I want to implement a live chat button on my site. Just want to know what you guys think is best? Or at least what are my options?
Perhaps the easiest option is to use Meebo (http://www.meebo.com/). You place a widget on your site and users chat through the widget to your IM account. They support several different IM services. Disadvantages include limited customization.
If you simply want a quick solution try Gabbly. It will overlay a chat feature on any site without any development. E.g. chat with other users on Google:
However, if you want to develop your own AJAX is the way to go. There are several good tutorials on the subject:
There is another good tutorial on Nettuts+, using PHP and jQuery.
In this tutorial we will be creating a simple web-based chat application with PHP and jQuery. This sort of utility would be perfect for a live support system for your website.
Just try livezilla.net Totally free, without ads. It is not fully open source, but provides enough options for tweaking a lot of things ourselves. The chat UI is simple and good. My clients have appreciated this.
Comes with a Windows App, that will ring when a customer requests a chat session. Live Visitor Tracking / GeoTracking and live view of what the website visitors are doing. Invite to Chat, Co-browsing and Website push. The list of options is seriously good.
Disadvantages: Web based chat not available for operators. So from your side, there is no web based console for management or whatsoever. Kind of difficult if you need to login from another system.
Only windows app available at the moment. If this has been developed in AIR, it could have been great.
Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with the developers/IP owners of this software.
try www.live247support.com
billing is at per minute basis starting from just 6 cents. they provide unlimited live chat operators
Plupper: http://plupper.com
Advantages:
- Jabber/XMPP client on operator side (hence any OS)
- Geo-location
- Chat History
- Co-browsing
- You can make your own chat window if you wish using their REST API
- Free for 1 operator, without ads
Disadvantages:
- Sometimes their server seems to work slowly (or maybe it is my network)
- Their default chat window might be little bit better