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Install live chat on your Shopify store

Add the Hushdesk chat widget to any Shopify theme by pasting one line into theme.liquid. A one-click theme app embed is coming next.

Last updated 2 min read

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You can add Hushdesk chat to any Shopify theme today by pasting one line of code into your theme's main layout file. It takes about three minutes and works on every theme, old or new.

Before you start

  • Who can do this: owners and admins in Hushdesk; staff with theme permissions in Shopify.
  • Plan: all Hushdesk plans, any Shopify plan.
  • What you need: access to Online Store > Themes in your Shopify admin. Fill in your store's domain under Settings > Store in Hushdesk, so chat is allowed on it.
  • Time: about 3 minutes.

Step by step

  1. In Hushdesk, open Settings > Chat widget and the Install tab.
  2. Press Copy under 1. Copy this code.
  3. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes.
  4. On your live theme, open the ⋯ menu and choose Edit code.
  5. Open layout/theme.liquid.
  6. Paste the code just above the closing </body> tag.
  7. Press Save.
  8. Open your store in a new tab. The chat button appears in the corner.

What happens next

Chat works on every page of your store. Under 3. Check it’s live on the Install tab, your store's address appears with a "last seen" time within a minute.

If you also connect your Shopify store, agents see the shopper's orders next to the chat.

One-click theme app embed. A Hushdesk app embed is ready in our Shopify app: you will switch chat on in the theme editor (App embeds) without editing code, and logged-in shoppers will be recognised automatically. It needs the Hushdesk Shopify app to be published on the Shopify App Store first. The Install tab says the same: "A one-click Shopify app (theme app embed) is coming; this snippet works on every theme today."

Tips

  • Paste the code in theme.liquid, not in a section or snippet file, so it loads on every page your theme draws, including the cart. Shopify checkout pages are not part of the theme.
  • Duplicate your theme before editing code if you want an easy way back.
  • When you switch themes, paste the code into the new theme's theme.liquid too.
  • Lift the chat button on phones if your theme has a sticky "add to cart" bar. See Customise the chat button.

Troubleshooting

"This chat is not available on this site."

Your store's address is not allowed. Check Settings > Store > Website domain. If shoppers use the .myshopify.com address or a second domain, add it under Other sites allowed to show the widget.

The chat button does not appear

Check that you saved theme.liquid on the live theme, not a draft theme. Clear your browser cache or open a private window. See Check that chat is live on your site.

The button covers my cart bar on phones

Use Lift the button on phones on the Behaviour tab.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add Hushdesk chat to my Shopify store?

Copy the code from Settings, Chat widget, Install. In Shopify go to Online Store, Themes, open the menu on your live theme and choose Edit code. Open layout/theme.liquid, paste the code just above the closing body tag and press Save. The chat shows on every page.

Does the Shopify chat snippet work with every theme?

Yes. Every Shopify theme has a layout/theme.liquid file that wraps every page, so pasting the snippet there works with free themes, paid themes and custom themes alike. Online Store 2.0 themes and older vintage themes both use the same file.

Is there a one-click Hushdesk app embed for Shopify themes?

It is coming. The theme app embed lets you switch chat on from the theme editor without touching code, and also identifies logged-in shoppers automatically. It needs the Hushdesk Shopify app to be published first. Until then the theme.liquid snippet works on every theme.

What happens to the chat if I change my Shopify theme?

The snippet lives inside the theme, so a new theme does not have it. After you publish a new theme, open its theme.liquid and paste the same code again. Your widget settings, tickets and history in Hushdesk are not affected by the theme change.

How do I remove Hushdesk chat from Shopify?

Open layout/theme.liquid in the code editor, delete the script line you pasted and press Save. The chat button disappears from your store at once. Nothing else on your theme is changed, because the snippet only adds itself and removes cleanly.

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