The Online Chat module developed by PrestaShop lets you offer online chat on your store to chat with your customers. This communication tool, which has become a must-have for e-commerce stores, enables you to create a stronger bond with your customers by guiding and advising them in their direct purchases.

Below you'll find all the information you need to understand and use this module.

Configuration

The module is configured in three stages, corresponding to merchant-specific settings, online chat window display and offline management.

Merchant settings

• Enter the name of the operator you wish to display in the client-side chat window. This name will appear under the messages you send to customers.
• Click on Yes or No to activate or deactivate sounds in the back-office to alert you to a new message or conversation.
• Enter the maximum number of customers who will be able to chatter simultaneously with you. Please note that depending on your server, choosing a number higher than 15 or 20 may have a negative impact on your site's performance. We advise you to carry out various tests to find 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're not logged in, or when you've reached the maximum number of simultaneous online conversations. If you choose to disable this mode, your customers won't see any chat windows when you're offline.

Configuring the online chat window

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

• Enter the header text (i.e. the block at the top of the chat window) you wish to display (e.g. 'Hello, we're online' or 'We're available to help 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 items:

1. The header
2. Operator message boxes
3. Customer message boxes

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

Offline configuration

This step only appears if you choose to activate the offlinemode. The following information is required:

• The email to notify when a customer leaves you a message about your store when you're offline
• The header text and the bienvenutext, in the same way as for the online chat window.
• Required information in the contact form: first name, last name, email, phone number, message. You select the information you feel is important.
• The color of the header background and associated text, in the same way as for the online chat window. When you perform this operation, you can test your window's display using the preview system on the right of your screen.

Once the configuration is complete, you can go online and start chatting with your customers.

Conversation management

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

Online conversation management

Chat windows

• When a window opens with a new message, the customer's information is displayed with his ID and name if he is logged in, or with his ID guest if he does not have an account. You can reply directly to the customer. Once the message has been sent, all you have to do is wait for your customer's reply, which will appear instantly in your chat window. You can also hide the conversation (you'll find it again in the summary window, in the "Open conversations" section), minimize the window or end the conversation. If you click on "End conversation", an information message will appear asking you to confirm that you wish to end the conversation. It will then appear in completed conversations.
• Depending on the type of device you're using, you won't be able to display the same number of windows simultaneously in your back-office. On a standard computer, you can display four simultaneously. If you want to open other conversations in progress, you can either end or hide some of the current conversations before opening the new ones, or open the new conversations directly. In this second situation, the new windows will replace those already open (which will then be available in Conversations in progress).

Summary window

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

• Conversations in progress: all new or ongoing conversations are displayed in this tab.
• Finished conversations: when you finish a conversation, it appears in this tab until you log out of the chat. You can reopen a terminated conversation if you wish to resume the conversation with the customer (if they are still on your site). The conversation reopens automatically if the customer wants to ask you a question again.
• switch online / offline button: you can log in and out of the online chat at any time by clicking on the switchbutton. As soon as you log in, the online chat window appears in your store's front office, allowing your customers to chat with you. When you log out, all conversations that were in "Completed conversations" are transferred to the database and displayed in the history table (see more information below in the user documentation).

You can minimize the window by clicking on the top of it.

How offline messages work

Even when you're offline, and if you've chosen to activate the offlinemode, your customers can contact you directly from the chat window.

Front-office chat window

The chat window in offline mode appears as a form with the information you have requested in the configuration. When your customer fills in the required fields and sends you a message, you'll receive it by email, to the address you entered in the Offline configuration section.

Receive and reply to emails

In the e-mail you receive, all the information required in the form is displayed. If you have requested the customer's e-mail address, you will receive an e-mail from their e-mail address. You can then reply directly to the first e-mail. If you don't ask for the email address, you'll receive an email from your store's default email address.

Conversation history table

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

In this table, you will find the following information:

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

Several actions are available from this table:

• View the conversation: a pop-up window appears, allowing you to view the various exchanges you have had with this customer.
• Delete history: you can decide to delete one or more conversations from your history.

You can find this module on PrestaShop Marketplace! And take a look at our article on how to install a module.

⚠️This article has been translated by an automatic translation program.