A checklist to help you set up your tawk.to dashboard

[Desktop]

Here’s a checklist to get your widget active, customized and working effectively on your site:


  1. Add an image as your Personal Profile
  2. Set up Aliases
  3. Upload a Property Image
  4. Invite Property Members
  5. Download the tawk.to Mobile App
  6. Customize your Widget Design
  7. Add an Attention Grabber
  8. Customize your Widget Content and Cards
  9. Set up Triggers
  10. Activate the Widget Scheduler
  11. Create Shortcuts
  12. Create a Knowledge Base

    NOTE: The instructions below can be completed from a browser or the tawk.to desktop apps.

Add an image as your Personal Profile

Adding a Profile Image is an essential part of personalizing your tawk.to account. You can use your Profile Image when responding to chats, and it also helps other Property Members identify you in the dashboard.

Here’s how to upload a Profile Image:

Click the Profile icon in the lower-left corner of your dashboard. Then, select Edit Profile in the menu.

Then, under Account, select Account Settings.

To upload a Profile Image, click the drop-down box under the Profile Image section.

When choosing a Profile Image you can upload a photo from your computer or select one of the many avatars available.

We think it’s better to use a real image because it will help visitors connect with you in chat and makes it easier for other Property Members to identify you in the dashboard.

When uploading an image, remember to use at least a 512 x 512 pixel file.

Set up Aliases

Aliases allow you to respond to chats without having to use your profile name or image.


Here’s how to set up your Aliases:


In the lower-left corner of your dashboard, click the Profile icon. Then, select Edit Profile in the menu.

Then, under Account, select Aliases.

Click the Add Alias button in the top right hand corner to create a new alias.

Once you have entered all the required fields, and most importantly, selected the right image, make sure to click the green Save button to confirm any changes you made.

When responding to a chat, the menu to the left of the Join button will allow you to select from the list of Aliases you have created.

As mentioned earlier, using a real image instead of an avatar will help to build trust with your customers. 

Upload a Property Image

With tawk.to, there is no limit to the number of Properties you can create or be associated with. Adding your logo as your Property Image helps to brand your dashboard and makes it easier to select the correct property.

You can also use the Property Image to help brand your chat widget. Simply select the Logo widget card from the Widget Content menu.


Here’s how to change your Property Image:


From the dashboard, make your way to AdministrationOverviewProperty Image

To upload a Property Image, click the drop-down box under the Profile Image section and select Upload Photo.


Using an image of at least 512x512 pixels will give you the best results.


Remember to click the Save button to confirm the changes.

Invite Property Members

There is no limit to the number of people you can invite to a property and best of all, it’s completely free. Property members can help you manage your tawk.to settings and respond to incoming chats.

Here’s how to invite property members:

Make your way to ⚙️AdministrationUser ManagementProperty Members.

Then click the green Invite Member button.


In the Property Members section, you'll see a list of all of the agents associated with the property.

To add a new agent to the property, enter the email of the person you want to invite and choose either Admin or Agent status.

To add multiple people, click the + Add Another button. Once you've entered the email and selected a status, hit the green Send Invitation button.

The new member will then receive an email to notify them that they’ve been added to a property. If they don't have a tawk.to account, they will be prompted to sign up for one when they accept the invitation. If they already have a tawk.to account, they will also receive a notification in the dashboard to join your property. 

Download the tawk.to Mobile App

With the tawk.to mobile app, you can answer chats on the go, manage property settings, edit shortcuts and much more. The app is completely free to use. You can find it in the Apple or Google app store by searching for tawk.to.

For iOS

Open your Apple App Store and search for “tawk.to.” You can download the app for free and start setting up your account in minutes.


To learn more about tawk.to’s iOS app, read these articles: iOS articles

For Android


Open your Google App Store and search for “tawk.to.” You can download the app for free and start setting up your account in minutes.


Learn more about tawk.to’s Android app in these articles: Android articles

Customize your widget design

With tawk.to, it’s easy to customize the widget to complement your website and brand.

Here’s how to customize your widget design:


Make your way to ⚙️AdministrationChannelsChat Widget.


Under Widget Appearance, click the Advanced button.

In the Widget Appearance section, you can customize your widget position (on both desktop and mobile), style, width, height and color.


To learn more about how to change the appearance of your chat widget, read this article: Changing the appearance of the chat widget

Add an Attention Grabber

A great way to make your chat widget stand out and be noticed on your website is to enable the Attention Grabber.


Consumer confidence increases when customers see live chat available on a website, so you want to make sure that the chat widget is clearly visible.


Here’s how to add an Attention Grabber to your chat widget:


From the dashboard, make your way to ⚙️Administration ChannelsChat Widget.


Under Widget Appearance, select Advanced.

Toggling the switch will enable the Attention Grabber. Click Gallery to choose from dozens of options, click Seasonal to choose among our seasonal/promotional Attention Grabbers, or upload your own design. 

To learn more about the Attention Grabber, read this article: Enabling the Attention Grabber

Customize your Widget Content and Cards

Cards make it easy to share a variety of content in your chat widget. You can customize headings and text, add your logo or other images and empower visitors to help themselves by making it easy for them to access your Knowledge Base.


Here’s how to set up Widget Content and Cards:

Make your way to ⚙️AdministrationChannels Chat Widget. Under Widget Content, select Edit Content.

You can customize what a visitor will see when they click on your chat widget for each widget state:


Online: A team member is available to respond to incoming chats.

Away: The team may or may not be able to respond to incoming chats.

Offline: No one is available to respond to incoming chats.


To learn more about Widget Cards, read this article: How to modify your widget content

You can also add a Pre-Chat Form to capture important visitor information at the start of a chat. 

Be aware that using a Pre-Chat Form will usually decrease the number of incoming chats.

To learn more about setting up a Pre-Chat Form, read this article: Using the Pre-Chat form

To learn how to customize your widget with cards, read this article: Customizing the widget header and body cards

Set up Triggers

Triggers are used to send messages to visitors on your website or to those who have started a chat based on a set of conditions.


They help you engage visitors on your website and can serve as the first response to a comment or question from a visitor. 


There are a few pre-made triggers available in the dashboard for the most common conditions. However, you can also add your own Advanced Triggers for specific visitors and situations.


Here’s how to set up triggers:


Make your way to ⚙️Administration ➞ Settings ➞ Triggers.

Here, you'll see a list of the current triggers set up for the selected property.

Your dashboard comes to set up with a Basic - Site Notification Trigger. It sends a message to each visitor on your website after a specified delay. We named it the welcome message. Click on the Welcome Message to customize this trigger for your business.

Your dashboard comes set up with a Basic - Site Notification Trigger. It sends a message to each visitor on your website after a specified delay. We named it the welcome message. Click on the Welcome Message to customize this trigger for your business.

To increase engagement, we recommend using a real image and name (not “Sales”) and adding a “Call to Action“ in the message.


“Welcome to Mel’s Digital workshop. If you have any questions or would like to request a free quote, chat with one of our team members here.”


“Welcome to Amazon! If you have any questions or to receive 10% off your next order, chat with one of our team.”


To create a new trigger, hit the green Add Trigger button in the top right corner.

An important trigger to set up is the Basic - Chat Rescuer Trigger. It will automatically respond to a visitor who is requesting a chat after a specified delay. It helps to keep visitors around until you respond to the chat, or can instruct them to leave their contact details if you don’t respond.

You can learn more about a Basic - Chat Rescuer Trigger in this article: Setting up a Basic Chat Rescuer Trigger


To learn more about other kinds of triggers, read this article: Creating and managing triggers


To learn how to set up Advanced Triggers, read this article: Advanced Triggers

Active the Widget Scheduler 

The Widget Scheduler will automatically switch your widget offline according to your schedule, so you never have to worry about forgetting to log out of your account and missing a chat.

It works in tandem with your agents. If there are no agents online when your widget is scheduled to be online, the widget will instead stay offline.

Here’s how to activate the Widget Scheduler:


Make your way to AdministrationChat Widget


Under Scheduler, click Advanced

From here, you can make changes to the time zone, turn the scheduler on or off and customize your schedule.


Here’s a guide showing how to use the Widget Scheduler: Using the Widget Scheduler

Create Shortcuts

Shortcuts are response templates you can use while chatting with visitors to ensure consistency, reduce typing errors and respond quicker.


Here’s how to create and manage shortcuts:


Make your way to ⚙️AdministrationSettingsShortcuts.


In the upper-right corner, click the Add Shortcut button.

Add the content of the shortcut and a title with the keyword(s) you will use to find it.


To start using your shortcuts in a chat, type “/” in the chat window. You will be able to search your existing shortcuts using keywords found on the shortcut message or title.


There is also a preset Shortcuts Tab, in the top right-hand corner that will allow you to search all your current shortcuts, add shortcuts and edit existing shortcuts.



When you’re all done with the above, it’s time to set up your own Knowledge Base 

Create a Knowledge Base

Your Knowledge Base serves as an online library that visitors and agents can access for help. You can fill your Knowledge Base with answers to frequently asked questions, tutorials, tips and guides, policies and procedures.


You can also integrate the Knowledge Base in your chat widget so visitors can access pre-selected articles or use the search tool to find answers to their questions without even having to start a chat.


Here’s how to create a Knowledge Base:


Select the ⚙️Administration icon in the upper tab menu.

Click Knowledge Base in the new panel that appears.

Choose a name, a subdomain, and your default language. Then click the green Next button to view your personalization options. Once you’re done with personalization, click Next again to publish your Knowledge Base. 

In the Knowledge Base section of your Administration panel, you can make additional changes to the design, content and layout of your Knowledge Base. You can upload a favicon, change colors, insert a banner, categorize articles and more. 

By subscribing to our Remove Branding add-on, you can customize the domain and remove the tawk.to logo from all your articles.


To learn how to white label your Knowledge Base, read this article: How to white label your Knowledge Base


To learn more about setting up your Knowledge Base, here’s a step-by-step guide showing you how to customize it for your business: Setting up your Knowledge Base


To learn how to add your Knowledge Base on your widget, read this article: Customizing the widget header and body cards


You can also watch the Knowledge Base tutorials on the tawk.to academy here: tawk.to - Knowledge Base  


There you go! You have successfully set up the basics of your tawk.to dashboard.


If you’re feeling more adventurous, you can dive into some advanced settings. Here’s our Knowledge Base where you can find guides on everything tawk.to: tawk.to Help Center


Need help? Reach out to our support team or schedule a call

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