It only takes a few minutes to install the Messenger on your website. Once installed, you’ll be able to welcome, onboard, and support customers as they become loyal users of your app.
The two steps required for a full and secure Messenger install are:
You'll need an Intercom trial or subscription to install the Messenger.
Initial Messenger install for users on web
First go to Web installation and open Install the messenger on your site or app.
Choose how to install the Messenger
Select your install method using Code snippet, WordPress, Google Tag Manager, Shopify, or Segment. Each method provides specific steps when selected.
Ask your developer to help (optional)
If needed, you can ask a teammate (like an engineer) to complete the installation. Simply click Invite teammate.
Once you input their email address, an email invite will be sent which allows them to join your team's workspace.
The invited teammate will be given a lite seat on Advanced / Expert plans and given a full seat on Essential plans. They'll have the minimum permissions required to install the Messenger:
Can manage general and security settings
Can manage Messenger settings
Can manage workspace data
Install yourself
If you chose Code snippet or Shopify as the installation method, you'll have the choice of whether to complete the installation for:
Users with logins - Install the Messenger for logged-in users. The messenger will show information like customer names and previous conversations across devices.
For website visitors without logins - Install the Messenger for anonymous website visitors who aren’t logged in. Conversations will be saved in the browser via a cookie.
We recommend installing the Messenger for users and visitors.
You must then "Enable user traffic for messenger".
If this is disabled, all requests to Intercom will fail.
Install Intercom via your chosen method
Now follow the instructions given for the method you selected. For example, if you selected WordPress you'll see the instructions below for this method.
If you selected the code snippet method, you'll be provided with a code snippet template to copy and paste into the codebase of your own app. This snippet is pre-populated with your unique workspace ID, so it's ready to go.
There are several templates available such as including the code snippet in a Node.js/Rails (Ruby)/Django (Python 3), or PHP app. You can also include the code snippet in a single-page app or use the rails gem to install the snippet.
Click Copy code and paste it before the </body> tag on every page you want the Messenger to appear on your app.
Then edit the code to send Intercom the email address or user_id and signed-up date of the user who is currently logged in.
After adding the code, open your app and the Messenger will appear.
Important:
You can identify users with either a user_id or email address.
If you send a user_id and an email address, the user_id will take priority when identifying your users.
If you choose to use user_id, email address can still be used to identify your users in Intercom, so we recommend enabling identity verification.
You can also send Intercom Custom attributes about your users.
If you're using the
zoomCSS on your webpage, make sure that Intercom's widgets are not receiving it.
Check the installation
You can check the installation was successful by clicking on Check installation. This button offers a success notification if the Messenger has been successfully found or indicates whether something has gone wrong.
Now continue on to the next step in the installation process and secure the messenger with Identity verification.
Learn how to:
Installing Intercom for a client
If you don't have access to the Intercom workspace, you can grab the JavaScript code here 👇 You will need to manually replace WORKSPACE_ID with the unique workspace ID for your Intercom account.
<script>
var APP_ID = "WORKSPACE_ID"; // Replace this with your workspace ID
window.intercomSettings = {
app_id: APP_ID,
name: "Jane Doe", // Full name
email: "customer@example.com", // Email address
created_at: 1312182000 // Signup date as a Unix timestamp
};
</script>
<script>(function(){var w=window;var ic=w.Intercom;if(typeof ic==="function"){ic('reattach_activator');ic('update',w.intercomSettings);}else{var d=document;var i=function(){i.c(arguments);};i.q=[];i.c=function(args){i.q.push(args);};w.Intercom=i;var l=function(){var s=d.createElement('script');s.type='text/javascript';s.async=true;s.src='https://widget.intercom.io/widget/' + APP_ID;var x=d.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];x.parentNode.insertBefore(s,x);};if(w.attachEvent){w.attachEvent('onload',l);}else{w.addEventListener('load',l,false);}}})();</script>
The value for created_at should be the date that a customer signed up for your app, site or service, sent as a Unix timestamp.
Install Intercom in a desktop environment
It is technically possible to include Intercom in a desktop application, however, we do not officially support desktop environments. The Intercom Messenger has been designed and developed to run in a web environment (list of supported browsers). These web environments support specific web functionality that our Messenger depends on (e.g. Javascript and CSS).
Electron and similar technology enables you to build desktop applications using web technology, and it is possible to install Intercom in these types of applications - there are even community libraries to help install Intercom in Electron environments, however, it's not something we officially support.
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