How to Use Viber as a Website Chat Plugin
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Yelton Shults
Nov 21, 2025, 3:10:02 AMNov 21
to vb79com
instant communication is the backbone of exceptional customer service and successful online business. While traditional live chat solutions are common, integrating popular messaging apps directly onto your website offers a more personal, familiar, and continuous customer experience. Among these apps, Viber stands out, particularly in regions where it dominates the messaging market.
The question for many businesses is: How to use Viber as a website chat plugin? This comprehensive guide delves into the methods, advantages, practical applications, and best practices for transforming Viber into a powerful, permanent communication channel directly embedded on your website, enhancing user engagement and driving conversions.
The Evolution of Website Communication
For years, the standard website communication stack included email forms and traditional, session-based live chat widgets. While effective, these methods often felt detached. The customer had to stay on the page, and the conversation ended when the browser closed.
The rise of Over-The-Top (OTT) messaging platforms like Viber, WhatsApp, and Telegram has shifted customer expectations. Users now prefer communicating with businesses the same way they talk to friends: instantly, asynchronously, and on the channel of their choice.
Integrating Viber as a website chat plugin leverages its massive user base, particularly in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and parts of the Middle East, offering several key advantages:
Asynchronous Communication: Customers can leave the website and resume the conversation later on their mobile device.
Familiar Interface: Using a tool they already know (Viber) reduces friction for the user.
Rich Media Capabilities: Exchange photos, videos, and files easily, which is crucial for support and sales.
This integration is typically achieved not by a direct, official "Viber Widget" but through the use of the Viber API (often via Viber Business Accounts or Viber Public Accounts) and specialized third-party multi-channel chat platforms that bridge the gap between your website and the Viber application.
Understanding the Mechanisms: Viber Business Solutions
Viber, like other major messaging apps, provides robust APIs designed for business use. These APIs are the foundation for turning Viber into a viable website chat solution.
The Role of the Viber API
Viber's primary tool for business-to-consumer (B2C) interaction is the Viber Business API (or similarly named solutions like Viber Bot API). This API allows businesses to:
Receive Messages: Capture incoming customer messages sent from the website interface.
Send Messages: Reply to customers, enabling two-way communication.
Manage Conversations: Integrate Viber chats into a central Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or multi-channel help desk system.
Since Viber does not offer a simple piece of embed code for a native widget, the process requires a specialized Viber-enabled chat aggregator.
The Multi-Channel Chat Aggregator Approach
The most professional and scalable way to use Viber as a website chat plugin involves a unified messaging platform (or chat aggregator) that handles the technical integration:
The Bridge: The aggregator provides the embeddable website widget code (JavaScript).
The Channel Switch: When a customer clicks the widget and chooses the Viber icon, they are typically redirected to a Viber Chat Link (often a URI like viber://pa?chat&public_account=...) or a QR code.
The Connection: The customer opens the chat within their Viber app, initiating a session with the business's Viber account.
The Agent Interface: The business agent manages the conversation not in the Viber app, but within the aggregator's centralized dashboard, alongside chats from other channels like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp.
This approach ensures you can manage high volumes of inquiries and even facilitates seamless integration between different platforms, such as understanding integrate Viber with Facebook to unify your social messaging channels.
Step-by-Step Guide: Implementing the Viber Website Chat Plugin
Implementing Viber as a communication option on your website requires a systematic approach, often leveraging the services of a third-party customer engagement platform (e.g., platforms like Tidio, Intercom, or specialized messaging-focused tools that support the Viber API).
Step 1: Establish Your Viber Business Account
Before embedding anything, you must secure your official business presence on the platform:
Create a Viber Public Account or Business Profile: This is your identity on Viber, similar to a Facebook Business Page. It includes your logo, description, and branding.
Obtain the API Key/Token: Register your account with a service provider or directly with Viber to receive the necessary credentials (API Key or Token) required to connect the messaging traffic to your chosen chat software.
Step 2: Choose and Configure a Chat Aggregator
Select a multi-channel platform that explicitly supports the Viber Business API for website integration.
Connect the API: Input the Viber API key into the platform's settings.
Generate the Widget: Use the platform's tools to design the website widget (choose colors, position, and the Viber icon).
Define the Action: Configure the Viber icon within the widget to perform the specific action: either linking directly to your Viber public account chat or displaying a QR code for mobile scanning.
Step 3: Embed the Widget Code on Your Website
This is the technical step of making the chat icon visible to your customers.
Copy the JavaScript Code: The aggregator platform will provide a unique snippet of JavaScript code.
Paste into the HTML: Paste this code snippet just before the closing $</body$ tag of your website's HTML on every page where you want the chat widget to appear.
Verification: Clear your cache and check your website. The chat bubble should now be visible, and clicking the Viber icon should successfully open the chat on a user's mobile device (if they have the app installed).
Step 4: Streamline the Messaging Workflow
Once the chat is live, focus on efficiency.
Agent Training: Train your customer support team on send text messages on Viber easily from the unified agent dashboard.
Automated Responses: Set up automated welcome messages via the API to acknowledge the customer immediately.
CRM Integration: Ensure your aggregator platform is connected to your CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) to log all Viber conversations under the corresponding customer record.
Advantages and Practical Applications of Viber Chat
Beyond mere communication, using Viber as a website chat plugin unlocks specific business benefits, especially in customer retention and sales.
Enhanced Lead Capture and Follow-Up
The core advantage is continuity. Traditional live chat sessions are lost when the user navigates away. With Viber, the conversation moves to the user’s phone, meaning:
Permanent Contact: The business gains a direct, permanent line of communication (the user's Viber ID/account).
Re-Marketing and Notifications: You can proactively send follow-up messages, promotions, or status updates (e.g., order tracking) directly to the customer's Viber app, provided they have not blocked the account.
Localized Customer Trust
In countries where Viber is the dominant messaging application (such as Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia, or Iraq), having an official, easily accessible Viber channel on your website builds immediate trust. It signals that you are a modern, localized business accessible on the platform the community uses most.
Furthermore, integrating Viber with other popular local channels, like understanding integrate Viber with Instagram, further strengthens your local digital presence and omnichannel strategy.
Richer Support Experiences
Viber supports sending and receiving high-quality images, videos, and documents.
Visual Troubleshooting: Customers can instantly send pictures of a damaged product or a software error screen, allowing support agents to diagnose issues faster than text descriptions alone.
Document Exchange: Sales teams can quickly send quotes, brochures, or contracts directly within the chat thread.
Common Challenges and Future Trends
Challenge: The Redirect Experience
Unlike native live chat, the Viber solution requires the user to leave the website briefly to open the conversation in the mobile app. This minor friction point must be managed with clear instructions and a prominent call-to-action (CTA).
Best Practice: Use clear language like "Chat with us on Viber" and ensure the QR code or link is highly visible and easy to click/scan.
Cost and Business Account Fees
The use of the Viber Business API often involves transactional costs, typically charged per message or session, especially after a free tier is exhausted. Businesses must factor these per-message costs into their customer service budget.
Future Trends: The Rise of Conversational Commerce
The trend is moving towards Conversational Commerce, where the entire customer journey—from discovery and sales to support and post-purchase follow-up—occurs within the messaging app.
Viber continues to develop features like Viber Business Inbox and enhanced bot capabilities, which allow companies to deliver structured content (like carousels, payment buttons, and product catalogs) directly within the chat interface. This means the Viber website plugin will evolve from a simple chat link into a full, embedded store experience. To stay competitive, businesses must keep pace with these advancements. A useful resource for staying updated on the platform’s business features is the official Viber for Business news and updates page (e.g., https://business.viber.com/).
Making Viber Work for Your Business
Successfully deploying Viber as a website chat plugin is not just about adding an icon; it's about adopting an asynchronous, mobile-first approach to customer service. By leveraging the Viber Business API via a multi-channel aggregator, businesses can:
Provide unparalleled convenience to customers in Viber-dominant markets.
Ensure customer conversations are persistent and trackable.
Build a foundation for future conversational commerce and automated support (chatbots).
The most suitable communication strategy is always one that meets the customer where they are. For businesses targeting regions with high Viber adoption, this integration is a critical step in modernizing the digital storefront and converting website visitors into loyal, engaged customers.
The question for many businesses is: How to use Viber as a website chat plugin? This comprehensive guide delves into the methods, advantages, practical applications, and best practices for transforming Viber into a powerful, permanent communication channel directly embedded on your website, enhancing user engagement and driving conversions.
The Evolution of Website Communication
For years, the standard website communication stack included email forms and traditional, session-based live chat widgets. While effective, these methods often felt detached. The customer had to stay on the page, and the conversation ended when the browser closed.
The rise of Over-The-Top (OTT) messaging platforms like Viber, WhatsApp, and Telegram has shifted customer expectations. Users now prefer communicating with businesses the same way they talk to friends: instantly, asynchronously, and on the channel of their choice.
Integrating Viber as a website chat plugin leverages its massive user base, particularly in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and parts of the Middle East, offering several key advantages:
Asynchronous Communication: Customers can leave the website and resume the conversation later on their mobile device.
Familiar Interface: Using a tool they already know (Viber) reduces friction for the user.
Rich Media Capabilities: Exchange photos, videos, and files easily, which is crucial for support and sales.
This integration is typically achieved not by a direct, official "Viber Widget" but through the use of the Viber API (often via Viber Business Accounts or Viber Public Accounts) and specialized third-party multi-channel chat platforms that bridge the gap between your website and the Viber application.
Understanding the Mechanisms: Viber Business Solutions
Viber, like other major messaging apps, provides robust APIs designed for business use. These APIs are the foundation for turning Viber into a viable website chat solution.
The Role of the Viber API
Viber's primary tool for business-to-consumer (B2C) interaction is the Viber Business API (or similarly named solutions like Viber Bot API). This API allows businesses to:
Receive Messages: Capture incoming customer messages sent from the website interface.
Send Messages: Reply to customers, enabling two-way communication.
Manage Conversations: Integrate Viber chats into a central Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or multi-channel help desk system.
Since Viber does not offer a simple piece of embed code for a native widget, the process requires a specialized Viber-enabled chat aggregator.
The Multi-Channel Chat Aggregator Approach
The most professional and scalable way to use Viber as a website chat plugin involves a unified messaging platform (or chat aggregator) that handles the technical integration:
The Bridge: The aggregator provides the embeddable website widget code (JavaScript).
The Channel Switch: When a customer clicks the widget and chooses the Viber icon, they are typically redirected to a Viber Chat Link (often a URI like viber://pa?chat&public_account=...) or a QR code.
The Connection: The customer opens the chat within their Viber app, initiating a session with the business's Viber account.
The Agent Interface: The business agent manages the conversation not in the Viber app, but within the aggregator's centralized dashboard, alongside chats from other channels like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp.
This approach ensures you can manage high volumes of inquiries and even facilitates seamless integration between different platforms, such as understanding integrate Viber with Facebook to unify your social messaging channels.
Step-by-Step Guide: Implementing the Viber Website Chat Plugin
Implementing Viber as a communication option on your website requires a systematic approach, often leveraging the services of a third-party customer engagement platform (e.g., platforms like Tidio, Intercom, or specialized messaging-focused tools that support the Viber API).
Step 1: Establish Your Viber Business Account
Before embedding anything, you must secure your official business presence on the platform:
Create a Viber Public Account or Business Profile: This is your identity on Viber, similar to a Facebook Business Page. It includes your logo, description, and branding.
Obtain the API Key/Token: Register your account with a service provider or directly with Viber to receive the necessary credentials (API Key or Token) required to connect the messaging traffic to your chosen chat software.
Step 2: Choose and Configure a Chat Aggregator
Select a multi-channel platform that explicitly supports the Viber Business API for website integration.
Connect the API: Input the Viber API key into the platform's settings.
Generate the Widget: Use the platform's tools to design the website widget (choose colors, position, and the Viber icon).
Define the Action: Configure the Viber icon within the widget to perform the specific action: either linking directly to your Viber public account chat or displaying a QR code for mobile scanning.
Step 3: Embed the Widget Code on Your Website
This is the technical step of making the chat icon visible to your customers.
Copy the JavaScript Code: The aggregator platform will provide a unique snippet of JavaScript code.
Paste into the HTML: Paste this code snippet just before the closing $</body$ tag of your website's HTML on every page where you want the chat widget to appear.
Verification: Clear your cache and check your website. The chat bubble should now be visible, and clicking the Viber icon should successfully open the chat on a user's mobile device (if they have the app installed).
Step 4: Streamline the Messaging Workflow
Once the chat is live, focus on efficiency.
Agent Training: Train your customer support team on send text messages on Viber easily from the unified agent dashboard.
Automated Responses: Set up automated welcome messages via the API to acknowledge the customer immediately.
CRM Integration: Ensure your aggregator platform is connected to your CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) to log all Viber conversations under the corresponding customer record.
Advantages and Practical Applications of Viber Chat
Beyond mere communication, using Viber as a website chat plugin unlocks specific business benefits, especially in customer retention and sales.
Enhanced Lead Capture and Follow-Up
The core advantage is continuity. Traditional live chat sessions are lost when the user navigates away. With Viber, the conversation moves to the user’s phone, meaning:
Permanent Contact: The business gains a direct, permanent line of communication (the user's Viber ID/account).
Re-Marketing and Notifications: You can proactively send follow-up messages, promotions, or status updates (e.g., order tracking) directly to the customer's Viber app, provided they have not blocked the account.
Localized Customer Trust
In countries where Viber is the dominant messaging application (such as Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia, or Iraq), having an official, easily accessible Viber channel on your website builds immediate trust. It signals that you are a modern, localized business accessible on the platform the community uses most.
Furthermore, integrating Viber with other popular local channels, like understanding integrate Viber with Instagram, further strengthens your local digital presence and omnichannel strategy.
Richer Support Experiences
Viber supports sending and receiving high-quality images, videos, and documents.
Visual Troubleshooting: Customers can instantly send pictures of a damaged product or a software error screen, allowing support agents to diagnose issues faster than text descriptions alone.
Document Exchange: Sales teams can quickly send quotes, brochures, or contracts directly within the chat thread.
Common Challenges and Future Trends
Challenge: The Redirect Experience
Unlike native live chat, the Viber solution requires the user to leave the website briefly to open the conversation in the mobile app. This minor friction point must be managed with clear instructions and a prominent call-to-action (CTA).
Best Practice: Use clear language like "Chat with us on Viber" and ensure the QR code or link is highly visible and easy to click/scan.
Cost and Business Account Fees
The use of the Viber Business API often involves transactional costs, typically charged per message or session, especially after a free tier is exhausted. Businesses must factor these per-message costs into their customer service budget.
Future Trends: The Rise of Conversational Commerce
The trend is moving towards Conversational Commerce, where the entire customer journey—from discovery and sales to support and post-purchase follow-up—occurs within the messaging app.
Viber continues to develop features like Viber Business Inbox and enhanced bot capabilities, which allow companies to deliver structured content (like carousels, payment buttons, and product catalogs) directly within the chat interface. This means the Viber website plugin will evolve from a simple chat link into a full, embedded store experience. To stay competitive, businesses must keep pace with these advancements. A useful resource for staying updated on the platform’s business features is the official Viber for Business news and updates page (e.g., https://business.viber.com/).
Making Viber Work for Your Business
Successfully deploying Viber as a website chat plugin is not just about adding an icon; it's about adopting an asynchronous, mobile-first approach to customer service. By leveraging the Viber Business API via a multi-channel aggregator, businesses can:
Provide unparalleled convenience to customers in Viber-dominant markets.
Ensure customer conversations are persistent and trackable.
Build a foundation for future conversational commerce and automated support (chatbots).
The most suitable communication strategy is always one that meets the customer where they are. For businesses targeting regions with high Viber adoption, this integration is a critical step in modernizing the digital storefront and converting website visitors into loyal, engaged customers.
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