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How to add live chat to a Shopify store

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The short answer

Copy your ChatOnTime widget code, then in Shopify go to Online Store → Themes → … → Edit code, open Layout → theme.liquid and paste the code just above </body>. Save, and the chat bubble appears across your store.

Before you start

  • A ChatOnTime account (the 4-day trial needs no card).
  • Your widget code, from Installation in the ChatOnTime dashboard. It is one line and already holds your workspace key.
  • Access to your Shopify admin with permission to edit themes.
  • A duplicate of your live theme as a backup (… → Duplicate) — Shopify recommends this before editing code.

The code you will paste

It looks like this. Copy yours from Installation in ChatOnTime: it already holds your own workspace key.

<script src="https://chatontime.com/widget.js" data-workspace="YOUR-WORKSPACE-KEY" async></script>

Step by step

  1. Copy your widget code

    In ChatOnTime, open Installation and click the copy button next to your widget code.

  2. Open the code editor

    In Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes. Next to your current theme, click the … button and choose Edit code.

  3. Open theme.liquid

    In the Layout folder, click theme.liquid. This file wraps every page of your store.

  4. Paste above </body> and save

    Find the closing </body> tag near the end of the file, paste your widget code on the line just above it, and click Save.

  5. Check it

    Open your store in a private window. The chat bubble shows in the bottom corner, and Installation in ChatOnTime turns “Connected”.

Check that it worked

  • Open your website in a private window and look for the chat bubble in the bottom corner.
  • Send yourself a test message and answer it from the ChatOnTime inbox.
  • In ChatOnTime, Installation shows “Connected” once the widget has been seen on your site.

Checked October 2026 against each provider’s own help pages. Menus move — if a label differs on your screen, look for the nearest match.

Problems and questions

The chat bubble does not appear
Clear any page cache (caching plugins and CDNs often keep the old page), then reload. Check that the line sits before the closing </body> tag and was saved.
It says the widget is not allowed on this domain
Allowed domains in Widget Settings limit where the widget works. Add your domain there; adding example.com also covers www.example.com and other subdomains. You can list up to 5.
The chat vanished after a theme update
Code edits can be dropped when you update to a new theme version. Open theme.liquid in the new version and paste the line again.
Do I need a Shopify app for live chat?
No. One line in theme.liquid is enough. Nothing is installed in your store, and there is no app permission to grant.
Will the chat show at checkout?
Shopify’s checkout does not use your theme’s layout file, so the chat bubble shows on your store pages but not on the checkout pages.
Can I undo it?
Yes. Delete the line from theme.liquid and save, or restore the earlier version of the file from its history in the code editor.

Sources: help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/customizi...

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