Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Does your chat widget need makeover?

Pam Sessoms 1:22 PM

Is your old chat widget starting to look old and worn out? Well, we're taking away any excuse not to update your look! We've created over 20 sharp-looking example chat widgets that you can easily copy and extend. Or maybe your widget just needs a touch of polish? Then consider one of the new presence themes, adding a watermark, or even including a survey.

Copy one of our schnazzy example widgets

Do any of these pique your interest? Then head on over to the Widgets tab of the admin site to grab a copy. Once copied, you can use the widget editor to change the colors and pretty much anything else about the widget to make it your own. Skip to the end of this post for a quick how-to on copying example widgets.

Have a super-awesome chat widget you'd like to share? Contact us to include it as an example!

Schnazzier widgets by default

When you create a new chat widget (as opposed to copying one of the examples), you'll get a light-colored widget with a modern flat look and dark icons. And of course via the widget designer, you can further change colors, add branding, presence themes, and more.

LibraryH3lp support widget, from left to right: original icon set, new dark icon set, new light icon set.

Updated presence themes

We've updated the library of presence themes. Remember, presence themes provide a dynamic indicator to your guests of your virtual service's availability. Updating your presence theme is a great way to freshen up your widget's look while leaving your current styling untouched.

LibraryH3lp support chat widget sporting the text-english-large theme.

Background images

Background images are slick way to provide visual effects or to introduce branding associated with your library, school, or non-profit organization.

Background images, from left to right: branding in widget header area, large watermark image for decoration, small watermark logo for branding, repeating color image at top of header for two-toned overhang effect.

Links for surveys or other pages

Awhile back, we partnered with librarians from University of Minnesota Duluth to share their great technique for embedding a link to a survey in their chat widgets. You can use this same technique to link off to any other page: maybe for service policies, a FAQ, or important announcements.

Survey link is available to the guest at all times and opens in new window or tab.

How to copy the example widgets

In the LibraryH3lp admin site, go to the Widgets tab. Create a New Widget and look for the Copy from example widget field. Pick your favorite and you're all set!

Want to change the colors, provide your own images, or otherwise tweak it to suit your web page? All of that's a snap using our widget editor. Many of the exciting customizations we've covered in this blog post will be tweaked in the Wicked CSS Hacks field.

You can also review our more detailed documentation on using background images and providing clickable links or images in widget titles.