You know that little “Help” bubble on the bottom corner of a website? That’s a web widget.
Presumably, you haven’t thought much about these little widgets before.
After all, the best user experiences typically go unnoticed.
But, adding a widget to your website can lead to huge returns for your business.
It holds the power to both decrease support volume while increasing customer engagement.
We’ll break down a broad definition of the term, show you some examples from our own customers (mostly small business owners!), and walk through exactly how to add one to your website.
What is a web widget?
A web widget is a component that can be added to a website or application as a stand-alone feature. Website widgets are relatively easy to set up, with copy-and-pasteable code blocks you can embed into your website without changing (or even fully understanding) the entire code framework of your website host.
The most popular web widgets for small businesses and e-commerce websites offer access to customer support or customer success teams to help drive sales or answer common questions.
A website widget for customer service gives your users direct access to contact you or to quickly browse your knowledge base.
It looks like this on the our home page:
Support widgets make it easy for customers to get help on every web page of your site. No need to scroll to find an FAQ link. Or to search the site for a “contact us” form. This little bubble packs a big CX punch.
The goals of a support web widget are to:
- Nudge customers to use self-service resources,
- Allow visitors to easily message your team, and
- Enable them to start a live chat conversation.
Adding a web widget increases support visibility, customer engagement, and just about every other aspect of the customer experience.
Web widget examples
Let’s take a look at a few different examples of Groove’s support widget out in the wild. Any business can benefit from a website widget. The examples below range from SaaS to e-commerce to education.
The goal is to support customers with as little friction as possible.
We’ll start by focusing on customization features of the widget. Align your widget design to look and feel similar to your website aesthetic.
Even the little widget icon or help bubble can make a big difference in customer engagement and user experience. Make sure it speaks to your overall brand.
Once you “pop” open the bubble, even more customizations allow you to adjust colors, logos, and text. Keep everything consistent so customers don’t feel disrupted at any point in their journey.
For those with a knowledge base, a web widget encourages visitors to check it out before emailing support.
This is where that 33% drop in support volume enters the picture.
Your customers will end up finding answers through self-service resources rather than needing to email you or reach out through social media and wait for a response. It’s a win for you both.
And—this is pretty cool—when visitors start typing their inquiry, the Groove widget automatically recommends certain knowledge base articles.
UX gets a nice bump with these kinds of features—they’re proactive and customer-centric. These little things add up to make a huge impact on customer experience.
(P.S. Don’t have a knowledge base yet? Learn how to create one!)
For the things you can’t be proactive about or resolve via self-service, a web widget offers easy access to your customer service team (or to whoever is answering emails).
It eliminates any friction preventing customers from getting in touch with you. No need to scour your web page for a contact form. No need to compose a new email. They click one button and they’re done.
For those without a knowledge base, you can use your widget to simply offer direct access to support.
How to add a widget to your website
If you’re using software that includes widget code—like customer support software that includes a contact widget or an email marketing platform that includes an email capture widget—there are usually a few simple steps to turn it on.
Most platforms provide you with simple code blocks that you can copy and paste into your website.
Take a look at our knowledge base article to find the two-step guide to installing Groove’s customer support web widget.
There’s no reason not to install a web widget
Easy set-up and non-invasive design make adding a website widget a no-brainer. You’ll reap the benefits of improved customer experience without overhauling your entire site.
Our web widget is available to all Groove customers on any plan, free of charge.