Member Avatar for icedome

Hi,

I'm looking for a support chat system that I could integrate with my own web application. I've searched for a while and just found these two options:

As the first one has a developers license, it seems to me that the product is quite old and I'm not sure about being updated with new technologies (websockets). The second one doesn't have a dev license :\

The features that I'm looking for are:

  • Proactive Chat (the operator can start a chat with the client)
  • Chat Transfer between operators
  • Chat Logging
  • Canned messages (if possible)

Does anyone knows another option?

Cheers!

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Generated

Short summary and practical options based on the thread: the choice comes down to a hosted widget for fastest integration, or a self-hosted / custom .NET implementation for full developer control and a dev license. ’s warning about pure-WebSocket solutions is valid; SignalR (the common .NET path) negotiates WebSockets first but automatically falls back to Server‑Sent Events / ForeverFrame / Long Polling so older browsers still work. (learn.microsoft.com)

Quick, low-friction path (hosted widgets)

  • A production-ready widget provides proactive invites, canned replies, chat history and a JavaScript API that embeds with a single script tag. Example: tawk.to offers a permanently free widget with proactive invitations, canned shortcuts and unlimited history. (tawk.to)

Self-hosted / open-source (dev license, full control)

  • Modern, self-hosted help desks with APIs and agent-transfer/assignment features: Chatwoot (open‑source, API, assignment/canned responses, self‑hosting). (chatwoot.com)
  • Lighter PHP-based projects that support proactive invites and plugins: LiveHelperChat (proactive invitation rules, widget settings). (doc.livehelperchat.com)
  • Very lightweight, long-standing open source: Mibew with plugin/extensions for canned messages and log export. (mibew.org)

Custom .NET route (SignalR)

  • SignalR is the recommended .NET realtime layer: it handles transports, connection management and scale-out, so a single Hub + small widget can deliver proactive invites, transfers and logging. Server requirements and transport negotiation are documented. (learn.microsoft.com)

Minimal Hub example (proactive invite to a single connection):

public class SupportHub : Hub
{
    public Task SendProactiveInvite(string connectionId, string message) =>
        Clients.Client(connectionId).SendAsync("ReceiveInvite", message);
}

Troubleshooting notes (common gaps seen in threads): ensure the widget is configured to check for operator invitations (some self-hosted apps poll or require a cron/background job), confirm WSS/CORS and reverse‑proxy settings when using WebSockets, and use a DB or Redis for transcripts/scale‑out. For a dev-licensed, fully-controllable setup prefer Chatwoot/LiveHelperChat or a SignalR-based build; for fastest deployment prefer a hosted widget such as tawk.to. (tawk.to)

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for Ketsuekiame

WebSockets aren't the be all and end all. In fact, using them will severely limit your customer exposure (IE 10, Firefox 6, Chrome 16 and Opera 12). People with older browsers won't be able to use it.

Chat systems don't have to be complicated. You can use some simple ajax and jQuery to achieve the desired affect on the clients and your driving force will be the database.

If you want to go with any, I'd personally check the references for your first example. They've listed quite a few high profile companies, which, if they are in fact customers, would only bolster their credentials.

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