Once you have the Chatbox to SMS feature enabled on your account, you will need to configure the various parameters, such as the target inbound and outbound number, the chat button, the widget form, and automated responses.
Start by going to Configuration, then Chatbox to SMS and click Get Started
This will take you to the configuration screen where you can configure the Chatbox to SMS functionality.
Note: If you don’t have a dedicated number, you will be prompted to purchase one at this point. A dedicated number is required for Chatbox to SMS to work.
Once you have purchased dedicated number, or if you already have one, this will appear as the dedicated number used for sending:
Customising the Chat button
You can configure various aspects of the chat button such as the colour, whether or not you want to display the prompt at all, and the prompt message.
As you make changes, the preview on the right hand side is updated:
Customising the Widget form
Heading background and button colours can also be changed, as well as the heading text and enquiry form instructions. You can use the prompt to outline what you’re expecting from the website visitor, as well as manage their expectations early around when you’re likely to text them back:
Customising the Widget response
The widget response is displayed to the website visitor when they have submitted the Chatbox to SMS form. This informs the website visitor that the conversation will transition to SMS and to expect a reply from the configured dedicated number (note the #dedicatednumber# field will populate with your actual dedicated number when the widget goes live):
Customising the SMS response
The SMS response is a message that is also immediately sent to the website visitor from the dedicated number, this is a great opportunity to manage expectations around response times, and potentially include additional information such as open hours and link to your website.
Chatbox to SMS script
Once you have saved the Chatbox to SMS settings, your script will be generated and will be ready for you to drop into your website.
You can edit your widget settings anytime (the code snippet does not change once generated).
You can also turn on / turn off the Chatbox to SMS functionality from within the MessageMedia Web Portal, which allows you to control if it’s on / off without updating any code or other systems.
Installing the Chatbox to SMS snippet onto your website
To embed the Chatbox to SMS on your website, simply copy and paste the code (provided in the above step) before the </head> tag on every page you would like to display the widget.
You can forward the code snippet and instructions to this page to your website developers, or check out the below articles on how to drop in the code snippet using these common platforms: