Chat questions and limits

The chat button disappeared from my store#

Work down this list:

1. Is it outside business hours? With Show outside business hours off, the button hides while you are closed. Check the chat's Preferences tab.

2. Is Show the chat on? It is on the same tab. Off removes the button from every site.

3. Are you on a phone? With Show on phones off, the button is hidden on screens narrower than 640 pixels.

4. Did your theme change? A new or reinstalled Shopify theme does not carry over code pasted into the old one. Paste the script into the new theme's theme.liquid again; see Put chat on your store.

5. Is the address on the sites list? With sites listed on the Installation tab, the chat stays hidden on any other address, including www. or myshopify.com versions you did not add.

6. Was the chat deleted? A deleted chat draws nothing, and its hosted link says it is no longer in use.

Changes to these settings reach your store within about a minute.

How long does a visitor keep their conversation?#

As long as their browser keeps the chat's storage. The conversation is tied to that browser and that store: coming back the next day on the same computer reopens it, while another browser, another device, a private window that was closed, or clearing site data starts afresh. The ticket in your inbox keeps the whole conversation either way.

When you close the ticket, the visitor sees the conversation with a button to start a new one. A message they send on a closed conversation reopens the ticket. Deleting the ticket ends the conversation in their window.

Is the chat real time?#

Close to it. The window and the ticket page check for new messages every three seconds while a conversation is active, and less often after a few quiet minutes. Typing shows on both sides. The chat does not keep a live connection open to the server, which keeps it light on stores and phones.

Will the chat slow my store down?#

No noticeable amount. A page loads one small script, about 3 KB compressed and cached for a minute; the window itself loads only when a visitor opens it. Details are in Chat appearance and preferences.

Can visitors send files or photos?#

No. Visitors can only type. Ask them to reply by email or use a contact form when you need a photo. Files you attach to a reply show in their window as links they can open.

Can I send videos or pictures in a chat reply?#

Your replies are shown as plain text, with links made clickable; nothing is embedded. Paste the link to a YouTube video or an image and the visitor opens it in a new tab. Formatting such as bold does not carry over to the window.

Can I change the size of the window?#

No. It has a fixed size on computers and opens full screen on phones. You can move the button with Corner, From the side and From the bottom on the Appearance tab.

Can I show the chat on some pages only?#

Yes: paste the script only into the templates of those pages instead of your theme's layout file. There is no list of pages to pick from in the settings.

Can I control the chat with my own JavaScript or HTML?#

Not yet. The chat has no JavaScript API, so your code cannot open or hide it, prefill the visitor's email, pass the cart, or react to a message, and the window does not accept custom HTML or CSS. Its look is set only on the Appearance tab. This keeps the window isolated from your store's scripts, but it does limit what a developer can do with it.

Where does the visitor's email go?#

The email address from the start form, or the offline form, finds the customer with that address in your helpdesk, or creates one. The ticket then sits on that customer's profile with their orders beside it. Address matching is explained in How tickets find their customer.

What chat features are not available?#

A satisfaction survey after chat conversations, a transcript emailed to the visitor, "seen" receipts, messages that pop up on their own to invite visitors, and attachments from visitors.