How to Add Live Chat to WordPress (Free Plugin, Step by Step)

Most visitors to a WordPress site leave with a question nobody answered. Is delivery possible to Ibadan this week? Does the basic plan include setup? A contact form asks them to wait for a reply; live chat answers while they are still on the page and still interested.

This guide shows how to add live chat to WordPress with the free Medivot plugin, step by step and without code. It also covers how to set the widget up for the hours when nobody is online, where chat leads end up, and how to fix the usual reasons a chat widget does not show.

What you need before you start

• A WordPress site on WordPress 6.3 or later and PHP 7.4 or later, and an administrator login so you can install plugins.
• A Medivot account. Every account starts with a 5-day free trial, and you can sign up here.
• A few minutes to write your welcome message and your offline message. They matter more than the colour of the bubble.

Three ways to add live chat to WordPress

There are three common approaches, and they suit different sites:

• A plugin that connects WordPress to a hosted chat service. The plugin places the widget on your pages, while conversations, agents and history live in the service. This is the approach in this guide.
• Pasting the chat service's embed snippet into your theme, usually in the footer. It works, but the snippet can disappear when you change or update the theme unless you use a child theme or a code snippets plugin.
• A self-contained chat plugin that stores conversations in your WordPress database. Nothing leaves your server, but your team answers from wp-admin and the extra load falls on your hosting.

For most small businesses the first option is the least work: one setting in WordPress, and replies from an inbox the whole team can share. With Medivot, that inbox is also connected to your CRM, so a chat can become a lead without anyone copying details across.

How to add live chat to WordPress with the Medivot plugin

1. Create a chat widget in Medivot. In Medivot, open Live Chat, then Widgets, and create a widget. Set its title, colours, welcome message, offline message and business hours.
2. Copy the widget key. Open the widget's embed code and copy the value of data-widget-key. That value is all WordPress needs.
3. Install the Medivot plugin. In WordPress, open Plugins, then Add New, search for Medivot, then install and activate it.
4. Paste the key and switch the widget on. Open Settings, then Medivot, paste the key into Widget key, tick "Show the chat widget on every page" and save.
5. Test it as a visitor. Open your site in a private browser window, send a test message, and reply to it from Live Chat, then Inbox in Medivot.

Step 1: Create and style your chat widget

In Medivot, open Live Chat, then Widgets, and create a widget. The widget is the chat bubble and window your visitors see. Give it a title, set the colour to match your brand, add your logo and choose which corner the launcher sits in. You can also turn on file sharing, emoji and satisfaction ratings.

Then write the two messages that do the real work. The welcome message is the first thing a visitor reads, so make it specific to your business: "Questions about delivery, sizes or payment? Ask here" gets more replies than "Hi, how can we help?". The offline message shows outside your business hours; tell people when you will reply, and only promise a response time your team can keep.

Step 2: Copy your widget key

Open the widget's embed code in Medivot. It is a single script tag with a data-widget-key attribute. The WordPress plugin writes that tag for you, so you only need the key itself: the value inside the quotes after data-widget-key. Paste only the key into WordPress, not the whole embed code.

Step 3: Install and activate the plugin

In your WordPress dashboard, open Plugins, then Add New, and search for "Medivot". Click Install Now, then Activate. If your host blocks installs from the dashboard, download the plugin from WordPress.org and upload the zip under Plugins, then Add New, then Upload Plugin.

Step 4: Paste the key and switch the chat on

Open Settings, then Medivot. Paste the key into the Widget key field, tick "Show the chat widget on every page" and save. If you tick the box without a key, the plugin warns you instead of failing silently.

From now on the plugin adds the Medivot chat script to the footer of every page. It loads asynchronously, so your page content renders first and the bubble appears a moment later. Chat does not need an API key. The same settings page also holds your booking page handle, which the plugin uses for booking buttons; our guide to adding appointment booking to WordPress covers that part.

Step 5: Test the chat like a visitor

Open your site in a private browser window, so you see it the way a new visitor does. Click the bubble, send a message, then reply from Live Chat, then Inbox in Medivot and check that your answer reaches the browser. If you require a pre-chat form, fill it in with a test name and email and look for the new lead in your CRM afterwards.

If you use a caching plugin or your host caches pages, clear the cache after saving the settings. Cached copies of your pages were saved before the chat script was added, and they only pick it up once they are rebuilt.

Set up the widget for the hours nobody is online

A small team cannot watch a chat window all day, and many customers browse in the evening and at weekends. A few settings make sure those visitors still get somewhere:

• Business hours: outside them, visitors see your offline message and a form to leave their name, email and question.
• Pre-chat form: ask for a name and email before the conversation starts, so you can follow up even if the visitor closes the tab.
• Knowledge Base: add articles that answer your most common questions, such as delivery areas, opening hours or pricing, so AI replies can answer them instantly and hand over to a person when needed.
• Canned Replies: save the answers your team types every day and send them in one click.
• Departments: route sales questions and support questions to the people who can answer them.

Where your WordPress chat leads go

When a visitor gives their name or email, in the pre-chat form or the offline form, Medivot adds them to your CRM as a lead with live chat as the source. If that email is already in your CRM, Medivot does not create a duplicate. From there you can score the lead, assign it to someone, add it to a pipeline or follow up with an email campaign, all with the chat history to hand.

That is the main difference between a chat box and a chat channel. A box collects messages; a channel turns them into customers you can follow up with. See Medivot live chat for the full feature set.

Hide the chat on pages where it gets in the way

Some pages work better without a chat bubble, such as a checkout page or a landing page for a paid ad with one clear action. The plugin has a filter for this, medivot_show_chat_widget. Add the snippet below to your child theme's functions.php file, or to a code snippets plugin, and change checkout to the slug of the page you want to keep clear.

add_filter( 'medivot_show_chat_widget', function ( $show ) { return $show && ! is_page( 'checkout' ); } );

If the chat widget does not show

• Check that the Widget key field in Settings, then Medivot holds only the key, and that "Show the chat widget on every page" is ticked.
• Check that the widget is active in Medivot under Live Chat, then Widgets.
• Clear your page cache, so cached pages are rebuilt with the chat script.
• If you use a plugin that delays or combines JavaScript, exclude medivot.com/chat-widget.js from it.
• If a developer added the medivot_show_chat_widget filter, check that it is not hiding the widget on the page you are testing.

Mention the chat in your privacy policy

Live chat is a third-party service on your site. When the widget is on, the visitor's browser talks to Medivot, which receives their IP address, browser details, the page they are on and anything they type into the chat. Say so in your privacy policy, and link to the Medivot privacy policy. If you serve customers in Nigeria, this is part of being transparent under the Nigeria Data Protection Act; visitors from the EU and the UK bring GDPR duties of their own.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free live chat plugin for WordPress?

Yes. The Medivot plugin is free on WordPress.org. The chat itself runs on your Medivot account, which starts with a 5-day free trial and then follows your Medivot plan. There is no permanent free Medivot plan, so check pricing before you commit.

Do I need to know how to code to add live chat to WordPress?

No. You install the plugin, paste your widget key into Settings, then Medivot and tick one box. Code only comes in if you want to hide the chat on particular pages, and that is a single line.

Will live chat slow down my WordPress site?

The Medivot chat script loads asynchronously in the footer, so your page renders before the widget appears. Visitors see your content first, and the chat bubble a moment later.

Does the chat work with Elementor and other page builders?

Yes. The plugin adds the widget to every page of the site, whatever editor or page builder built the page, so there is nothing to place by hand.

Can I run chat on more than one WordPress site?

Yes. Create a separate widget for each site in Live Chat, then Widgets, so each one has its own look and messages, and paste each key into that site's plugin settings. All conversations arrive in the same Medivot inbox.

Can a WordPress chat create leads in my CRM?

Yes. When a visitor gives their name or email, Medivot adds them to your CRM as a lead with live chat as the source, unless that email is already in your CRM.

Adding live chat to WordPress takes one plugin and one key; making it useful takes good messages, sensible hours and a place for leads to land. Start with the Medivot WordPress plugin, then add booking buttons so visitors who are ready can book a call straight from the conversation. For a wider view of chat for local businesses, read our guide to live chat software in Nigeria.