Facebook messenger platform has launched a beta version of a customer chat plugin that connects your website to your business page on Facebook. This may be the next level in live customer chats, which have a track record of being overly complicated and quickly abandoned.

With Facebook getting into the mix, the outlook is good for the future of live online customer service, especially for small and mid-sized businesses that need an easy and free chat tool.

There are some minimum requirements in order to integrate the Customer Chat Plugin. Here’s a list of what you need for best results:

A Business Facebook page

If you haven’t already or you’re a new business in the works, sign up for a business page for your company on Facebook. The messages received through the plug in will be sent instantly to your business page’s messenger inbox. You can then answer from your desktop or your phone as long as you have the Facebook app and / or the Messenger app.

HTTPS Security Certificate

As we mentioned in this blog post about why it’s so important to get an SSL certificate for your website, Facebook is requiring that your website is secured with an SSL in order to integrate the chat plugin. Online security is a top priority for online giants like Google and Facebook so make sure you buy and install an SSL certificate for your website and if you don’t have a web developer on staff, you can always hire someone to install it for you.

Installation Help

If you’re not a web developer or familiar with installing Facebook plugins, then you’re going to need to find someone who can install the chat plugin for you. You need to give access to your Facebook page and your website files to your web developer. If you have a Wordpress website then you just need to install this plugin.