13 WordPress Plugins for Customer Support

The Knowledge Base for Documentation and FAQ is a plugin that is easy for users to navigate and allows them to post helpful information for their customers. It provides the ability to organize your documents by team, product, and service. Additionally, it offers five levels of hierarchical documentation and a table of contents for easy reference. With the setup wizard, users can choose from 26 predefined themes and sidebars to customize their documentation. They also have access to 500 custom icons or the option to upload their own. The plugin is available for free with the Basic version, and for those seeking additional features, there are premium add-ons available starting at $46 for the first year and $23 for subsequent renewals.

JS Help Desk is a ticketing system that provides a free plan as well as premium add-ons. It offers various options such as Open Tickets, Close Tickets, Answered Tickets, Overdue Tickets, and All Tickets. Tickets can be conveniently searched and sorted based on priorities, date, and title. Users can generate an unlimited number of tickets. JS Help Desk also includes different layouts and customizable email templates. The pricing options include a free Basic plan, while premium add-ons begin at $69 per year.

SupportCandy offers a comprehensive ticketing system for your WordPress website where you have the flexibility to create numerous agents. These agents can conveniently access tickets along with users, allowing for an efficient division of workload when responding to inquiries. Additionally, users are not required to create an account in order to initiate a ticket. The system also supports file attachments to tickets, including custom fields for various attachment types. Notably, the Basic plan is free, while Premium add-ons begin at a price of $49 per year.

bbPress is a type of forum software developed by the makers of WordPress. This basic chat platform is capable of accommodating an expanding community. bbPress prioritizes ease of use, adaptability, seamless integration with WordPress, adherence to web standards, and fast performance. It does not require payment.

KB Support is a support system that includes a knowledge base to assist customers in finding answers while submitting tickets, thereby reducing the number of inquiries. It offers convenient management and customization of submission forms. Customers can create and manage support tickets without needing an account. It also permits the addition and assignment of agents to different departments, while allowing tracking of their status (online or offline). The pricing options include a free Basic plan, with Premium extensions available starting at $74 per year.

Awesome Support is a plugin for help desk and support-ticketing. Tickets are submitted by users on the front-end, and agents respond on the WordPress back-end. Notifications for user actions can be customized through email. Support can be provided for numerous products, and product lists can be synchronized with popular ecommerce platforms. Multiple agents have the ability to work on the same ticket, and tickets can be transferred between agents. Tickets can be tagged, filtered, and tracked. Additionally, tickets can be imported from Zendesk, Help Scout, and Ticksy. The pricing for Awesome Support starts with a free Basic version, and premium bundles are available starting at $149 per year.

Richpanel combines three services into a single platform, including omnichannel helpdesk and ticketing, integrated ecommerce self-service, and live chat and messaging. By integrating with WooCommerce, users can access complete customer profiles. Additionally, the platform allows for the creation of guided self-service workflows to automate common support scenarios. With the use of modern live chat, collaboration among support teams can be enhanced to reduce resolution time. Agent performance can be tracked through customer feedback, response times, and conversions. The platform also enables the measurement of the impact of different agents on sales and long-term customer relationships. Reporting can be filtered by tags, channel (live chat, email, social), and agents. The starting price for plans is $99 per month.

Olark is a live-chat application that allows you to interact and support customers during their purchasing process. It offers features such as automated greetings, personalized messages based on visitor behavior, chat routing to specific departments, chatbox visibility control, and more. Additionally, it offers detailed reports on live chat metrics like volume, customer satisfaction, and agent activity. With Olark, you have complete access to your chat history archive and a user-friendly interface for searching, sorting, and filtering. The pricing for Olark starts at $29 per month.

Tawk.To Live Chat is a tool that is available for free and allows you to monitor and chat with visitors on your WordPress site. Tawk.To provides free apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS, or you can also log in using any modern browser. By monitoring visitors in real-time, you can gain valuable insight. The price for this tool is free.

weDocs is a tool that enables the creation of visually-appealing documentation for your products or company. It allows for hosting documents, organizing them using tags, and the option to retrieve documents from external websites. The cost of using weDocs is zero.

Help Scout offers a convenient plugin that allows you to include a contact form on your website. This contact form sends inquiries directly to the Help Scout customer support platform. Additionally, you have the option to include a Help Scout Beacon for live-chat customer support. Help Scout seamlessly integrates with WooCommerce, WP eCommerce, and Easy Digital Downloads. Furthermore, you can easily embed a conversation into any post or page by using a shortcode. The plugin is available for free, while the Pro version starts at $49.99.

You can integrate a Zendesk help desk into your site using Zendesk Support. By adding the Zendesk Support Web Widget to any web page, users can search your knowledge base, chat with an agent, or submit a ticket. With a two-field contact form, visitors can submit questions or issues conveniently. Gain complete access to views, tickets, and comments from your dashboard. Pricing begins at $49 per month.

Benefits of Having a Chat Plugin on Your WordPress Website

Convenience

Online chats offer convenience as users do not have to travel to the service provider’s location like they would for phone calls. They can initiate communication from anywhere and at any time. Chatting serves as the optimal and simplest choice for both personal and business contacts.

There are numerous WordPress plugins available that provide the option of broadcasting or conducting live screen sharing during online discussions. This feature helps in finding quick solutions and simplifies multitasking.

Brand Promotion

Promoting your brand through live chat can be done by leveraging the fact that a customer who holds a positive opinion about your services will only consider your company in the future.

By evaluating your communication and focusing on your customers, you can create a brand image that resonates with their preferences.

Consumers select your brand among various options due to the exceptional customer support they receive, even if they have multiple firms in consideration.

Efficient Service

Instead of responding to one customer query at a time, most live chat platforms enable your customer service team to serve numerous clients simultaneously in multiple conversations.

Users Tracking

By using the WordPress live chat plugin, business owners can monitor customer activity on their websites. This enables them to gather relevant data about their users and effectively initiate business advertising and marketing strategies.

Limited Disruption

Texting is generally an easier option compared to calling for support, whether it is for work-related matters or personal reasons. Furthermore, live chat can be utilized even if there is a slow internet connection.

On the contrary, phone calls might suffer from interference and a decline in quality due to background noise.

As a result, the probability of encountering disturbances while communicating with customers online is minimal.

Security

All companies prioritize privacy and security, and therefore they make a conscious effort to strictly follow these guidelines in their interactions.

By providing end-to-end encryption for live chats, WordPress plugins ensure that your transactions and security details are consistently secure, thereby giving your customers the assurance they need.

Comments and Recommendations

You can use WordPress live chat plugins to keep record of the visitor’s activities on your website and their questions for the support team, which helps in future target marketing.

However, it is possible to mention any genuine comments or ideas about your services during the live chat. This way, any issues that may arise can be addressed and resolved.

What You Should Look for in a WordPress Chat Plugin

• User-friendliness

The interface your agents use to communicate with clients will significantly influence the effectiveness of the chat experience for all users. Additionally, the level of customer satisfaction your business will have depends on the user-friendliness of the interface.

The versatility and advanced features of third-party dashboards are generally higher. Nonetheless, whether these dashboards are useful to your agents will rely on their specific preferences and current work processes.

Make sure to inquire your agents’ opinion on the usability of the WordPress chat plugin that you select.

• Channels Supported

Live chat is the most effective choice for handling numerous chats efficiently since it provides excellent support for multiple conversations. Furthermore, customer support can handle multiple inquiries simultaneously through the efficient plugin.

• Easy Onboarding

The unique experience of live chat makes it the preferred communication method for clients compared to phone or email.

The reason live chat benefits businesses goes beyond customer appeal. It also makes it easier to integrate a new employee into a company or introduce a new client to products.

• Supports Preset Messages

When live chat is provided on your website, customers can use it without having to leave the purchasing window. All they have to do is open the live chat widget and start typing their issues. You can include preset messages to welcome and respond to your customers’ messages.

• Has Triggers and Targeting Options

Based on the available information and the nature of the business, every marketing manager will have their own set of criteria to assess the triggers that would yield optimal results for them.

While setting up triggered chat widgets, it is important to consider various types of triggers.

• Triggers Based on Visits 

First-time visitors and loyal users should be treated differently on your website. While a first-time visitor can be welcomed warmly, returning clients may need extra attention as they have the potential to be high-quality leads.

• Triggers Based on Time

A popular form of proactive communication is based on time. Time-based triggers are activated by the duration of a visitor’s stay on a page. It is important to allow customers time to explore on their own after activating these triggers before delivering a message.

• Site-Specific Triggers

The when and how of chat plugins are just as important as their whereabouts. If placed on specific pages, customers may find chat widgets that are easy to use to be considerably more advantageous than pop-up messages.

• Data-Based Triggers

To incorporate personalization into a chat message, one effective approach is to customize it based on client information. By considering details such as their language preference and region, you can initiate a conversation that will resonate with them better.

• Highly Customizable

You have the ability to customize various elements of your chat widget, such as colors, chat button location, widget modes, and agent status. This customization option allows you to align your brand’s colors and create a website ambiance that promotes your business.

• Relatively Affordable

To enhance conversion rates and customer satisfaction, businesses should take into account the issue of affordability and aim to reduce support expenses.

It is essential to bear in mind that the features you receive in exchange for the money you pay for the plugin should be of value.