How to Add Live Chat to a Weebly Site

As far as site builders go, Weebly is one of our preferred options for integrations and easy plugins, such as adding a live chat feature. Of course, you might be wondering why you should consider this, or whether you even need to consider live chat, but the short answer is absolutely yes. 

• 46% of customers prefer live chat
• 90% of customers expect online customer service
• And yet, only 9% of websites are currently using live chat tools

What does all that say? It says to us that it’s time to get your foot in the door and gain the competitive advantage by embracing live chat before it becomes just another service that everyone offers. 

Let’s make a quick distinction here: live chat is not the same as installing a chatbot. You can have a chatbot as part of your live chat tool, or they can be two separate services. A chatbot is an AI-based (Artificial Intelligence) tool that is programmed to provide select assistance and answers to your customers when you’re not available. They do have merit, of course, but they aren’t the only solution that you should offer. 

For every customer that prefers to speak to live human agent, you’ve got two or three more that would rather ask the chatbot first so that they don’t have to engage with anyone unless it’s necessary. That's why you have to look at adding live chat as a way to make your communication strategy more dynamic and robust, not as an “either/or” situation. 

Today’s consumers want convenience, easy access, and speed. They have been indoctrinated into our instant gratification society and now they aren’t willing to spend 1-2 business days waiting for an email reply. Some people won’t even spend five minutes on hold. There are people who feel that 6 hours is too long of a lapse in response time when communicating with a business. 

You're fighting an uphill battle against the demand for instant everything. When you embrace live chat, you’re making the battle that much easier for yourself and your business. And, when you partner with the right people along the way, you don’t have to do all the work on your own. 

Let’s discuss the perks of live chat and how you can install a chat widget on your Weebly site, then we’ll get more into discussing why Smith.ai’s live chat agents are the right people for the job, no matter how big or small the job might be. 

Added benefits of live chat for your business

Despite the fact that it’s keeping up with customer demands, there are still many people who want to know what else live chat can offer. Fortunately, the answer is a nearly-endless list of perks and pros that come with installing this kind of tool. When you do it right, you’ll find plenty of reasons to love it. Some of our favorite benefits of live chat include:

• Live chat widgets offer instant answers for your audience. People no longer have to wait and wonder or have time to search around among your competition to see if they can get a quicker answer. They'll find everything that they need right away, and even if that causes them not to convert, they won’t spend as much time in limbo and that’s a perk for everyone involved in the decision-making journey. 

• Adding chat allows you to increase conversions and generate more and higher-quality leads. When you have instant access to your brand, people will be less hesitant to work with you, even if they have limited information otherwise. You’ll also be able to screen out the poor leads faster through the live chat tool, saving everyone time. 

• When you offer chat as part of a dynamic online customer service portal, you’re living up to the expectations of today’s consumers. It's no longer about offering a “bonus” or something extra—people expect you to have agents available whenever they need them, and in whatever means they prefer. Thus, if you install live chat, you’re simply giving people what they demand. If nothing else, that’s a great place to start. 

• Speaking of giving people what they demand, adding chat creates the one thing consumers value more than anything else: choice. They like having the option of reaching out to brands in the method that works for them, and that’s increasingly becoming real-time tools like live chat where they can get instant answers and assistance. 

• Your brand can use live chat to gather valuable insights and data about your consumers, your business operations, and other details. No matter what you’re looking to learn, you’ll have no trouble getting all the details. Whether it’s data about the chats themselves or you use the chat to request specific feedback, you’ll gain a lot here. 

It’s ultimately about being able to improve the service experience and deliver what the consumer expects on a whole new level. Plus, when you embrace live chat and do it well, you can also build rapport, offer straightforward solutions, reduce errors and miscommunications, and even improve your onboarding and acquisitions with both clients and new team members. Live chat works because it is:

• Easy
• Accessible
• Convenient
• Always on (when you staff if properly)
• Instant
• Personal 

When you take a minute to look at the rewards that come with something like this, it’s easy to see why so many brands are starting to get on board. Of course, it’s early enough that you can still gain the competitive advantage, and especially if you choose the best chat tools and partners to help you along the way. 

Now that you have a better idea of just what you stand to gain by adding this feature to your own website, let’s get into the details of installing it when you’re building on Weebly. 

How to install live chat on your Weebly site

Ok, so we’re down to the actual installation. The good news is that it won’t take long, and if you can follow simple instructions, you’ll have no issues. Start by copying your own embed code from your chat provider to your clipboard, and then open Weebly in a new tab. 

1. Navigate to the Admin Panel and click “Edit Site”

2. Go to Settings, and then click the “SEO” tab 

3. Find the box labeled “Footer Code” and paste your embed code here

4. Click the “Publish” button located in the top right corner of the screen. 
5. Test your chat widget for functionality and to ensure the code was copied and pasted correctly. 
   

From here, you’ll be good to go. Of course, once you’ve installed the chat tool, you’ll also have to make sure that you allocate time to manage it and field the chats accordingly (or partner with someone who can). You’ll also have to think about which chat tool is going to be right for the job. 

Tips for choosing your chat tool

You may already have a few ideas of what you’re looking for when you’re in the market for a live chat tool. On the other hand, you may also just be getting started and not sure which features should be higher on your list of priorities. Fortunately, we’ve got plenty of guidelines to help you along the way. Chat tools come in all shapes and sizes, and they do one thing that is making them become such a popular tool: they connect consumers with real people instantly, no matter where in the world they might be. 

Of course, choosing a poor-quality tool is just as bad as not having chat at all, so you’ve got to do your homework. Start by considering the chat widgets and apps that offer AI and automated features to help streamline your operations. While you’ll have the chat staffed by live agents, there are aspects of its operation that you can automate, and you should always take advantage of technology when you can. 

Here are a few other pointers to help you when choosing the best chat solutions for your Weebly site:

Compatibility: You can’t use a chat tool that’s not compatible with your website. Even one that “almost works” isn’t good enough—you need software that blends seamlessly with your website and when you have a reputable tool with a solid embed code, that’s easy to do. Weebly does a good job of offering plenty of compatibility, but it’s still not guaranteed and needs to be on your list of considerations. 

Scalability: If chat goes well, you’re going to expand as a natural progression of your business. You’re not going to want to replace your software and tools at every stage of development, though. Choose a chat platform that can grow with you, including considering the other features that you may not need now, but could benefit from in the future. That way, you won’t have to start over once you outgrow your first choice. 

Usability: Of course, you’re not going to benefit from a live chat tool (or any other software) that’s not user-friendly. Your audience and agents alike need to be able to use the chat platform without much effort. The communication should be direct, and the operation of the widget should be simple and straightforward. There's no reason to complicate things here. The more user friendly, for your agents as well as your audience, the better. 

Customization: How much are you able to customize your chat widget? If you’re trying to create a lasting, cohesive brand image, you’re going to want a tool that can blend in with your website and deliver that perfect look. Look at the different customization options for things like appearance, integrations, and setting welcome or away messages, for example, to see just how you can make this chat tool fit your brand. 

AI and Automation: While you’re adding the human element here, as we mentioned, you’ll want to embrace AI where you can. Think about custom welcome messages, auto-generated away messages, and even reminders or scheduling automations that can enhance your live chat service. All of these will serve to help you provide a better experience for your customers, no matter what business you’re in. 

There are several elements that may be on your mind in choosing a chat app or widget, but these are some of the most pressing concerns to address. We've been doing this for as long as live chat has been around, and if there’s one thing we know, it’s how to help you find the best solutions. 

In fact, one of our favorite things about what we do is being your best solution for live website chat and more.

Trust your live chat to Smith.ai’s live chat agents

We love helping your brand get on board with the future of digital communications and online business. It's our goal to provide the assistance that you need to handle all kinds of admin tasks and customer-facing needs, including live website chat that’s fully staffed and available 24/7 so that you never have to worry about missing a single conversation, even if you’re otherwise engaged. 

Plus, for brands that are ready to get on board with live chat, but not quite capable of committing an in-house team or any of their own resources, outsourcing might be the way to go. Of course, when you partner with Smith.ai, you’re not just “outsourcing”-- you’re creating a dynamic partnership that will allow you to give customers a better level of service even if you’re stretched too thin to do it yourself. 

Hire us for your live chat service and we’ll include white glove setup and installation along with our chat management and answering solutions. That way, all you have to do is sit back and watch how website chat can change the face of your business and give your audience a sense of loyalty that you can’t get just anywhere. 

To learn more, schedule a consultation to discuss our live chat solutions, as well as how we can assist with things like new client intake, Facebook and SMS message answering, after-hours call answering, and much more. You can also reach us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.