Quality CaaS (Chat as a Service)

I gave this plugin 5 stars, based solely on the plugin and how well it works. It does its job (adding ChatNox chat to WordPress websites) and it does it well. It is very easy to install and just as easy to use.

With Real-Time Visitor Monitoring, Geolocation Data, Triggers, Canned Responses, Offline Messaging and Live Chat Ratings, there is a lot to love about ChatNox. That being said, ChatNox is more than a WordPress Plugin. ChatNox is a “Chat as a Service” provider, which means there are other things to consider. It is in these “other things” I find problems.

• Their “Free Sticky Bar” is annoying, though easy enough to disable.
• There is not a native mobile app for smart phones nor tablets.
• The advertised Mobile IM integration (Trillian for iOS) is sketchy at best, and doesn’t work most of the time (NO – Not even with the paid version). This isn’t an opinion. I ran several tests on about 10 different client/provider scenarios, and not once did it work correctly.
• The “Easy to use web-chat interface” is only easy to use, when used from a desktop or laptop. It can be used (though not well) on an iPad, but is nearly worthless on an iPhone.

All in all, the plugin is great, but the service, as a whole, leaves a lot to be desired.