=== Chatmello – Animated Chat Button ===
Contributors: chatmello
Tags: chat button, live chat, intercom, zendesk, tidio
Requires at least: 6.3
Tested up to: 7.1
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 1.1.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Replace your chat button with an animated character in your brand colors. Works with the chat tool you already use.

== Description ==

Chatmello turns the plain chat bubble in the corner of your site into an animated character. It greets visitors with your message, reacts while they browse, and opens the chat tool you already use when they click it. Your inbox, bots and routing don't change.

**One-click setup.** Pick a pet in Settings → Chatmello and click Connect. You sign in or create a free account on chatmello.com and come straight back, with your pet already live. No code to paste.

**Everything in WordPress:**

* A setup checklist: connected, published, seen on your site, chat tool found
* Pet views, clicks and chats from the last 7 days, on the settings page and in a Dashboard widget
* Finds the chat plugin you use (Tawk.to, Crisp, Tidio, HubSpot, LiveChat, Zendesk, Intercom, Smartsupp and more)
* Hide the pet for logged-in users, on the WooCommerce cart and checkout, or on any single page or post
* A "Chat with us" button for your pages: a block, or the `[chatmello_button]` shortcode
* Works with caching plugins: WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, Autoptimize, Perfmatters and SiteGround Optimizer won't delay the pet
* A Site Health check, a suggested privacy policy paragraph, and WP-CLI commands
* Never asks you for a review

**What your pet can do (set in Chatmello):**

* 70 characters in your brand colors, or upload your own mascot, plus seasonal hats
* Works with Intercom, Zendesk, Tidio, Crisp, HubSpot, Tawk.to, LiveChat, Freshchat and more, and finds the chat tool on your page by itself
* Greeting messages per page and language, office hours, on scroll or when a visitor is about to leave
* Test two greetings and see which one gets more clicks
* No chat tool? The pet can open WhatsApp, email, a phone call and other contact options instead
* If your chat tool ever fails to load, your original chat button comes back
* About 12 KB, loads after your page, no cookies, never records what visitors type
* Free plan with no time limit

= External service =

This plugin connects to Chatmello (https://www.chatmello.com). Nothing is sent and nothing is added to your public pages until you click Connect or paste a snippet.

* **On your public pages:** visitors' browsers download the pet's script and settings from chatmello.com. The script sends anonymous counts (the pet was shown, clicked or opened a chat) with the page path and your site's address. No cookies are set and nothing visitors type is recorded.
* **When you click Connect:** you're sent to chatmello.com with your site's address, name and the return address of this settings page. WordPress then exchanges a one-time code for a site key.
* **In your admin:** with that key, the settings page, the Dashboard widget, Site Health and a twice-daily check ask Chatmello for your pet's status and 7-day stats. Character pictures on the settings page load from chatmello.com.
* Terms of service: https://www.chatmello.com/terms
* Privacy policy: https://www.chatmello.com/privacy

== Installation ==

1. Install and activate the plugin.
2. Go to Settings → Chatmello, pick a pet and click Connect Chatmello.
3. Sign in or create a free account, then choose which pet goes on this site (or create a new one). You come back to WordPress with the pet live.

Keep your chat tool's own plugin or code installed as it is: the pet finds it and opens it when visitors click.

Prefer to paste? Open "Already have a snippet? Paste it instead" on the settings page, or run `wp chatmello set <snippet>`.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Do I need a Chatmello account? =

Yes, a free one. You can create it while connecting.

= Will it replace my chat tool? =

No. Chatmello only replaces the button. Conversations still happen in your chat tool.

= Does it slow my site down? =

The script is about 12 KB and loads after your page has finished loading.

= Does it work with caching and optimization plugins? =

Yes. The plugin tells WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, Autoptimize, Perfmatters and SiteGround Optimizer not to delay or combine it. With another optimization plugin, exclude chatmello.js from "delay JavaScript".

= How do I hide the pet on one page? =

Open the page in the editor and tick "Hide the pet on this page" in the Chatmello box. For patterns like every /checkout page, use page rules in Chatmello.

= How do I add a "Chat with us" button? =

Add the "Chatmello chat button" block, or the shortcode `[chatmello_button label="Chat with us"]`. It opens your chat through the pet.

= Can developers control where it shows? =

Yes, with the `chatmello_show` filter: `add_filter( 'chatmello_show', '__return_false' );` hides it, and you can return true or false based on the page.

= Is there a WP-CLI command? =

`wp chatmello status`, `wp chatmello set <snippet-or-site-id>` and `wp chatmello disconnect`.

= What happens when I disconnect or deactivate? =

Disconnecting removes the pet from your site straight away. Disconnecting in Chatmello removes it within 12 hours. Deactivating keeps your settings. Deleting the plugin removes everything it stored.

== Screenshots ==

1. Pick a pet and connect, with no code to paste.
2. Connected: your pet's status, a setup checklist and 7-day stats.
3. The Dashboard widget.
4. An animated pet in place of the chat button.

== Changelog ==

= 1.1.0 =
* One-click Connect: no code to paste, and a new site's pet is published straight away.
* Pick a pet before connecting.
* Setup checklist, 7-day stats and a Dashboard widget.
* Chat plugin detection.
* Hide for logged-in users, on the WooCommerce cart and checkout, or per page.
* "Chatmello chat button" block and `[chatmello_button]` shortcode.
* Caching plugin compatibility, Site Health check, privacy policy text, WP-CLI commands.

= 1.0.0 =
* First release.
