated Analytics: Track real-time customer conversion and retention insights, monitor customer activities, and generate personalized chat transcripts.
PROS
- Efficient team management with the ability to segment members into departments, assign chat limits, and more.
- Olark’s customizable chat widget offers total control, allowing businesses to deliver a superior user experience.
- The live chat widget can be easily integrated with all the top CMS and CRM platforms.
CONS
- Communication is limited to live chat.
HubSpot – Best Live Chat for WordPress Overall
HubSpot’s free live chat plugin for WordPress helps businesses engage customers with AI chatbots and service agents. View past interactions, find products or services customers love, and initiate one-on-one conversations with clients for a personalized user experience. You can manage and segment new leads, track customer behavior, and save automated replies to reduce response times.
Key Features
- Comprehensive Free Plugin: HubSpot’s free plan includes holistic benefits, such as email and live chat, automation, and CRM to accelerate customer service. You need one tool to answer common questions, qualify leads, and route visitors to the next stage in the sales funnel.
- Simple User Interface: The platform is easy to use and provides straightforward instructions for setting up your dashboard. The layout is well-organized and accessible and accentuates your overall user experience.
- Easy Integration: HubSpot’s free live chat plugin for WordPress is compatible with all the top marketing platforms. This streamlines workflow and simplifies data management for businesses.
PROS
- Accessible and easy-to-use interface, which is perfect for first-time users.
- Respond to all conversations from a single inbox.
CONS
- A limited number of chatbot features.
Tidio – Best Chat Plugin for WordPress Integrations
Tidio’s WP live chat plugin is easy to install, mobile-friendly, and supports email and Facebook Messenger. The widget includes an AI chatbot to segregate customer requests and assign the best service agent for each query. One of Tidio’s highlights is the incoming visitor notification, which enables service executives to respond to queries immediately, drastically reducing response times. You can customize the chatbot to represent your brand using the drag-and-drop builder. This free live chat plugin for WordPress gives you access to several exciting features, like website analytics and unlimited operator seats.
Key Features
- Unified Communication: Manage all communication channels, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email, and live chat on a unified dashboard.
- Minimize Response Delays: Send automated replies to common questions within seconds. The widget shows what customers are typing in real-time before hitting the send button, enabling service agents to prepare an answer before receiving the query.
- Universal Compatibility: The Tidio WP plugin helps you engage customers from desktops and mobile apps, no matter where you are.
PROS
- You can monitor all user interactions in a single dashboard
- Tidio offers a huge selection of smart chatbots that can be customized to handle a high volume of queries, making it ideal for e-commerce websites.
CONS
- You cannot manage client chats via WhatsApp, Messenger, Twitter or Instagram.
JivoChat – Best WP Live Chat Plugin for Local Businesses
JivoChat is an intuitive WordPress live chat plugin that effectively streamlines multi-channel communication. You can interact with customers over the phone, via email, live chat, and social media from a unified dashboard. JivoChat also offers advanced features, such as transferring chats to service agents experienced in a particular subject, inviting additional agents to solve complex problems, and tracking user activity on the website.
Key Features
- Comprehensive CRM: JivoChat offers an all-in-one dashboard for effectively managing new leads, persuading customers, and closing deals. The widget offers intuitive features like project pipelines, tasks, and client profiles for efficient customer segmentation and better service.
- Affordable Pricing: The top-of-the-line Enterprise package is available for just $38/month, a bargain compared to some of its rivals. The pro plan offers the most value to SMEs at just $19/month, while the free plan supports live chat and Messenger.
- Unified Communication: JivoChat integrates messages from multiple channels, such as live chat, Messenger, email, WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, etc., into a single dashboard for effective communication.
PROS
- Provides multi-channel integrations, including WhatsApp, Messenger, etc.
- You can see what the customer is typing in real-time, helping you save time by answering quickly.
CONS
- Customers often complain of slow and unreliable service after updates.
Conclusion
Live chat enables modern businesses to guide customers through the sales funnel, from educating potential clients during the learning phase to offering impeccable after-sales support. We have highlighted the key features of the best WordPress live chat plugins to help you make an informed decision.
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FAQ
Does WordPress have a live chat?
WordPress does not have a built-in live chat plugin, which is why you must integrate a third-party widget to communicate with website visitors in real-time.
What is the best live chat plugin for WordPress?
This question has no singular answer, as the best plugin depends on your requirements and situation. For example, Tawk.to is the best free live chat plugin, while HubSpot is the best overall, as it conveniently offers many solutions in one place.
How do I Integrate third-party live chat plugins with WordPress?
Adding a live chat widget to your WordPress page is pretty straightforward. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you install your preferred WP live chat plugin.
Step 1: Navigate to the plugins section of your WP dashboard
Step 2: Click the Add New button
Step 3: Search for your preferred live chat plugin and click Install Now
Step 4: Once the plugin is installed, click Activate and customize the widget
How many active agents can I have with a free live chat plugin?
Most free live chat plugins offer between 1 and 3 active agents. However, Tidio offers unlimited seats with a maximum of 50 handled conversations per month.
How Much Money Should I Ideally Spend on a WordPress Live Chat Plugin?
The amount of money you should invest in a WP plugin depends on your requirements. Most CRM platforms offer free live chat to premium customers. Find a comprehensive package that includes live chat.
