Channelsbeginner

Create a Web Chat widget

Create a new widget in Settings → Web Chat, name it, pick a primary language, set the welcome message and primary destination. Everything else can be configured tab by tab afterwards.

4 min read

Create a Web Chat widget

A widget is a single chat experience with its own settings — colors, primary destination, languages, embed code. You’ll typically need just one to start.

Before you start

  • A user role that can edit channel settings (Owner or Admin).
  • A team to route conversations to, or an Agent Stack ready to handle them.

Steps

  1. Open Settings → Web Chat.
  2. Click New widget.
  3. Give it a name. This is internal — used to identify the widget in the settings list. Customers never see it.
  4. Pick a primary language. This is the default language the widget renders in.
  5. Set the welcome message — the first thing visitors see when they open the widget. Keep it short and inviting.
  6. Pick the primary destination. Incoming conversations from this widget can go to a team, an Agent Stack, or no destination if the UI supports leaving it unset.
  7. Save.

The widget is created in a disabled state. You’ll need to enable it before it appears live.

Verify it worked

You should see:

  • The new widget at the top of Settings → Web Chat with its name and an enable toggle.
  • A set of tabs running across the top of the widget editor: General, Translations, Greeting, Routing, Channel Switching, Appearance, Installation.

What to do next

The minimum for a working widget is creating it, customizing the appearance to match your site, and installing the embed code. In practical order:

  1. Customize the appearance — colors, dark mode, launcher icon.
  2. (Optional) Add a pre-chat survey — name, email, custom fields.
  3. (Optional) Route to an Agent Stack — autonomous handling. This can be the widget’s primary destination, or part of a routing setup.
  4. (Optional) Set up after-hours routing — in the Routing tab, if the primary destination is a team, click + Set up after-hours routing and choose another team or an Agent Stack for conversations outside opening hours.
  5. Install the widget — paste the embed snippet on your site.
  6. Enable the widget from the list view.

Troubleshooting

  • Symptom: You don’t see a New widget button. Fix: Your role doesn’t have permission to edit channel settings. Ask an Owner or Admin in your tenant to either grant your role the permission or do the setup themselves.

  • Symptom: The team dropdown is empty. Fix: You need at least one team before a widget can route to one. Set one up in Settings → Teams, then come back.

See also

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