If you’ve ever landed on a website and been greeted by a chat widget that looks like it was slapped on as an afterthought, you know it’s a jarring experience. For any business using live chat, those little windows are often the first thing visitors notice—and judge. If you’re running Zendesk Chat, and you want your chat widget to actually look like it belongs on your site, you’re in the right place.
This guide is for folks who want their Zendesk Chat widget to match their brand—without getting lost in the weeds or stuck with a generic look. Whether you’re a marketer, designer, or the “tech-ish” person on your team, you’ll find real-world, no-nonsense tips here.
Let’s get into it.
Step 1: Know What You Can (and Can’t) Customize
Before you spend hours looking for the magic button, understand the basics. Zendesk Chat gives you a decent set of tools to tweak the widget, but it’s not a blank canvas. Here’s what you can change right out of the box:
- Colors: Main brand color, chat bubble, text.
- Logo and Agent Avatars: Swap in your logo and set up agent photos.
- Greeting Text: Edit welcome and agent intro messages.
- Widget Position: Choose which corner of the site it sits in.
- Language: Set the default or let it auto-detect.
And here’s what you can’t do without extra work (or at all):
- Custom Fonts: Not natively supported. You’ll need to inject CSS (more on that later).
- Deep Layout Changes: Want to move the close button or radically change the shape? Not possible without heavy custom work.
- Full White-labeling: Zendesk branding can’t always be removed on lower-tier plans.
Pro tip: Don’t waste time hunting for features that aren’t there. If you need something wild, be ready to write code or look for third-party solutions.
Step 2: Access the Widget Customization Panel
First things first, log into your Zendesk account and head over to the Zendesk Chat dashboard.
- Go to the Admin (gear icon) panel.
- Under Channels, select Widget (sometimes labeled “Chat Widget”).
- You’ll land on the customization screen.
If you don’t see the widget options, check that you have the right permissions—some roles can’t mess with these settings. Also, note that the newer Zendesk messaging widget (launched as "Zendesk Messaging") is a bit different, but this guide focuses on the classic live chat widget.
Step 3: Match Your Brand Colors
This is where most brands start—and for good reason. Color is the fastest way to make the widget feel like “yours.”
- Find your brand’s hex codes. Don’t guess. Pull them from your style guide, Figma file, or wherever you keep design assets.
- In the widget settings, look for the Appearance or Color section.
- You’ll usually see options for:
- Primary color: The main accent (chat bubble, button, etc.)
- Header color: Top bar of the widget
- Text color: For readable contrast
- Paste in your hex codes.
What works: Zendesk’s color options are simple but effective. You can usually get 90% of the way there.
What doesn’t: There’s no support for gradients or multi-color themes. If your brand is all about wild color combos, you’ll have to compromise or use custom CSS.
Step 4: Add Your Logo and Agent Avatars
A faceless widget feels impersonal. Adding your logo and agent avatars gives your chat a human touch.
- Logo: Upload your company’s logo in the widget settings. It’ll show in the chat window header. PNGs with transparent backgrounds look best.
- Agent Avatars: Each agent can upload a profile photo. If you want these to look consistent, give your team some guidelines (headshots, backgrounds, etc.).
Heads up: Some Zendesk plans limit where your logo shows or how much you can customize avatars. If you’re on a basic plan, you might see “Powered by Zendesk” somewhere.
Step 5: Edit Welcome Messages and Greetings
Your chat widget shouldn’t sound like a robot. Go to the Messages or Greeting section in the settings.
- Greeting: This is what visitors see before starting a chat. Make it friendly, on-brand, and not too wordy.
- Online/Offline Messages: Set different texts for when agents are available or away.
- Pre-Chat Form: You can ask for name, email, or other info before chat starts. Keep it short—nobody likes forms.
What works: Personal, concise greetings get better engagement. Jargon or pushy sales pitches turn people off.
Step 6: Pick the Widget Position and Behavior
You can choose which side of your site the widget lives on (usually bottom right). In the settings:
- Position: Bottom right/left, or custom via CSS.
- Z-index: Rarely needed, but if your widget is hiding behind menus, tweak this.
Behavioral options: - Pop-up on page load? Only do this if you really want attention—most users find it annoying. - Sound notifications: Decide if you want these on by default.
Step 7: Localize Your Widget
If your site serves multiple languages, you’ll want the chat widget to speak your customer’s language. Zendesk can auto-detect based on the browser, or you can set a default language.
- In the settings, look for Language or Localization.
- Check the translations (machine translations aren’t always perfect).
- Edit any messaging to avoid awkward phrasing.
Real talk: If your brand voice is important, take the time to manually tweak greetings and buttons. The stock translations are just OK.
Step 8: (Advanced) Add Custom CSS for Fonts and Fine-Tuning
Here’s where things get a bit nerdy. Zendesk doesn’t let you pick custom fonts or tweak every pixel, but you can inject custom CSS.
How:
- In the widget settings, look for a Custom CSS or Advanced section.
-
If your plan supports it, paste in your CSS. Example to set a Google Font: css @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto:400,700&display=swap'); .zopim .zopim-chat { font-family: 'Roboto', Arial, sans-serif !important; }
-
Save and preview.
Caveats: - Custom CSS isn’t available on all Zendesk plans. - Updates to Zendesk’s widget might break your tweaks. - Support probably won’t help if your custom code causes display issues.
Pro tip: Use CSS for small tweaks, not full redesigns. If you need to overhaul the UI, consider building your own chat widget with the Zendesk Web SDK—but that’s a whole other can of worms.
Step 9: Test Everywhere (Don’t Skip This)
Changes that look good on your laptop might look wonky on a phone—or break on Internet Explorer (yes, some people still use it).
- Test on desktop and mobile.
- Try different browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge).
- Check accessibility: Contrast, font size, keyboard navigation.
What to ignore: Don’t stress over making it pixel-perfect on every obscure browser. Focus on where your customers actually are.
Step 10: Publish and Keep It Simple
Once you’re happy, hit Save (and Publish, if there’s a separate button). Reload your site and double-check everything in context.
Keep in mind: - Don’t overthink it. A clean, on-brand widget is better than a flashy, confusing one. - You can always tweak later. Branding evolves, and so will your site.
A Few Honest Takes and Pitfalls to Avoid
- Don’t chase full customization unless you really need it. The built-in tools cover most use cases. Heavy custom work = more headaches down the road.
- Don’t make the widget too aggressive. Auto-opening chat on every visit is more likely to annoy than to convert.
- Don’t forget mobile. Lots of folks chat from their phones, and a widget that eats half the screen is a fast way to lose them.
- Don’t ignore accessibility. High contrast and legible fonts matter for everyone.
Final Thoughts: Iterate, Don’t Obsess
You don’t need a design degree to make Zendesk Chat feel like part of your site. Stick to your core brand elements—colors, logo, voice—and skip the pixel-perfect stuff. The best chat widgets are the ones people use, not the ones that win design awards.
Start simple. Tweak as you go. And remember: good customer service matters more than any hex code.