Chat buttons play a key role in click-through rate. An attractive, prominent button will win more visitor clicks than a poorly designed or poorly placed one.
And when it comes to chat buttons, there’s a world of variety. Shape, size, colour, placement, text, animation – it all varies from website to website.
However, two of the most common types you’ll see will be the sticky button and the fixed button.
Sticky chat buttons follow users as they scroll, whereas fixed buttons stay pinned to a single place.
But which is best?
In the red corner: the sticky button
With a sticky image button, your chat option is always visible to website visitors. The button floats in a set position to follow the visitor’s activity, moving up or down the page in accordance with scrolls.
Pros:
- - Sticky chat buttons are highly accessible, and the user never has to search or scroll to locate help
- - A sticky image button means convenience for visitors reading through long web pages, allowing them to ask questions as they arise, without losing their point on the page
- - Maximum possible visibility for your chat channel, resulting in increased likelihood of usage
Cons:
- - Sticky chat buttons run the risk of being intrusive for visitors – especially if large or heavily animated
- - With a sticky button, there is less opportunity to place chat in strategic spots such as a pricing or customer log-in page
- - The sticky button takes up screen real estate, and could even obscure information if poorly implemented
In the blue corner: the fixed button
With a fixed image button, your chat option remains at one static point in your website. It doesn’t follow the visitor’s scrolling, and stays firmly placed in its designated spot.
Pros:
- - Fixed chat buttons can be used specifically and strategically, placed only on the pages where human assistance drives value
- - A fixed button is less distracting for website visitors, and less likely to disrupt their online journey
- - Offers availability without any sense of aggressive marketing or pop-up like pushiness
Cons:
- - Fixed chat buttons are less easy for users to locate, and therefore run the risk of being underutilised
- - Visitor frustration can arise from having to click away from the content being read to engage in a chat session
- - A fixed button reduces the accessibility of your business, and is less inviting than its counterpart
Battle of the buttons
So, sticky or fixed chat buttons?
It ultimately comes down to how you want to use chat, and what your goals are.
And don’t worry if you haven’t made up your mind just yet: we offer both options with WhosOn.