Plugin Review – Wise Chat

Plugin Review – Wise Chat

https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/wise-chat/

Version Tested: V 2.5

Wise chat is a simple chat plugin that installs a chat page on your WordPress site allowing site users both registered and non-registered to interact together via a basic chat application.

Installation is very straightforward, install and activate the plugin and then place the Wise Chat shortcode on the site page where you would like the chat to appear.

There are a wide range of chat settings available via Dashboard>>Settings>>Wise Chat Settings. Here you can change numerous defaults settings relating to allowing anonymous access, Chat opening hours, Message length, the emoticons that are enabled, The colour scheme used, size of the message area, Moderation options, chat channels, banned words filters etc. Altogether the settings provide a comprehensive range of options for you to configure the Wise Chat plugin to your satisfaction.

Using Wise Chat is pretty simple and straightforward, in fact Wise Chat is ideal for sites that want to create a simple chatroom for their members that includes advanced options such as moderation.

There is also a Pro version of Wise Chat that allows for the creation of BuddyPress group chat room and the ability for members to private chat to each other.

I found that in practical use there were problems with formatting of this chat for different themes, it works great in the 2015 theme but in other themes I tested there were serious layout issues that would need to be fixed via the site CSS, so this may not be “Plug and Play” for some users. Also since Wise Chat uses your own server to pass the messages about, I suggest that it will not scale well for larger numbers of users or a heavily used site. With that in mind I give this plugin 8 out of 10 in that it is a simple, free chat plugin that supports unlimited users, it’s simple to install and does exactly what it says it will.

My Star Rating

Other Peoples Reviews

Rick Bleakley (rickblackdog)

No support

wrote to support weeks ago, no answer no help - no business. Bought a different solution.

February 3, 2021

Ronzo19

Not stable, difficult to customize

This plugin pro version may possibly work OK out-of-the-box. But, it wasn't the look I wanted. So, I tried to "customize" the pro version to complement several different WP themes I had chose... mainly by making what I thought were simple color changes. The color scheme and using a dark or light [...]version of the theme was important. It was very frustrating and extremely tedious working with this plugin. Expect a lot of "trial and error" wasted effort. I had a very difficult time getting this software to deliver the result I was looking for... and again... these were basic "appearance" issues... not functional or operational issues. I'm not a coder, but it seemed as though it's not stable software as appearance changes I made triggered conflicts I could not resolve. For these reasons, I can not recommend either the free version or the paid version. This plugin was mostly a time-consuming, useless effort. Read more »

January 31, 2021

scott0102

Great plugin with great support!

This is a great plugin, and Marcin supplied constant support for me to add in some extra functionality! Thanks Marcin!

January 11, 2021

Ahmet Kahraman (axxmet)

Wise chat minimal problems

Hello there, [...]There is no automatic scrolling option in this chat. I also want to add this option myself with jquery. It is too bad that there is no option to add gif, can it be automatic adding by adding a giphy button? The ajax method sometimes does not work in the new version of wordpress in the Pro version. Read more »

January 7, 2021

chiachatter

After trying several others...

I really liked using Wise Chat so much that after a few weeks I bought it. With less than a year of blogging experience I needed a chat that I could understand and use without a big learning curve. This sure fills the bill! Even some of my friends have commented how much they like using it, which [...]never happened with any of the others I tested. When I did have an issue Marcin responded quickly and with great detail - VERY pleased, as customer service is always an important consideration when I'm considering a plugin. Thanks for a great product! Read more »

January 6, 2021

JTG-SMCHR

Worked great for a virtual event

We used WiseChat Pro for our first virtual employee benefits fair. I needed an affordable, locally hosted chat, with ability for users to be anonymous/no login, and the ability to have 1:1 chats with benefit providers as well as a chat room for each "virtual exhibitor booth". Wise Chat Pro fit all [...]our needs. We had 26 chat channels on a WordPress 5.5.1. and Elementor 3.0.11 site. Marcin was very gracious to troubleshoot some issues I had setting up the plugin...it turned out my web host, Flywheel, moved some core WordPress directories that the plugin needed to work properly. Marcin provided me with the code to make it work with my host. I did give Flywheel a heads up before the event that I was using a chat plugin and they made some adjustments on their end to boost our site speed/resources for the 3 hour event. The chat performed great, we had no lag in messages posting, and we got a lot of compliments. Highly recommend Wise Chat Pro! Thanks Marcin! Read more »

October 15, 2020

legatti

Refresh messages problem after update WordPress to 5.5

I think there is a problem with new WordPress 5.5 The messages sent to the chat are not uptated immediatelly anymore. It is necessary to press F5 button in the browser every time.

August 14, 2020

newmanraj26

Best Plugin But It has Bugs

Best plugin for chatroom. Best author also.

July 19, 2020

bazlaz

Great plugin!

Great plugin!, Marcin was kind enough to customize it for me, great support from him, do not hesitate to buy! 5*

May 15, 2020

conexio

Best PlugIn for public chat rooms

Great Work! Thank you very much!

March 21, 2020