how do i add live chat without hiring someone to watch it

web · 2026-10-08 · 3 min

live chat is a small script that puts a bubble in the corner and connects it to a dashboard someone has to watch. the software is not the hard part. the hard part is deciding who answers, in which hours, and what happens when nobody does. an unanswered chat is worse than no chat at all.

the cheapest version is a whatsapp link

before paying for software, try a link: a button that opens wa.me with your number and a prefilled message. it costs nothing, it works on every phone, and it sets the right expectation, because whatsapp is a place where people already accept a delay. the trade-off is that the conversation lives on a phone rather than in a crm, and on desktop it asks the visitor to scan a qr code.

the real widgets

crisp, tawk.to and tidio have free or cheap plans and install with one script tag. intercom and drift are built for sales teams and priced accordingly. all of them load javascript on every page, which costs performance, and most set cookies, which in the eu means consent before the script runs. the clean way is to load the widget only after the visitor accepts, or only on the pages where a question is likely.

decide the human side first

write down who is on duty, from when to when, and what happens outside those hours: a form, an email address, a promise of the next morning. a chat that says we are online and answers after two days is a credibility problem. if you are one person, set the widget to offline by default and turn it on when you are actually at the desk.

faq

does live chat increase sales?

it removes friction for people who have one specific question before buying. that is real, but it is not automatic: it depends on answering fast. if you cannot answer within a few minutes during work hours, a form and a phone number will do more.

is whatsapp enough instead of a widget?

for a small business, often yes. it is where customers already are, it needs no consent banner, and it does not slow the site. the limit is that nothing is archived in a shared place, so if two people answer, the history lives on two phones.

what about privacy?

a chat stores the message and usually the ip address, so it belongs in your privacy policy and needs a legal basis. the simplest route is a widget that loads only after consent, or a whatsapp link, which leaves the site entirely when clicked.