FAQ

How do I install Formilla Live Chat software to my WordPress site?

Follow our WordPress Live Chat Plugin tutorial to get started.

Does Formilla Live Chat work with WooCommerce?

Yes, our live chat software easily installs with WooCommerce sites. Install and activate the plugin from within your WordPress/WooCommerce admin panel for the chat button to appear on your site.

How do I start a test chat after installing Formilla Live Chat on my WordPress site?

Watch our video tutorial to learn how.

What is the Formilla ‘Chat ID’ (or Plugin ID) under the WordPress plugin settings?

The Chat ID is the unique identifier for your particular live chat account. Your live chat widget won’t display on your WordPress website unless you have a Chat ID entered on the settings page. You will receive this ID via email upon registering with Formilla.com via the Formilla Chat link on your WordPress admin panel.

Can I specify my hours of operation or simply that I am unavailable to chat?

Yes. Start by logging in to your Formilla Live Chat account, then mouse over Settings and select Widgets from the submenu that appears. On the next page, click the edit/pencil icon under Actions for your chat widget. You can modify the hours of operation from the Widget Details tab and click Save Changes.

Will I receive an email notification when my customers contact me while I’m offline from chat?

Yes, the Email Notifications option is enabled by default for every Formilla Live Chat widget you create. Removing the email address(es) on the Widget Details tab of the live chat widget configuration page disables the feature. Alternatively, you may add additional email recipients by simply comma-separating each email address. You can respond to emails using your preferred email client, or directly from the Formilla Conversation History.

How do I setup a chat bot to automatically respond to customers?

The Formilla Helper Bot can be setup and trained to answer questions from your customers automatically. To configure a bot (paid feature add-on), you can simply mouse over Automation in the left menu, then select Helper Bots from the sub-menu that appears. At the top of the next screen, click Create Helper Bot to get started.

I’ve followed all the instructions but I still appear offline to customers. How do I go online?

If you’re using the Live Chat web interface, it behaves just like any chat client; you must login to Formilla.com (the chat client) via your WordPress Admin Panel –> Formilla Chat menu item, or directly at Formilla.com in a new browser window. Once you’ve logged in and navigated to the live chat dashboard (Dashboard from the main menu), you’re considered online and ready to accept chats. Ensure your live chat status indicator says Online in the header bar, of course. If you log off, your chat will go to offline mode. If you’re using our iPhone/Android apps instead of the live chat web interface, simply log in to the mobile app and Formilla.com will recognize you’re online and mark you as available for live chat.

How do I go offline so that customers cannot chat with me?

If you are currently not available to chat, just sign out of your Formilla Live Chat account or change your status to “Offline” from “Online” in the header bar, and you will not receive any live chats during this time. We took a very simple approach to appearing online versus offline for live chat. If you are using the Formilla Live Chat iPhone or Android app instead, simply sign out of the app, or mark yourself “Offline” from the settings tab, and Formilla.com will automatically update your availability.

Is there a way for me to deactivate my live chat momentarily without removing the plugin?

Yes. Access your WordPress admin panel and select Plugins from the left menu. Find the Formilla Live Chat plugin and click the ‘Deactivate’ link to hide the widget from your WordPress site. If you’re using either of our Premium plans, you can also hide the live chat button and widget from inside your widget settings. To do this, start by logging in to your Formilla account, then mouse over Settings and select Widgets from the submenu that appears. On the next page, click the edit/pencil icon under Actions for your chat widget. You should now be in the chat settings area, where you can select the Advanced Options tab. Simply check the box for the feature at the bottom “Hide the chat button/widget when agents are offline” and Save Changes. This will simply hide the live chat button from your WordPress site when you log out of Formilla or mark yourself as “Offline” status.

Can I proactively initiate a live chat with my customers?

Yes, we call these Smart Messages. Simply login to your Formilla account, mouse over Automation in the left menu, then choose Smart Messages from the sub-menu that appears. We normally create your first Chat Smart Message when you sign up, however, you can delete (or edit) it and create your own by clicking the Create Smart Message button and choosing Chat Message to get started. Note: only one chat Smart Message is allowed on the free Standard plan, however upgrading to either of our Premium plans gives you unlimited Smart Messages.

Can I enable an auto-responder when I don’t respond to an incoming live chat on time?

Yes. To enable this setting, start by logging in to your Formilla account, then mouse over Settings and select Widgets from the submenu that appears. On the next page, click the edit/pencil icon under Actions for your chat widget. You should now be in the chat settings area, where you can select the Advanced Options tab. Simply check the box for the feature “Enable Auto Response”, and enter your desired auto-response text in the field that appears, along with how long (for example, 60 seconds) before it should trigger. Also, be sure to Save Changes when complete. Going forward, any time a website visitor initiates a live chat conversation and you do not respond in 60 seconds, the auto-response will trigger.

Can I require my site visitors to provide their email address before starting a live chat session?

Yes. For Standard free accounts, enable this setting by logging in to your Formilla account, then mouse over Settings and select Widgets from the submenu that appears. On the next page, click the edit/pencil icon under Actions for your chat widget. You should now be in the chat settings area, where you can select the Advanced Options tab. Enable the “Require visitors to enter email before starting a chat” setting and Save Changes. If you are using either of our Premium packages, you will notice the ability to add pre-chat form fields near the top of the Advanced Options tab instead. You can add up to four fields to your live chat widget, such as First Name, Last Name, Email, a Custom field, and others. Keep in mind at least one field must be required.

Does Formilla Live Chat work with my mobile phone (e.g. iPhone, Android, etc.)?

Yes. Use our mobile apps for iPhone/iPad, or Android devices (Premium packages only) to chat from your mobile phone on the go! For those using the live chat web interface, it is currently not optimized for chat from your mobile phone.

How do I create an in-app or email message to announce a sale, market a new product or service, etc.?

To create a new in-app or email message, or to find your existing Smart Messages, just mouse over Automation and select Smart Messages from the left menu in your Formilla account. Here you can view the status of your existing messages and their performance, or simply create a new message by clicking the Create Smart Message button and choosing your desired type of message from the flydown menu. Note: to send email messages, you’ll need to ensure your email address is verified with Formilla from the Settings –> Users page, and also setup your business email with Formilla. Once you create your first Email Smart Message, you’ll notice a link at the top to configure your Custom Email Domain; simply follow the instructions on the next page to configure your DNS records properly.

My in-app message only displayed once when testing, although it will not appear again. What can I do to continue testing?

The default setting for in-app messages is to display Once after 5 seconds. With this configuration, the message will not display again. In this case, you can test with a different browser, or modify the settings from the Advanced Options to display the widget more frequently. For instance, we recommend setting the message to display Always and to set the “Display if user has already interacted with it?” option to Yes when testing. This way, you’ll continuously see the message. To find the settings mentioned, mouse over Automation and click Smart Messages from the left menu, then click the edit/pencil icon next to your in-app message to enter the settings area. Next, choose the 2nd tab called Message, and scroll down to the Edit Advanced Options accordion. Be sure to click the header of the accordion to expand it and find the settings.

Does Formilla Live Chat support Jabber or XMPP clients?

Unfortunately we no longer support 3rd party chat clients. At one point, we supported live chat via Skype and Google Talk clients, however both Microsoft and Google shut down support for 3rd party apps awhile back. We eventually retired both channels.

What happens when I choose the ‘Request Chat’ action from the visitor monitoring dashboard?

Formilla Live Chat will pop-up the live chat window to the corresponding visitor of your web site after a few seconds or on the next page load.

Can I modify the message displayed to my website visitors when I request a chat with them via the visitor monitoring page?

Yes. To do this, start by logging in to your Formilla account, then mouse over Settings and select Widgets from the submenu that appears. On the next page, click the edit/pencil icon under Actions for your chat widget. You should now be in the chat settings area, where you can select the Advanced Options tab to find the “Request Chat Text” field. Be sure to Save Changes when complete.

Is real time visitor monitoring only available to paid accounts?

Yes. Currently the real time visitor monitoring/tracking feature of Formilla Live Chat comes with our Professional package tier or higher.

Do I need to refresh the visitor monitoring page to show me the latest status of visitors/users on my web site?

No. You will see the data automatically refresh the user information every few seconds to show you the active visitors on your web site, what page they’re currently on, how long the user has been on your web site, whether they are new or returning, and more.

Can I receive an email each time a live chat conversation ends?

Yes. To enable chat transcripts, simply login to your Formilla account, mouse over Settings and select Users from the submenu that appears. Next, click the edit/pencil icon under the Actions column next to your chat agent(s), and check the “Email Me Chat Transcripts” option from the following page. Be sure to Save Changes when complete. You can also enable live chat transcripts to be sent to you at the account level. For example, let’s say you don’t respond to a live chat in time, or you want to receive all transcripts for the entire account. To do this, login to your Formilla account as the account owner (the email used to first sign up for Formilla), then click the dropdown next to your agent pic in the top right corner of the live chat dashboard, and select My Account from the submenu that appears. Next, enter an email address (or multiple comma separated) for the “Send all chat transcripts to” field, and Save Changes. Going forward, you’ll receive an email after each live chat ends.

How does the 30 chats/emails limit on the standard free live chat package work?

At the 1st of every month, the total count of chats/emails is set to 0 for all standard free live chat customers. Each chat conversation counts as 1 chat, as does every offline chat you receive. Formilla.com will send you an email once you reach 20 or more chats in a month, and another email once you’ve reached 30. Upon reaching 30 chats for a given month, the live chat widget will simply hide from your website, and reappear on the 1st of the next month.

Can I enable the desktop notifications feature with the standard (free) live chat package?

Yes. The desktop notifications feature works with the standard free live chat or premium package and can be enabled from within your Formilla.com account. Just click the Alerts bell icon in the bottom left corner of the live chat dashboard. Desktop notifications work with Firefox, Chrome, and Safari at this time.

What is the Formilla Lead Widgets app?

The Formilla Lead Widgets app gives you the ability to collect email subscribers and boost your social following. You can enable it by simply logging in to your Formilla account, then mouse over Settings from the live chat dashboard menu on the left and select My Apps from the sub-menu that appears. Next, click Add App for Formilla Lead Widgets if it isn’t added yet. Now that you’ve enabled Formilla Lead Widgets, mouse over Settings in the left menu, and choose Widgets from the submenu that appears. Next, click the Add Edge Widget button to configure your first Edge lead widget.

Does Formilla track my website visitor history and provide reports of this information?

No. While we do provide the real-time visitor monitoring feature on our Professional package tier and higher, we do not store anonymous visitor information unless someone actually initiates/responds to a live chat invitation. We typically recommend using a tool such as Google Analytics (free) for website analytics, as they do a good job storing and reporting on this information. You can view how many live chats and offline submissions you receive in a given period by logging in to your Formilla Live Chat account, then clicking the dropdown next to your agent picture in the top right corner of your account. Next, select Reports from the submenu that appears, and choose the “Total Chats & Emails” report. Here you can filter by your desired dates and click Search.

How do I remove completed chats from my live chat dashboard?

When a live chat is ended by the chat agent, or automatically after 20 minutes of inactivity, it is labeled as “Chat Completed” on the left-hand side of the live chat dashboard. Completed chats will be marked for removal one hour after the chat is ended, and they should disappear on the next dashboard page refresh. Completed chats cannot be removed manually at this time otherwise.

How do contacts get added to the Contacts section in my Formilla account?

Formilla automatically creates contacts in your account as “Leads” whenever a live chat conversation is started, or you receive a message from a website visitor while you’re offline/unavailable. We also store any information collected from the visitor via pre-chat form fields, including name, email, phone, and also their country/region, amongst other information.

What happens if I delete a Contact from the Contacts page in my Formilla account?

When deleting a contact from the Contacts section in your Formilla account, all live chat conversations, including offline chats, will also be queued for deletion. Be careful, as this process cannot be reversed and the information is permanently deleted.

How do I delete an individual live chat conversation from my Formilla account?

To delete an individual live chat conversation (as opposed to a contact and its entire history), simply mouse over Contacts in the live chat dashboard menu, then select Conversation History from the submenu that appears. From the next page, find the corresponding chat conversation and check the box to its left, and finally click the trash icon at the top of the page.

Is Formilla Live Chat compliant with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ?

Yes. Formilla has made several modifications to support the GDPR regulation that went into effect in May, 2018. If you require a Data Processing Addendum (DPA) to proceed with live chat on your website, please contact us on our website at Formilla.com.