You can add live chat to a BigCommerce store with a Marketplace app, a chat provider’s storefront script, or a developer-managed script or widget. The right route depends on how the provider integrates and whether your store uses a standard Stencil theme, Catalyst, or another headless setup. After installation, test the chat on the storefront and check performance: BigCommerce cautions that third-party scripts can add load time, block rendering, or increase client-side work.
Choose an installation route
BigCommerce documents several ways to put chat on a storefront, but the platform’s installation method does not supply the chat service itself. For the provider’s current embed code, settings, and support options, use that provider’s instructions. The routes differ in how much setup they require and how closely they fit your storefront architecture.
| Route | Best fit | What you do | Main consideration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketplace app | Merchants who want a prebuilt integration managed through BigCommerce | Find a customer-support or live-chat app in the BigCommerce App Marketplace and follow its installation steps. | Check the current listing for permissions, price, storefront compatibility, and vendor setup instructions. A particular app’s current listing or terms are not established here. |
| Script Manager | Merchants whose chat provider supplies an embeddable storefront script | Add the provider’s script in the control panel under Storefront > Script Manager, then choose its placement and page coverage. | Script placement and scope can affect storefront behavior and performance. The vendor must provide the correct script and any required settings. |
| Scripts API | Developers or apps managing storefront scripts programmatically | Use BigCommerce’s Scripts API to deploy and manage the script. | Scripts are channel-aware. Confirm how the installed app or integration manages the script for the relevant storefront channel. |
| Widgets API or third-party widget | Developers building a storefront widget or integrating through a supported app | Create storefront content using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, or use a third-party widget integration. | Stencil and headless storefronts can have different compatibility requirements; confirm the approach works with the actual storefront. |
BigCommerce describes Marketplace apps as its preferred way to add functionality through the control panel. Its documentation also identifies live-chat and support plugins as possible script uses, and chat apps as a Widgets API use case. Those platform capabilities do not guarantee that every provider supports every route or storefront type.
Install a provider script with Script Manager
Use this path when your chat provider gives you an embeddable script and its instructions say to add it to the storefront. Use the provider’s current code as supplied; do not substitute a generic chat snippet or change script settings unless the vendor instructs you to.
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- Get the integration details from the chat provider. Obtain the current storefront script, any account or site identifier it requires, and the provider’s directions for placement, page coverage, and consent settings. Confirm that the instructions apply to BigCommerce and your storefront architecture.
- Open Script Manager. Sign in to your BigCommerce control panel and go to Storefront > Script Manager, the path specified in BigCommerce’s Catalyst guide for adding scripts.
- Create a script. Add a new script and give it a name that identifies the chat provider or purpose, so an authorized user can recognize it later.
- Set placement and page coverage. Choose the location requested by the provider, such as the head or the bottom of the body, and select the pages where the script should run. Apply it only where the provider requires it; do not assume every page needs the same coverage.
- Enter the vendor’s script and required settings. Follow the provider’s installation directions exactly, including any supported consent or configuration requirements. BigCommerce’s platform documentation explains where to add a script, but the provider must supply the working chat code.
- Save and test the storefront. Load the pages covered by the script, confirm that the chat appears as expected, and test the visitor-facing interaction. Also check pages outside the selected coverage to confirm the script is not appearing where it should not.
- Review performance and manage the script. Check storefront behavior after installation. BigCommerce notes that each additional script can affect load time, rendering, or client-side runtime. Authorized users can inspect or delete scripts through Script Manager.
Use the Marketplace app route
Choose this route when a provider offers a BigCommerce app and you want a prebuilt integration rather than adding a script manually. BigCommerce’s App Marketplace is a discovery point for prebuilt solutions, but the app’s own listing and setup instructions determine what it connects to and how it behaves.
- Open the BigCommerce App Marketplace and search for live chat or customer support.
- Read the app’s current listing. Check its required permissions, price, storefront compatibility, and any stated channel or theme requirements.
- Review the vendor’s installation instructions before enabling the app, including any separate account setup or storefront configuration it requires.
- Install the app through the Marketplace and complete the vendor’s setup steps.
- Test the storefront experience and check performance after installation. If the store is headless or uses Catalyst, confirm the app supports that architecture rather than assuming a Stencil-oriented integration will work.
The BigCommerce platform documentation supports the Marketplace as an installation route; it does not establish a particular chat app’s current availability, pricing, permissions, or compatibility. Those details can vary by listing and provider.
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Developer-managed scripts and widgets
Scripts API
BigCommerce identifies its Scripts API as a way to deploy storefront scripts and gives live-chat and support plugins as example uses. This route suits a developer or app managing script deployment rather than a merchant adding one directly in the control panel. BigCommerce describes scripts as channel-aware, and apps can manage their own scripts after installation. Confirm which channel the script targets and who is responsible for updating or removing it.
Widgets API and third-party widgets
The Widgets API lets developers create storefront content with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; BigCommerce explicitly includes chat apps among its use cases. For Stencil storefronts, BigCommerce also documents third-party widget approaches using OAuth credentials or a Marketplace app, with the widget then exposed through Page Builder. Follow the integration’s own requirements for credentials, widget placement, and storefront configuration.
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These developer routes are not interchangeable with pasting arbitrary code into a theme. Use the integration method supported by the provider and BigCommerce for the store’s architecture, and account for who will maintain the integration as the storefront changes.
Check Stencil, Catalyst, and headless compatibility
Storefront architecture can determine whether a chat app works at all, or whether it needs a different integration. BigCommerce cautions that storefront apps may depend on Stencil-specific page structure. On a headless storefront, such an app may be incompatible or only partly functional unless the provider supports an API or SDK.
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Catalyst supports scripts added through Script Manager or the Next.js Script component, according to BigCommerce’s Catalyst guide. That support describes ways to load scripts; it does not by itself establish that a specific vendor’s chat service works correctly with Catalyst. Confirm the vendor’s compatibility and any consent requirements before choosing the installation method.
- Stencil storefront: Check whether the provider supports its Marketplace app, script, or documented third-party widget approach for your theme.
- Catalyst storefront: Confirm the provider’s integration works with Catalyst and determine whether its instructions use Script Manager or the Next.js Script component.
- Other headless storefront: Look for explicit API or SDK support, or confirmation that the script works with the storefront’s rendering and routing model.
Verify the chat and check storefront performance
Installation is not complete just because a script was saved or an app was installed. BigCommerce warns that third-party scripts can increase load time, block rendering, or add client-side runtime overhead. Check the actual pages where the chat appears and the parts of the storefront it could affect.
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- Confirm the chat loads on the selected pages and does not appear outside its intended coverage.
- Test that the chat interface opens and can be used as expected on the storefront.
- Check that the storefront still renders and behaves correctly after the script or app is enabled.
- Compare storefront behavior before and after installation, especially on pages where the chat script runs.
- If the integration causes a problem, review its page coverage and placement, then disable or remove the script through the appropriate management route while you troubleshoot with the provider or developer.
How to choose
- Choose a Marketplace app if the provider offers a suitable BigCommerce listing and you want a prebuilt control-panel installation. The app listing and vendor instructions are the place to establish its price, permissions, and compatibility.
- Choose Script Manager if the provider supplies a storefront script and its instructions support manual installation. This gives you control over script placement and page coverage in the control panel.
- Choose the Scripts API if a developer or app needs to deploy and manage scripts programmatically across the relevant storefront channel.
- Choose the Widgets API or a supported third-party widget when the integration calls for widget content or a Stencil-compatible widget workflow.
- For Catalyst or another headless storefront, make compatibility the first decision. Prefer explicit vendor support for that architecture, including any required API or SDK, rather than relying on an app built around Stencil page structure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does BigCommerce have a native live-chat module?
The BigCommerce documentation covered here describes Marketplace apps, storefront scripts, and widgets as ways to add chat; it does not establish a built-in native live-chat module. A question about native chat also appeared in a 2017 BigCommerce support forum, but that historical post does not establish current platform capabilities.
Can I add chat to only some pages?
Yes, Script Manager lets you select the pages where a script applies. Use the coverage required by the chat provider rather than enabling it across the storefront by default.
Who provides the chat code for a manual installation?
The chat provider supplies its current script and the provider-specific configuration details. BigCommerce provides the storefront installation route, not the provider’s working chat code.
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