Thinking about adding live chat to your SaaS site? Smart move—done right, it helps users get answers fast and makes your team look sharp. But setting it up isn’t always as “plug and play” as the marketing suggests. This guide walks you, step by step, through putting Zendesk Chat on your SaaS website, with zero fluff and honest takes on what actually matters.
If you want a live chat that works (without breaking your site or your spirit), read on.
Who this guide is for
- SaaS founders, product managers, or devs adding chat for the first time
- Teams picking Zendesk Chat over Intercom, Drift, or others
- Folks who want setup instructions and honest advice, not a sales pitch
Step 1: Figure out what you actually need from chat
Before you dive in, take 5 minutes to jot down:
- Where should chat appear? (e.g., docs only, all pages, sign-in required?)
- Who will answer chats? (Support? Sales? Both? No one at 2am?)
- What’s your volume like? (A handful a week, or a flood after launches?)
- What do you want to track? (Leads, support issues, response time?)
Why bother? Zendesk Chat is flexible, but you can also overcomplicate things fast. Knowing your basics keeps you from turning on features you’ll just have to turn off later.
Step 2: Sign up for Zendesk (and get the right plan)
Head to the Zendesk site, and create an account if you don’t have one. Zendesk Chat is now part of the broader Zendesk Suite, which can be confusing.
Pro tips:
- If you want just live chat and nothing else, you’ll probably have to pick the “Suite” plan and disable the extras you don’t need.
- Check if you’re eligible for a free trial. Most plans offer 14 days.
- Watch out for feature limits—some plans restrict chat triggers, customization, or agent seats.
Don’t: Sign up with a personal email if this is for your company. Use a shared inbox or company address.
Step 3: Add your team (and set roles)
Once you’re in, add the people who’ll actually answer the chats.
- Go to Admin Center > People > Team members
- Invite agents by email. Assign them "Agent," "Admin," or whatever fits.
- Set up groups if you want certain chats to go to support vs. sales.
Got a small team? Start simple. One group, everyone gets notified. You can always add more structure later.
Step 4: Set up basic chat settings
Now you’re in, poke around the settings. Some things worth tweaking before you go live:
- Chat availability hours – Set when your team is actually around.
- Pre-chat form – Ask for name/email before starting a chat (good for follow-up).
- Offline form – What happens if no one is online? Collect questions, or hide the widget?
- Notifications – How do agents get pinged? (Browser, email, mobile app?)
Skip for now: Triggers, automation, and routing rules. You can add these as you see what your real chat flow looks like.
Step 5: Grab and install the Zendesk Chat widget code
Here’s the meat of it. Zendesk gives you a JavaScript snippet you need to put on your site.
- Go to Admin Center > Channels > Classic > Web Widget
- Copy the widget code—they call it the “Web Widget (Classic)” even though it’s the main way most sites add chat. (Yeah, the naming is confusing.)
- Paste it right before the closing
</body>tag on every page where you want chat to appear.
If you use a frontend framework (React, Vue, etc.):
- You can drop the script in your main template/layout file.
- For single-page apps, sometimes the widget doesn’t reset between routes. Test this.
If you use a CMS (WordPress, Webflow, etc.):
- Most have a “Custom Code” or “Footer Script” area. Paste it there.
- Clear caches or deploy to staging first if you’re nervous.
Heads up: Some ad blockers will hide chat widgets by default. Nothing you can do about it.
Step 6: Test it—really test it
Don’t just assume it works because the widget shows up. Try these:
- Open an incognito window, start a chat, see if your team gets notified.
- Kill your internet and reload—does the offline form appear?
- Try on mobile. Is the widget blocking any buttons or looking weird?
- If you use routing or groups, make sure chats go to the right people.
What breaks most often?
- Widget not showing up due to script blockers or CSP (Content Security Policy) issues.
- Widget covering important UI on mobile.
- Emails not getting sent when offline forms are filled (check spam and Zendesk settings).
Step 7: Customize the chat experience (but don’t get lost in the weeds)
Zendesk lets you tweak the look, feel, and behavior of the chat widget.
- Colors and text – Match your brand, but don’t go wild. Too-custom widgets can actually feel less trustworthy.
- Pre-chat and offline forms – Only ask for info you’ll actually use.
- Welcome message – A simple “Hi! Let us know how we can help.” works better than “Our team is standing by to leverage solutions at scale.”
Skip or delay:
- Fancy automations—these can backfire if your team isn’t ready.
- Bots—unless you have a lot of repetitive questions and someone to maintain the bot flow.
Pro tip: Customizing the widget with your own code (beyond what Zendesk offers) is possible, but can break when Zendesk updates the widget. Stick with their settings unless you have a very good reason.
Step 8: Set up basic reporting (and ignore vanity metrics)
Zendesk has a bunch of dashboards and reports. Useful stuff for most SaaS teams:
- First response time – How long are users waiting?
- Chat volume – Is it what you expected?
- Offline messages – Are people reaching out when you’re away?
Ignore (for now):
- CSAT/NPS prompts unless you’re ready to actually act on the feedback.
- Deep automation or AI insights—focus on real conversations first.
Step 9: Train your team—just enough
Don’t overthink this. A quick team call is usually enough:
- How to claim/respond to chats
- What to do if you don’t know the answer (tag a teammate, say you’ll email)
- When to set yourself as “Away”
- How to spot spam or bots
Pro tip: Have a canned response for “We’re not available right now, but we’ll get back to you tomorrow.”
Step 10: Go live, announce it, and watch what happens
Once you’ve tested and trained, flip the switch. Let your users know—email, changelog, in-app notification, whatever fits.
- Watch the first week for any issues (missed chats, weird UI, etc.)
- Adjust settings as you see what your users actually do (not what you thought they’d do)
What works, and what’s not worth your time
Works:
- Keeping the setup simple at first
- Responding fast, even if it’s just “Hey, we got your message”
- Using chat to spot bugs or confusion in your product
Doesn’t work:
- Over-customizing the widget (it makes upgrades a pain)
- Setting up advanced bots or routing before you have real chat volume
- Relying on chat as your only support channel
Wrapping up: Keep it simple, iterate fast
Zendesk Chat is solid, but it’s easy to get lost in the options. Start with the basics: get the widget live, make sure someone’s around to answer, and see how your users respond. Tweak and add features later—don’t try to build a call center on day one.
Live chat is just a tool. The real value comes from using it to talk to your users and solve real problems, not chasing every shiny dashboard metric.
Good luck! And remember: simple beats fancy, every time.