How To Add a Messenger Chat Box To Your Showit Website

If you’ve ever seen a chat window pop up on a website and think “Wow, that is so cool!” stick with me while I walk you through how to add one to your own Showit website. First, let’s walk through what a chat box is and how it can improve sales and help you book new clients through your Showit website.

What is a live chat box?

A chat box is usually one of those message icons you see in the bottom corner of a website and when you click it open, you can initiate a live conversation either with a bot or a real person.

Chat boxes are used to help answer common questions or get someone to customer support if they’re having a problem checking out. It’s becoming more common for people to expect live support or immediate answers to their questions, which makes chat boxes a great addition to most websites.

Why should I add a chat box to my website?

Depending on the type of business you have, a chat box can help you to book a new client or make a sale on your website.

Let’s imagine someone is trying to purchase a digital template through your website but they’re unsure if they’ll be able to edit the template. Instead of going to your contact page and sending you a question through your contact form, they can type their question into your website’s chat box and possibly get an immediate response back from you and – cha-ching! They complete their order ASAP because their question was answered before they had time to change their mind or be distracted and never return to your site again.

If you aren’t selling products on your website, but instead you offer a service such as coaching, training, copywriting or cosmetic services – your potential client may have some questions about your services before deciding to book you. How amazing would it be to have a real time conversation with a potential client through a messenger app on your website?

With a chat box on your website, you totally have the advantage when it comes to sales conversions and booking new clients. Imagine how without having a chat box, how many customers would just leave your website without purchasing or committing to your services.

What apps can I use to add a chat box to Showit?

There’s a few different apps you can use to add a chat box to your Showit website. Today, I’m going to focus on Facebook Messenger since it’s free and very easy to install on Showit.

Some of the reasons I prefer Facebook Instant Messenger over other chat apps is:

• FB Messenger is free to use (you just need to have an account)
• Easy to install
• Works even if the user doesn’t have a FB account
• Easy to use, check messages and respond from your smartphone
• Ability to sort and organize messages
• Option to create automated messages
• Create an away message for when you aren’t available to reply
• Customizable to match with your brand colors

How do I add Facebook Instant Messenger to my Showit website?

It’s really easy to add the Facebook Instant Messenger chat box to your Showit website, you’ll be amazed that you didn’t add it sooner! Let’s walk through the steps on how to install the chat box:

1. Go to The Meta Business Suite Page

If you don’t have Meta for your Facebook account, it’s free to sign up. You will need to have a Facebook Business Page to install the chat box.

2. Go to ‘Inbox’ In the Left Column

Choose the chat box icon in the left column navigation and then go to the gear icon along the top ⚙️, you’ll see a menu open and then choose VIEW ALL SETTINGS

3. Select ‘Chat Plugin’

Choose ‘Chat Plugin’ from the menu. Here is a where you’ll setup everything for your new chat plugin, but we still need to add it to your Showit website. Click the blue ‘Set up’ button and choose STANDARD from the list of install options. Go through the rest of the setup which includes choosing your default language and adding your domain name. Finally, copy the code that’s provided!

4. Install The Code On Your Showit Pages

In a new tab, login to your Showit account and navigate to the first page you want to add your chat box code to. Select the page and in the right column select ADVANCED SETTINGS and click into the CUSTOM HEAD HTML box.

In that box, you’ll paste the code that Facebook provided. Click save and then publish your site! Check your page on the live site and should should now see your new chat box – woo hoo! 👏🏻

Do this for all of the pages on your site where you want the chat box to appear.

Another install option is the WordPress Facebook Chat Plugin. This quickly and easily adds the chat box to all blog pages on your website (not the Showit Site Pages).

5. Customize Your Chat Box

Over on Meta, you can customize the away message, colors and auto replies for your Facebook Messenger chat box. To do this, navigate back to the page where you got the code and open the ‘Automations’ tab.

Here you can set your Away Hours, Greeting Message and also create some FAQs to help answer your customer’s questions before you hop onto a chat.

In the next tab you can customize how your chat button looks, including customizing the button colors to match your website.

Alternatives to Facebook Messenger Chat Box for Showit

If you’re not a fan of Facebook messenger and you want to explore some other options for adding a chat box to your Showit website, here are some alternatives:

1. ManyChat – Free up to 1,000 conversations
2. Tidio – Free up to 50 conversations
3. Drift
4. Chatra – Free plan with limited options
5. Olark – Free trial, $29/mo.

Conclusion

Having a messenger chat box on your website can be a really useful tool in selling products online or booking services through your website. While your website may have all of the information someone is looking for, some customers need a little reassurance before making their decision.

I hope this tutorial was helpful and that you’re able to add the Facebook Messenger chat box to your Showit website!

Have a question about this tutorial? Post it below and I’ll answer you back!