CometChat Review: Effective Tool To Increase Engagements!

For a blogger or a webmaster, it is always advised to interact with the followers and the visitors of your site. Replying back to the comments on your blog will turn your visitors into regular followers and is an effective strategy to build a fan base. However, have you ever thought of engaging your visitors into a real-time discussion so that they don’t have to go anywhere else even if they are not satisfied with the information provided on your blog? In this scenario, an instant chat box is all you need. Out of many other popular chat softwares, we will review one of the most popular PHP chat software named CometChat.

Features

CometChat is a PHP Chat Software which allows you to install instant chat feature on your website or your mobile application. Along with a chat box, you can share images and videos while chatting. The best part of this software is you can also connect with your Google Talk connections. CometChat is a highly featured chat software and provides other small yet important features too, like:

• Customized Avatar
• Wide Range of Smileys
• Instant Notifications
• Who’s Online
• Availability Status
• ‘Is Typing’ notification
• Sent, Delivered and Read Receipt

You will also get a full-featured Group Chat module which is very helpful for group discussions among the visitors.

Customer Support

Before buying any web script, it is important to verify the legitimacy of their customer support. Although CometChat comes with a detailed documentation, they have a dedicated support forum on their website. Hence if you’re stuck somewhere while installing the script or facing any other issues, you can directly post on the forums where you will be assisted by other members and programmers. Apart from this, they also provide customer support through the Ticket system, Email and Phone Call.

Plans

CometChat offers four different plans, and all the plans include only one-time cost, i.e., you have to pay only once for the script. The cheapest and most basic plan starts from $49 which includes just the Basic Edition of CometChat script. Other plans vary from $129 to $499 which includes features like No Branding, Text Message Broadcasting, Video Conferencing, BOTS Integration and various other advanced features. You can pay through PayPal or your Debit/Credit card. You can also check the demo of the script which is available on the official website.

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Pros and Cons

Here are some of the Pros and Cons which we consider as important and which actually defines the quality of this product:

Pros

• Installation is very easy, and the script comes with a detailed documentation.
• Integration is simple and the script is supported by most of the popular CMS and Portals.
• CometChat allows you to integrate and use the local authentication system so that you don’t have to worry about separate user database.
• There are no restrictions in modifying your plans. You are allowed to upgrade or downgrade your plans anytime.
• Despite being loaded with so many features, CometChat doesn’t use too many resources from your server.
• They provide 30-days refund policy through which you can ask for a 100% refund in case you are not satisfied with their product. This is an exceptional provision for the customers who aren’t sure whether the product is suitable for their needs or not.

Cons

• There are few design issues such as compatibility with different web browsers and mobile browsers along with few performance issues on the mobile.
• Video Conferencing quality isn’t great for low-speed Internet connection.
• To communicate with the other contacts, both the parties should have CometChat installed.
• You have to pay the complete amount of your selected plan at once. No monthly or annual plan option. However, they offer a trial of 14 days to try their services.

Final Verdict

Having a live chat system on your website will increase the user engagement on your website which will eventually increase your page views and improve your bounce rate. If you own websites related to tech support, internet marketing or health advice, then CometChat can be a great addition to your website and will help you to increase your user base. However, if you own a static website or a blog where user engagement is not much of a concern, then this script isn’t of much use. To be honest, this script is a good option for big websites with huge real-time traffic who are willing to convert their visitors to potential buyers of their services. For small websites with low real-time traffic, even if it will look fancy on your website, it won’t be of much use, and you would be wasting your money on this.