Superior customer care is a key differentiator to stand out from the fierce competition. For this reason, both small and large-scale e-commerce businesses implement effective strategies to engage their customers.
There are various tools and procedures to keep your customers engaged. Whatsapp chat is one of those tools that effectively provide an instant messaging service. It provides a wonderful channel for online businesses to reach out to their customers.
As of June 2023, there are over 200 million active users (MAU) globally every month according to the Whatsapp Business report. However, in 2020, it was reported around 50 million worldwide.
Incorporating Whatsapp Chat will immediately provide instant chats that can increase your conversion rates effectively.
This discussion will explore how to implement Whatsapp Chat in your online store.
Moreover, we will also explore the best plugin option available to implement WhatsApp chat effectively.
Keep reading and let’s dive deep into the discussion.
What Makes Whatsapp Chat Important for Online Stores?
Whatsapp Chat is the best way to transform how your customer care team interacts with your customers. It provides instant support, answers questions, and guides customers about the shopping or product details.
Let’s see what makes Whatsapp Chat a fine choice for online business:
- Provide real-time assistance to customers, enhancing their shopping experience
- Build trust and loyalty through immediate, personalized communication
- Utilize upselling and cross-selling through tailored recommendations
- Automate responses to frequently asked questions, freeing up your team for complex issues
- Share images, videos, and documents directly within the chat for better product demonstrations and support
- Keep customers engaged and connected with your brand through a familiar and convenient platform
- Position your business as a leader in customer-centric service by integrating WhatsApp chat
Ways to Integrate Whatsapp Chat in your eCommerce Store:
There are two ways in general to integrate WhatsApp Chat into Your Online Business:
- Integrating Whatsapp Chat Plugin
- Adding a WhatsApp Chat Button Manually
Integrating Whatsapp Chat through a Plugin:
The first method to integrate WhatsApp chat into your online store is through the WhatsApp chat plugin. We have hundreds of different options online.
A Whatsapp chat plugin like WooCommerce Whatsapp chat by FME Addons is a valuable tool to bypass time-consuming emails and calls. You can integrate this plugin to support your customer care team.
It has the following features to make a huge difference in your online presence:
- Offer WhatsApp Chat to Customers
- Built support team for WhatsApp Chat
- Set Support Staff availability
- Encourage chat with predefined messages
- Add a floating WhatsApp Chat Widget
- Enable floating widget for multiple pages
- Online or Offline Messages
- Position the WhatsApp Chat Widget
- Works well with the Order on WhatsApp tool
Step-by-Step Guide to Install & Configure Whatsapp Chat through Plugin:
Follow the steps of the installation guide down below:
- Download the Plugin: Download the WhatsApp Chat plugin, which will be in a .zip file format from the website
- Access WordPress Admin Panel: Navigate to the WordPress admin panel and go to the “Plugins” section
- Add New Plugin: Click on “Add New” to upload and install the plugin
- Upload the .zip File: Upload the .zip file you downloaded to proceed with the installation
- Install the Plugin: Wait for the plugin to install
- Activate the Plugin: After the installation is complete, activate the plugin
How to Manage Support Staff Accounts?
Head to WooCommerce > WhatsApp Staff in the admin panel to manage the staff accounts. You can edit, view, and trash the existing staff accounts. Now click the “Add New” button to add the new account.
For each account, you can configure the following settings:
- Add the name of the person you want to add the account
- Add the phone number of that person, like the country phone number
- Enter the job title of that person like Customer support officer, Technical support officer, Customer Relation Officer
- Specify predefined text that the customer will use to start the conversion
- Set availability like his working hours and days
- Enter an offline message for working days break and days (like Sorry; I am Offline or available after 02:00 PM
General Settings of WooCommerce Whatsapp Chat:
Head to the WooCommerce > Settings and click WhatsApp Chat for general settings in the admin panel.
Here you will find the three tabs for settings
- Staff
- Floating Button
- Widget Button
Staff:
You can choose the staff account to show and sort for your customers in the staff tab.
Floating Button:
You can customize the floating button text, label, color, etc., and apply it to specific or all the pages of your online store in this tab.
Widget Button:
This button will show only on the product page. You can change the position before and after the product summary. Or you can change it before or after the cart button. Moreover, you can also change the background color, text, and text color of the button.
Manual Method to WhatsApp Chat Button:
The second method for adding Whatsapp Chat to your online store is using manual codes. However, you have to be tech-savvy to implement this method. Otherwise, the automatic plugin method is a good option.
- Obtain Your WhatsApp Number
Make sure you have a WhatsApp Business number. If you’re using a personal number, be aware that it’s visible to anyone who clicks the button.
- Create a WhatsApp URL
WhatsApp provides a simple way to create a link that opens a chat with a specific number. The format is:
https://wa.me/<YourPhoneNumber>Replace with your full phone number in international format, omitting any zeros, brackets, or dashes. For example:
https://wa.me/15551234567- Customize the Message:
You can pre-fill a message that will appear in the chat box when the user clicks the link by adding a ?text= parameter to the URL. For example:
https://wa.me/15551234567text=Hello%20I%20have%20a%20question%20about%20your%20servicesEnsure the message text is URL-encoded (e.g., spaces become %20).
- Add the Link to Your Website
Insert the link into your website’s HTML. You can use a text link or an image/button. Here are examples of both:
<a href="https://wa.me/15551234567" target="_blank">Chat with us on WhatsApp</a>Image/Button Link Example:
- Find or create a WhatsApp icon (you can use free icons from sites like Flaticon).
- Upload the icon to your website.
- Use the HTML code to create an image link:
<a href="https://wa.me/15551234567" target="_blank">
<img src="path-to-your-icon/whatsapp-icon.png" alt="WhatsApp Chat" style="width: 50px; height: 50px;">
</a>
- Style the Button
Use CSS to style the button according to your website’s design.
.whatsapp-button {
position: fixed;
bottom: 20px;
right: 20px;
z-index: 1000;
}
.whatsapp-button img {
width: 60px;
height: 60px;
border-radius: 50%;
box-shadow: 0 4px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
}Add the Button to the HTML
<a href="https://wa.me/15551234567" target="_blank" class="whatsapp-button">
<img src="path-to-your-icon/whatsapp-icon.png" alt="WhatsApp Chat">
</a>
- Test the Button
Open your website and click the button to ensure it correctly opens a chat in WhatsApp.
- Mobile Optimization (Optional)
If your website has a significant mobile audience, make sure the button is easy to click on smaller screens.
@media only screen and (max-width: 600px) {
.whatsapp-button img {
width: 50px;
height: 50px;
}
}- Integrate with Your Website Builder (Optional)
You can add Whatsapp links or buttons using respective interfaces if you are using builders like Elementor, Squarespace, or Wix. It might provide widgets or plugins for adding social media buttons.
Best Practices for Implementing Whatsapp Chat:
Whatsapp chat is an easy way for businesses to talk to their customers. However, there are some things to remember to work well for your website.
In this list, we’ll go through easy tips to make sure your WhatsApp chats are the best they can be:
- Define clear objectives for the WhatsApp chat
- Prioritize user privacy and security
- Obtain explicit consent before adding users
- Encourage active user engagement
- Personalize interactions based on user preferences
- Implement automation tools and chatbots
- Use multimedia content to enhance communication
- Ensure compatibility across platforms
- Integrate WhatsApp chat with existing systems
- Track and analyze key metrics for insights
- Stay updated on WhatsApp policies and guidelines
- Provide training and support for staff members
Final Words:
Let’s wrap up the discussion with a final stance.
We have explained why Whatsapp chat is an important aspect of an online business. And also, how what are are best tools to implement it.
Whatsapp chat is a superior key differentiator to stay on the edge. Therefore, if you are a small or large business, it’s important for you to implement WhatsApp chat to engage your customers.
It will immediately provide instant chats that can increase your conversion rates effectively.
Whatsapp Chat is the best way to transform how your customer care team interacts with your customers. It provides instant support, answers questions, and guides customers about the shopping or product details.
Therefore, it’s time to implement WhatsApp chat for your online store and let it soar in the online world.
Keep selling.