Online Chat

The Online Chat module developed by PrestaShop allows you to offer online chat on your store to communicate with your customers. This communication tool, which has become essential for e-commerce stores, enables you to create a stronger connection with your customers by guiding and advising them in their purchases in real-time.

Below you will find all the necessary information for understanding and using this module.

Configuration

The configuration of the module consists of three steps, corresponding to the settings specific to the merchant, the display of the online chat window, as well as the management of the 'offline' status.

Merchant Settings

• Please provide the name of the operator that you wish to display in the client-side chat window. This name will appear under the messages you send to clients.
• Click on Yes or No to enable or disable sounds in the back office notifying of a new message or a new conversation.
• Please specify the maximum number of clients who will be able to chat simultaneously with you. Please note that depending on your server, choosing a number greater than 15 or 20 may negatively impact the performance of your site. We advise you to conduct various tests in order to determine the most suitable number for your store.
• Finally, activate or deactivate Offline mode. If you choose to activate it, this means that your customers will see a chat window with a contact form when you are not online or when you have reached the maximum number of simultaneous online conversations. In the event that you choose to deactivate this mode, your customers will not see any conversation window when you are offline.

Configuration of the online chat window

This configuration step concerns the front-office display of your online chat window:

• Please provide the header text (that is, the block at the top of the chat window) that you wish to display (e.g., 'Hello, we are online' or 'We are available to assist you', etc.) as well as the welcome text that will appear at the top of the window, above the first messages of the conversation.

• Choose the background and text colors for the following elements:

1. The header
2. The operator's message boxes
3. The clients' message boxes

When you perform this operation, you can test the display of your window using the preview system on the right side of your screen.

Offline configuration

This step only appears if you choose to enable offline mode. The following elements must then be provided:

• The email to be notified when a customer leaves you a message on your store while you are offline.
• The header text and the welcome text, in the same manner as for the online chat window.
• The requested and mandatory information in the contact form: first name, last name, email, phone number, message. You choose the information that seems important to you.
• The background color of the header as well as the color of the associated text, in the same way as for the online chat window. When you perform this operation, you can test the display of your window using the preview system on the right side of your screen.

Once the configuration is complete, you may then go online and begin conversing with your clients.

Conversation Management

You can manage conversations with your clients in two ways: by being connected to the chat and thus present during the conversation, or by being disconnected and therefore asynchronously.

Online Conversation Management

Chat windows

• When a window opens with a new message, the client's information is displayed along with their ID and name if they are logged in, or with their guest ID if they do not have an account. You have the option to respond directly to the client. Once the message is sent, you simply need to wait for the client's response, which will be displayed instantly in your chat window. You may also hide the conversation (you will be able to find it in the summary window, under the "Open Conversations" section), minimize the window, or even end the conversation. If you click on "End the conversation," an informational message will appear asking you to confirm that you wish to end the conversation. It will then appear in the completed conversations.
• Depending on the type of device you are using, you may not be able to display the same number of windows simultaneously in your back office. On a standard computer, you will be able to display four simultaneously. In the event that you wish to open additional ongoing conversations, you may either first conclude some ongoing conversations or hide them before opening the new ones, or you may directly open the new conversations. In this second situation, the new windows will replace already open windows (which will then be available in Ongoing Conversations).

Summary Window

When you are logged in, a summary window will always be displayed in the bottom right corner of your back office. This window presents and summarizes the following information:

• Ongoing conversations: all new or ongoing conversations are displayed in this tab.
• Completed conversations: when you finish a conversation, it will appear in this tab until you log out of the chat. You may reopen a concluded conversation if you wish to resume the discussion with the client (if they are still on your site). The conversation automatically reopens if the client wishes to ask you a question again.
• Online / offline switch button: you can connect and disconnect from the online chat at any time by clicking on the switch button. As soon as you connect, the online chat window appears on the front office of your store, and your clients can then chat with you. When you log out, all conversations that were in "Completed Conversations" are transferred to the database and are then displayed in the history table (see more information below in the user documentation).

You have the option to minimize the window by clicking on the top of it.

Functioning of offline messages

Even when you are logged out, and if you have chosen to enable offline mode, your clients are able to contact you directly from the chat window.

Chat window in the front office

The chat window in offline mode appears as a form with the information you specified in the configuration. When your client fills in the required fields and sends you a message, you receive it by email at the address you provided in the offline configuration section.

Receiving emails and responses

In the email you receive, all the information required in the form is displayed. If you have requested the client's email, you will receive an email from their email address. You can then directly reply to them following the first email. In the event that you do not request the email address, you will receive an email from the default email address of your store.

Conversation History Table

At any time, you can find the online conversations you have previously archived in a conversation history table. These can be found in the Online Chat tab, under the Conversation History sub-tab, at the bottom left of the vertical menu.

In this table, you will find the following information:

• Client ID and name (or guest ID if the person was not logged in)
• Date and time of the last message
• Last message from the client
• Email and phone number (this information is displayed only if the person has an account and was logged in at the time of the discussion)

From this table, several actions are available:

• View the conversation: a pop-up appears and allows you to see the various exchanges you have had with this client.
• Delete history: you can choose to delete one or more conversations from your history.

Find this module on the PrestaShop Marketplace! And let yourself be guided by our article on module installation.