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
vermaakpetrus
IT WORKS!
Purchased the Pro version and very happy! You may have to wait a day or two for support, as it looks like there is only one developer. But it's worth the wait as Marcin will personally attend to all your requests. That's so hard to find these days. [...]
As for the chat plugin, it has so many features that you'd be hard-pressed not to be able to do exactly what you want. It's lightweight on a shared host and it works flawlessly with cache & cloudflare. What more could one ask for? Read more »July 12, 2021
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
1 comment
Warning!!! Never buy the wise-chat pro version!!! The basic free version works ok but a lot of bugs, and the support forums on wordpress.org is ok. Most the support only for the free on wordpress.org, they give ONLY the basic free version support to trick you to buy the pro. But once you buy the wise-chat pro,, you get a lot more bugs, no support, the pro support do not have its own forums whatsoever like on wordpress.org. is private email thru their website. you never get to see what others who post for help.. is just like private email, like regular emails you sent to your friends. If you lucky, you might get one supported answer after weeks, that also the answers is asking you back with attitude. They don’t have refund, once you bought it, the words is OH WELL……… The pro doesn’t work exactly like the free version, most the functions is not working correctly, a mean, the settings are there and you can do the settings, but it doesn’t work for most of it. Hell,, the basic is better than the pay version, you just don’t get all the functions. and not neither buddypress compatible as it say. It also 6 months support for 35.00 and one year support for 47.00. Well, lucky I bought the 6 months only, buy unlucky for buying it in all aspects, no support, bad coding, many bugs…. Take my words for it!!!!! It will be your lost if you don’t… GOOD LUCK GUYS IF YOU GOING TO BUY THIS….SCAMMER CHAT PLUGIN.