You can add live chat to a BigCommerce store with a Marketplace app, a provider’s storefront script, or a developer-built script or widget. The right route depends on the chat provider’s integration and whether your store uses a standard Stencil storefront, Catalyst, or another headless setup. Before installing anything, check storefront compatibility and plan to measure the effect of the added code on performance.
Choose an installation route
| Route | Best fit | What you need | Main consideration |
|---|---|---|---|
| BigCommerce Marketplace app | Merchants who want a prebuilt integration managed through the control panel | A compatible app and its vendor’s setup instructions | Check the listing’s current permissions, price, storefront compatibility, and setup requirements before installing. |
| Script Manager | Merchants whose chat provider supplies an embeddable storefront script | The provider’s current script and configuration instructions | Choose where the script loads and which pages receive it; extra scripts can affect storefront performance. |
| Scripts API or Widgets API | Developers managing storefront code or building a more tailored integration | Developer access and the provider’s supported code, API, or SDK | Implementation and ongoing maintenance require technical work; compatibility depends on the storefront architecture. |
BigCommerce documentation describes Marketplace apps, storefront scripts, and widgets as routes for adding functionality; its Scripts documentation gives live-chat and support plugins as an example use. That does not establish that every chat service supports every route, or that a particular app is currently listed or compatible. The Marketplace is a discovery path, not a guarantee of a specific app’s current terms.
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Before you install
- Identify your storefront architecture. Confirm whether the store uses Stencil, Catalyst, or another headless storefront. An app built around Stencil page structure may not work fully on a headless storefront.
- Confirm the provider’s integration method. Get the current installation instructions, script or app requirements, and any API or SDK details from the chat provider. Do not substitute sample code from another provider.
- Check the scope and permissions. For a Marketplace app, review the listing’s permissions, price, storefront compatibility, and vendor setup directions. For a script, determine the pages and location where it needs to load.
- Plan a performance check. BigCommerce warns that third-party scripts can increase load time, block rendering, or add client-side runtime overhead. Its guidance puts it plainly: “Every additional script has a performance cost.”
Option 1: Install a Marketplace app
- In the BigCommerce control panel, open the App Marketplace. BigCommerce presents the Marketplace as a place to find prebuilt solutions and describes apps as the preferred way to add functionality in the control panel.
- Search for live chat or customer support, then open a candidate’s current listing.
- Review the listing’s permissions, price, storefront compatibility, and vendor-provided setup instructions. Confirm that the integration fits your storefront architecture, especially if it is headless or uses Catalyst.
- Install the app and complete the vendor’s setup steps. Configuration varies by provider, so use that provider’s current directions for account connection, chat appearance, and any required storefront settings.
- Visit the storefront pages where chat should appear and test the visitor experience. Check that the chat loads and that the provider’s expected support workflow is available.
BigCommerce documentation supports the Marketplace route, but it does not establish a specific live-chat app’s current listing, features, compatibility, or pricing. Those details must come from the live listing and provider.
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- Get the chat provider’s current embeddable script and instructions, including any required account-specific settings. A script from one provider is not interchangeable with another’s.
- Sign in to the BigCommerce control panel and go to Storefront > Script Manager.
- Create a script and give it a recognizable name so an authorized user can identify it later.
- Choose the script’s location, such as the head or the bottom of the body, following the provider’s instructions.
- Choose the pages where the script applies. Keep the scope intentional: a sitewide chat launcher and a script needed only on selected pages do not necessarily need the same coverage.
- Save the script, then load the relevant storefront pages and verify that chat appears and behaves as expected. Check both pages that should include it and pages that should not.
- Review storefront performance after installation. If the script adds unwanted delay or runtime overhead, revisit its scope and placement and consult the provider’s guidance before changing its configuration.
BigCommerce’s Script Manager instructions establish the control-panel path and the choices for script location and page coverage. They do not supply the chat provider’s code or provider-specific settings.
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Option 3: Use a developer-managed script or widget
Scripts API
BigCommerce identifies the Scripts API as a way to deploy storefront scripts and lists live-chat and support plugins among its example uses. Scripts are channel-aware. Apps can manage their own scripts after installation, and authorized users can inspect or delete scripts through Script Manager. This route is suitable when a developer or app needs to manage deployment programmatically; the provider’s implementation requirements still determine the actual chat code and configuration.
Widgets API and Stencil widgets
The Widgets API lets developers create storefront content using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and BigCommerce explicitly includes chat apps as a possible use. For Stencil storefronts, BigCommerce documents adding third-party widgets with OAuth credentials or through an App Marketplace app, then exposing them through Page Builder. Use the provider’s supported integration rather than assuming that a generic widget will connect to its service.
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These routes involve developer-managed implementation. The platform documentation describes the mechanisms, but does not specify a universal sequence of API calls or provider code for every chat service.
What changes on Catalyst or another headless storefront?
Check compatibility before choosing an app or code path. BigCommerce cautions that storefront apps may rely on Stencil-specific page structure, which can make them incompatible or only partly functional on headless storefronts unless they provide an API or SDK suited to that setup.
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BigCommerce’s Catalyst guidance supports adding scripts through Script Manager or the Next.js Script component. That only addresses how a script can be added: the chat provider’s service must also work with the storefront, and the integration must account for any applicable consent requirements. Confirm those points with the provider before deployment.
Test the installation and manage it afterward
- Check storefront coverage. Open the pages you selected and confirm the launcher or chat interface appears in the intended locations.
- Test the visitor path. Open the chat and follow the provider’s documented test procedure so you can confirm that the installed interface connects to the expected service.
- Check for unintended effects. Review the pages where chat appears for rendering problems, delayed loading, or other client-side issues after adding the third-party code.
- Keep an inventory. Record the script’s name, purpose, location, and page coverage, or note which app manages it. BigCommerce says authorized users can inspect or delete scripts in Script Manager; app-managed scripts may be managed by the app.
- Remove or adjust deliberately. If the integration is no longer needed or causes a problem, identify whether it is managed in Script Manager or by the app before removing it. For an app-managed integration, use the app’s instructions rather than assuming deleting a separate script will disable the app.
Common problems and what to check
- The app installs but chat does not appear: Recheck the provider’s setup steps and storefront compatibility. On a headless or Catalyst store, ask whether the integration supports that architecture through an API or SDK.
- The script appears on the wrong pages: Return to Storefront > Script Manager and review the page coverage selected for the script.
- The code is present but the service does not work: Verify that you used the provider’s current account-specific script and required settings. BigCommerce provides the deployment mechanism; it does not generate vendor-specific code.
- Storefront performance changes after installation: Review the script’s location and page scope and assess the pages where it runs. BigCommerce cautions that third-party scripts can affect load time, rendering, and client-side runtime.
- You cannot find or manage the script: Check whether an app installed and manages its own script. BigCommerce notes that apps can manage their own scripts after installation and that authorized users can inspect or delete scripts in Script Manager.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does BigCommerce have a built-in live chat module?
BigCommerce’s platform documentation describes Marketplace apps, scripts, and widgets as ways to add live chat. It does not establish a native live-chat module as part of the storefront.
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Can I add live chat without installing an app?
Yes. If the chat provider supplies an embeddable script, you can add it through Script Manager; developers can also use the Scripts API or Widgets API.
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Where do I add a chat script in BigCommerce?
In the control panel, go to Storefront > Script Manager, create a script, and configure its location and page coverage using the chat provider’s instructions.
Can a live-chat script slow down my storefront?
It can. BigCommerce warns that third-party scripts may increase load time, block rendering, or add client-side runtime overhead, so review performance after installation.
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