Why you should add Live Chat to your website and how to do it for free

According to research conducted by Microsoft, the average human now has an attention span of eight seconds. Users expect pages to load instantly and won't stick around if they can't find the information they need quickly. While website users are becoming more demanding, they're also increasingly reluctant to submit enquiries online or sign up to newsletters. So how can live chat help your website retain the attention of an audience with an ever decreasing attention span? Let's first understand what live chat is.

Understanding live chat

Live chat is a simple feature that you can add to your website quickly and easily. It appears as a chat box, normally positioned at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. It gives users the ability the have a conversation with you or your team in real time through typed messages, much like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. What's more, if there's no-one available from your company to speak to website users, you can even choose whether the live chat feature will be shown or hidden from users.

If you're still in two minds as to whether your website needs a live chat function, let's first understand the role convenience plays in the customer's journey.

Adding the ability to talk to customers

It goes without saying that all websites should offer compelling content to users. However, there may be situations where a customer has a particular question about your product or service and they want to ask to a real person; there's nothing more infuriating to a website user than being ready to submit an enquiry or ready to buy but not having the ability to have questions quickly answered. This is where live chat can work well. Not only can it increase your website conversions, but it also allows you to have a real conversation with potential customers.

Although live chat is not a new phenomenon, many companies are yet to introduce the feature on their website, leaving room for you to gain an advantage over your competitors and win favour and trust with potential customers.

What free live chat services are available?

At Evolve websites, there are two free live chat tools that we recommend:

tawk.to

The first is tawk.to. It's an entirely free service that allows you to add a live chat feature to your website. This can then be managed through an online dashboard or using the free app on your phone. Best of all, you can easily control when this is displayed on your website so that it's only offered when you're available to take questions.

Facebook Customer Chat Plugin

The second option is the Facebook Customer Chat Plugin. The plugin is still in beta at the moment (meaning it's available to use but they may still be ironing out any final bugs and issues). This will appear 24/7 on your website but does give users a way to chat with you in a way that they're familiar with (i.e. Facebook messenger).

Whichever option you go with, both can work well to improve the number of leads your website generates. As always, if you have any questions or need any help, feel free to give me a call on 01264 735333 or drop me an email.