Customizing Welcome Messages for Different Pages

Welcome back! You've already set up your WhatsApp chat widget, and it's working great. Now, let's make it even more powerful by showing different welcome messages based on which page your visitors are viewing.

Why Personalize Your Welcome Messages?

Think about how different pages on your website serve different purposes:

• Someone visiting your blog might want to learn more about a specific topic
• Someone on your contact page is probably ready to ask specific questions about your services
• Someone browsing your product pages might want pricing information

By customizing your welcome message for each type of page, you make every conversation more relevant and helpful right from the start.

The Power of Personalization

Imagine walking into different departments of a store. In the shoe section, the staff asks "Looking for comfortable shoes today?" In the electronics section, they ask "Need help finding the right laptop?"

This feature does the same thing for your website—it greets visitors with a message that matches what they're looking for on that specific page. This personal touch makes visitors more likely to start a conversation with you!

What You'll Learn

In this guide, you'll learn how to:

1. Understand what "paths" are on your website (don't worry, we'll make it simple!)
2. Set up custom welcome messages for different pages
3. Use the preview feature to see how messages will look
4. Manage and organize your custom messages

Before You Begin

Make sure you've already completed the basic setup guide and your WhatsApp chat widget is working on your website. This guide builds on that foundation.

---

Understanding Website Paths (The Simple Version)

Before we can customize messages for different pages, we need to understand how to identify those pages. This is where "paths" come in.

What Is a Path?

Every page on your website has an address, just like a house has a street address. The main part of the address is your domain (like www.yourwebsite.com), and the path is everything that comes after it.

Think of your domain as the name of your building, and the path as the specific room or floor you're trying to reach.

Path Examples

Let's look at some real examples:

Full Website Address	The Path	What It Means
www.yourwebsite.com/	/	Your homepage (the main entrance)
www.yourwebsite.com/blog	/blog	Your blog main page
www.yourwebsite.com/blog/summer-sale	/blog/summer-sale	A specific blog post
www.yourwebsite.com/contact-us	/contact-us	Your contact page
www.yourwebsite.com/products/shoes	/products/shoes	Your shoes product page

Easy Way to Find a Path

Want to know the path of any page on your website? Just look at your browser's address bar and take everything AFTER your domain name. That's the path!

Two Types of Paths You Can Use

When setting up custom messages, you can target pages in two ways:

1. Exact Paths - Match one specific page only

/contact-us

This will show your custom message ONLY on www.yourwebsite.com/contact-us and nowhere else.

2. Wildcard Paths - Match multiple pages that start the same way

/blog/*

The * symbol means "anything after this point." This will show your custom message on:

• www.yourwebsite.com/blog/summer-sale
• www.yourwebsite.com/blog/winter-tips
• www.yourwebsite.com/blog/how-to-guide
• And ANY other page that starts with /blog/

When to Use Each Type

Use Exact Paths when:

• You want to customize just one important page (like your contact or pricing page)
• Each page needs a very different message

Use Wildcard Paths when:

• You have many similar pages (like dozens of blog posts or product pages)
• All those pages should have the same general message
• You want to save time instead of adding each page individually

Now that you understand paths, let's start customizing those messages!

---

Step 1: Access the Welcome Messages Settings

Let's open the right section of your admin panel.

1. Navigate to Admin View (just like you did during the initial setup)

2. Click on "Website Chat Widget" in the left menu

3. Find your WhatsApp widget and click "Edit Widget"

4. Click on the "Welcome Messages" tab at the top

You should now see your screen divided into two main areas:

On the Left:

• Welcome Message for Customers - This is your default message
• Path-Specific Messages - This is where we'll add custom messages

On the Right:

• A live preview of how your widget will look

---

Step 2: Understanding Your Default Message

Before we add any custom messages, let's talk about the default message you already have.

Your Default Message is Your Safety Net

See that "Welcome Message for Customers" section at the top? This is your default message—the greeting that appears on any page where you haven't set up a custom message.

Think of it as your universal backup. Even if you only customize a few pages, every other page on your website will still show this friendly default message. Your visitors will never see an empty or broken chat widget!

This is a really smart design because:

• You can customize gradually—no need to set up messages for every single page right away
• If you add new pages to your website later, they'll automatically use this default message
• You always have a professional greeting, even on pages you haven't thought about yet

---

Step 3: Adding Your First Custom Message

Now for the fun part—let's create a custom welcome message for a specific section of your website. We'll use a blog as an example, but you can apply this to any section you want.

Create the Custom Message

1. Look for the "Path-Specific Messages" section

   Right now, it probably says "No path specific welcome message"—that's completely normal and expected!

2. Click the "+ Add Custom Message" button

   A form will pop up with two fields to fill in.

Fill in the Path

3. In the "Path" field, enter the path for your target pages

   Let's target all your blog posts using a wildcard path:

   /blog/*
   Remember the Forward Slash

   Always start your path with a / (forward slash). This tells the system you're starting from the root of your website.

   ✅ Correct: /blog/*
   ❌ Wrong: blog/*

Write Your Custom Message

4. In the "Custom Message" field, write a welcome message that makes sense for blog visitors

   Here's an example:

   Hi! I was reading your blog, and I would like to find out more about your solutions on excelling on PSLE with the latest learning techniques! Can share with me the details pls?
   Writing Effective Welcome Messages

   Do:

   • Write naturally, like you're texting a friend

   • Reference what they're looking at ("I was reading your blog...")

   • Make it specific to that section's purpose

   • Keep it conversational and friendly

   • Tell them what you can help with

   Don't:

   • Write long paragraphs (2-3 sentences is perfect)
   • Use overly formal business language
   • Ask multiple questions (one is enough)
   • Make it generic—personalization is the whole point!

Save Your Custom Message

5. Click the green "Save changes" button

   Two Different "Save" Buttons

   When you click "Save changes" here, you're saving this specific custom message to your list. But you're NOT publishing it to your website yet!

   Think of it like adding items to a shopping cart—you're preparing your changes, but you haven't checked out yet. We'll publish everything to your live website in a later step.

See Your New Message Card

6. Admire your work!

   After clicking "Save changes," the form will close and you'll see a new card appear showing:

   • The path you specified (e.g., /blog/*)
   • A preview of your message (showing the first couple of lines)

   If your message is long, you'll see "..." at the end—that's normal! The full message is saved; this is just showing you a snippet so you can quickly identify which message is which.

Congratulations! You've just created your first custom welcome message! 🎉

---

Step 4: Adding More Custom Messages

You can create as many custom messages as you want for different sections of your website. Let's add another one to see how easy it is.

Example: Adding a Message for Your Contact Page

1. Click "+ Add Custom Message" again

2. Enter the path for your contact page (this time using an exact path):

   /contact-us

3. Write a message that makes sense for people who are ready to contact you:

   Hi! I would like to find out more about your service. Can tell me more?

4. Click "Save changes"

Now you have two custom messages:

• One for all your blog pages (/blog/*)
• One specifically for your contact page (/contact-us)

How Many Messages Should You Create?

Start Small, Grow Over Time

You might be tempted to create custom messages for every single page right now. Resist that urge!

We recommend:

• Start with 2-3 of your most important pages or sections
• Publish and test those
• See how visitors respond
• Add more messages gradually based on what you learn

This approach is less overwhelming and helps you figure out what messaging works best for your audience.

Good starting points for most businesses:

• / - Homepage (your most visited page)
• /contact-us or /contact - Contact page
• /blog/* - All blog posts (if you have a blog)
• /products/* - All product pages (if you're selling products)

---

Step 5: Managing Your Custom Messages

Once you've created some custom messages, you'll want to know how to edit, delete, and organize them. Here's everything you need to know.

Editing an Existing Message

Changed your mind about how a message should read? No problem!

1. Find the card for the message you want to change

2. Click the pencil icon (✏️ edit button) on the right side of the card

3. The form will open again with your current path and message filled in

4. Make your changes to either the path or the message (or both)

5. Click "Save changes"

The card will update with your new information.

Common Reason to Edit

You might edit messages to:

• Fix typos you noticed
• Make the message more specific based on feedback
• Adjust the tone to match your brand better
• Update information (like new services or products)

Deleting a Message

Decided you don't need a custom message for a certain page anymore? Easy to remove!

1. Find the card for the message you want to remove

2. Click the trash icon (🗑️ delete button) on the right side of the card

3. Poof! It's gone

   The message is immediately removed from your list. Don't worry—if you deleted it by accident, you can just create it again. No permanent harm done!

What Happens to That Page?

When you delete a custom message, visitors to that page will simply see your default "Welcome Message for Customers" instead. They'll still see a friendly greeting—just not the custom one.

Reordering Your Messages

As you add more messages, you might want to organize them in a way that makes sense to you.

1. Look for the up/down arrow icons (⬆️⬇️) on each message card

2. Click the arrows to move messages up or down in your list

Why Reorder?

The order doesn't affect how your visitors see messages—the system always shows the right message based on the path they're on.

But organizing your list helps YOU manage everything more easily:

• Group similar paths together (all product pages, all blog sections, etc.)
• Put your most important or frequently edited messages at the top
• Create a logical order that makes sense for your workflow

Think of it like organizing files on your computer—it doesn't change what's in the files, but it makes them easier to find!

---

Step 6: Using the Preview Feature

Now that you've set up custom messages, let's see how they'll actually look to your visitors before publishing them to your website.

When the Preview Dropdown Appears

Here's something important to know about the preview panel:

Preview Behavior

When you have NO custom messages:

• The preview shows only your default message
• There's no dropdown menu—just the widget preview

When you have at least 1 custom message:

• A dropdown menu labeled "Preview" appears above the widget
• You can now switch between different paths to see how each will look

This is clever! When you don't have custom messages, there's nothing to switch between, so the dropdown would just be clutter. But once you start customizing, the dropdown appears to help you test everything.

Using the Preview Dropdown

Let's walk through how to use this super helpful feature.

1. Find the Preview Dropdown

   Look at the preview panel on the right side of your screen. At the very top, you should now see a dropdown menu.

2. Click the Dropdown to See Your Options

   You'll see a list that includes:

   • Each path you configured (e.g., /blog/*, /contact-us)
   • "All other paths" at the bottom (this shows your default message)

3. Select a Path to Preview

   Click on /blog/* and watch the preview update instantly! You'll see:

   • The chat widget with your blog-specific welcome message
   • Exactly how it will look to visitors on your blog pages

4. Try Your Other Paths

   Click on /contact-us to see that message. Switch between them as much as you want!

5. Check Your Default Message

   Click on "All other paths" to see what visitors will see on pages where you haven't set up custom messages (like your homepage, about page, or anywhere else).

Why This Preview Is So Valuable

Use This Before Publishing!

This preview feature is incredibly powerful for quality control. Before you save and publish all your changes to your live website:

✅ Check each custom message for typos
✅ Make sure the messages sound natural and friendly
✅ Verify that the messages make sense for their respective pages
✅ Ensure nothing is too long or awkwardly phrased
✅ Confirm your default message still looks good

It's much easier to catch and fix issues here than after everything is already live on your website!

---

Step 7: Real-World Examples

Let's look at how different types of businesses might use custom welcome messages effectively.

Example 1: E-Commerce Store

Business: Online clothing and accessories shop

Custom Messages Setup:

Path	Custom Message
/products/women/*	"Hi! Shopping for women's fashion? I can help you find the perfect outfit or answer any questions about sizing!"
/products/men/*	"Hi! Looking for men's clothing? Let me help you find what you need or answer style questions!"
/products/accessories/*	"Hi! Browsing our accessories? I'd love to help you find the perfect finishing touch for your look!"
/sale	"Hi! Hunting for deals? I can help you find the best bargains and answer any questions about our sale items!"

Why This Works: Each message speaks directly to what the shopper is currently looking at, making the conversation immediately relevant.

Example 2: Education/Tutoring Center

Business: Academic tutoring for primary and secondary students

Custom Messages Setup:

Path	Custom Message
/programs/primary/*	"Hi! Looking for primary school tutoring? I'd love to share how we help students build strong foundations!"
/programs/secondary/*	"Hi! Interested in secondary school programs? I can explain how we prepare students for O-Levels and beyond!"
/programs/psle	"Hi! Preparing for PSLE? I'd love to discuss how our proven methods help students excel in this important exam!"
/pricing	"Hi! Questions about our pricing or packages? I'm here to help you find the right program for your budget!"

Why This Works: Parents and students get immediate, specific help related to the exact program they're researching.

Example 3: Service-Based Business (Marketing Agency)

Business: Digital marketing agency offering multiple services

Custom Messages Setup:

Path	Custom Message
/services/seo	"Hi! Want to rank higher on Google? I'd love to discuss how our SEO strategies can grow your organic traffic!"
/services/social-media	"Hi! Looking to boost your social media presence? Let's chat about strategies that actually work!"
/services/web-design	"Hi! Need a stunning website? I can walk you through our design process and show you examples!"
/case-studies/*	"Hi! Interested in seeing what we've achieved for clients? I can share more success stories and discuss your goals!"
/contact	"Hi! Ready to get started? Tell me about your business and what you're hoping to achieve!"

Why This Works: Each service gets a tailored message that immediately demonstrates expertise in that specific area.

Example 4: Restaurant

Business: Local restaurant with dine-in and delivery options

Custom Messages Setup:

Path	Custom Message
/menu	"Hi! Checking out our menu? I can answer questions about dishes, ingredients, or help you decide what to order!"
/catering	"Hi! Planning an event? I'd love to help you create the perfect catering menu for your occasion!"
/reservations	"Hi! Want to book a table? I can check availability and help you reserve the perfect spot!"
/delivery	"Hi! Hungry for delivery? I can help you place an order or answer questions about delivery areas and times!"

Why This Works: Each message immediately addresses the visitor's intent, whether they want to dine in, order delivery, or plan an event.

Learn From These Examples

Notice how all these messages:

• Start with a friendly "Hi!"
• Reference what the visitor is currently viewing
• Offer specific, relevant help
• Keep it short and conversational
• End with an invitation to engage

Use this formula for your own custom messages!

---

Step 8: Saving and Publishing Your Changes

You've done all this great work customizing your messages—now let's make it go live on your actual website!

The Most Important Step

Don't Forget This Step!

Everything you've done so far—all those custom welcome messages you carefully crafted—is only being previewed in your admin panel. None of it is live on your website yet!

Until you complete this step, your visitors are still seeing only your old default message everywhere.

Final Review Checklist

Before you publish, take a moment to double-check everything:

1. Use the Preview Dropdown

   • Click through each path you configured
   • Read each message out loud to catch awkward phrasing
   • Check for typos or grammatical errors
   • Make sure messages aren't too long

2. Verify Your Paths

   • Do your paths match your actual website structure?
   • Did you remember to include the leading / on all paths?
   • For wildcard paths, did you include the /* at the end?

3. Test Your Logic

   • Think about your most important pages
   • Which message will show on each?
   • Does that make sense?

Get a Second Opinion

If possible, have a colleague or friend look at your messages before publishing. Fresh eyes often catch things you missed, and they can tell you if the messages sound natural and friendly!

Publish Your Changes

Once you're confident everything looks good:

1. Scroll to the Bottom of the Edit Widget Screen

   You'll see two buttons:

   • Cancel - Discards all your changes (careful with this one!)
   • Next or Save Widget - Publishes your changes to your live website

2. Click "Save Widget" or "Next"

   You'll see a confirmation, and your changes are now live!

3. Don't Close the Window Yet

   You're not quite done—we need to test!

---

Step 9: Testing Your Live Website

This is a crucial step that many people skip. Don't be one of them!

Why Testing Matters

Reality Check

Just because something looks perfect in the preview doesn't guarantee it will work perfectly on your live website. Paths might not match exactly, or there might be unexpected issues with how your website is structured.

Testing ensures your visitors are actually seeing what you intended!

How to Test Properly

1. Open an Incognito/Private Browser Window

This is important! A private browsing window ensures you're seeing exactly what your visitors see, without any cached data or cookies from when you were logged into your admin panel.

• Chrome: Press Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+N (Mac)
• Firefox: Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac)
• Safari: Go to File > New Private Window
• Edge: Press Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows)

2. Visit Your Website

Type in your website address and press Enter.

3. Test Each Custom Message

For each path you customized, visit that page and click the WhatsApp chat widget to verify the correct message appears.

Example Testing Checklist:

• Visit www.yourwebsite.com/blog/any-post → Click widget → Verify blog message appears
• Visit www.yourwebsite.com/contact-us → Click widget → Verify contact message appears
• Visit www.yourwebsite.com (homepage) → Click widget → Verify default message appears
• Visit any other page you customized

4. Look for Issues

As you test, watch for:

• Wrong message showing on a page
• Default message showing where you expected a custom message
• Widget not appearing at all (shouldn't happen with just message changes, but check anyway)
• Typos you missed in the preview

What If Something's Wrong?

Don't panic! Here's a quick troubleshooting guide:

Problem: Custom message not showing, seeing default message instead

Possible causes:

1. Path mismatch - Your actual page path might be slightly different from what you entered
   • Solution: Check the exact path in your browser's address bar and update your custom message path to match exactly
2. Case sensitivity - /Blog is different from /blog
   • Solution: Make sure your path capitalization matches your actual URLs
3. Missing or extra slashes - /blog//page vs /blog/page
   • Solution: Check that your path structure matches exactly

Problem: Changes not appearing at all

Possible causes:

1. Didn't save - You might have only saved individual messages but not clicked the final "Save Widget" button
   • Solution: Go back to admin panel and make sure you saved
2. Browser cache - Your browser is showing an old version
   • Solution: Hard refresh the page (Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows, Cmd+Shift+R on Mac) or clear your browser cache
3. Need to wait - Sometimes changes take a minute to propagate
   • Solution: Wait 2-3 minutes and try again

If You're Still Stuck

If you've tried everything and it's still not working, don't worry! Go back to your admin panel and double-check:

• Did you click "Save Widget"?
• Are your paths spelled exactly right?
• Try removing one custom message and see if others work (this helps identify if one specific path is causing issues)

You can always reach out to support with specific details about what's not working!

---

Best Practices and Pro Tips

Now that you know HOW to set up custom messages, let's talk about how to do it WELL.

Writing Messages That Convert

The Formula for Great Welcome Messages

1. Acknowledge where they are
Start by referencing what they're looking at to show you understand their context.

❌ "Hi! How can I help you?"
✅ "Hi! Browsing our summer collection?"

2. Offer specific, relevant help
Tell them exactly what you can help with related to that page.

❌ "Let me know if you have questions!"
✅ "I can help you find your size or answer questions about materials!"

3. Keep it conversational
Write like you're texting a friend, not writing a business letter.

❌ "Good day. I am available to provide assistance with your inquiries."
✅ "Hi! I'd love to help you find what you're looking for!"

4. End with gentle invitation
Make it easy for them to respond without pressure.

❌ "Contact us now for more information!"
✅ "What brings you to our site today?"

Organizing Your Custom Messages

As you add more messages, organization becomes important:

1. Use a Logical Naming System for Paths

Keep related paths grouped together in your mind:

• All product categories: /products/shoes, /products/clothing, /products/accessories
• All service pages: /services/web-design, /services/seo, /services/marketing
• All blog content: /blog/*, /resources/*, /guides/*

2. Start Broad, Then Get Specific

Begin with wildcard paths for entire sections, then add exact paths for special pages if needed:

• First: /products/* (covers all products)
• Later: /products/bestsellers (special message for bestsellers page)

3. Document Your Strategy

Keep notes somewhere (even just a Google Doc) about:

• Which paths you've customized and why
• What messaging strategy you're using
• Which messages get the best responses
• Ideas for future customizations

Testing and Optimization

Don't just "set it and forget it"! Your messages can always improve.

1. Monitor Your WhatsApp Conversations

In the first week after setting up custom messages:

• Check which messages visitors are sending you
• Are they using the custom messages you wrote, or typing their own?
• Which pages generate the most conversations?

2. Iterate Based on Results

If you notice:

• Visitors are changing your message before sending → Your message might be too specific or too long
• Certain pages get lots of chats → Those messages are working well!
• Some custom messages never get used → Maybe those pages need different messages or different calls-to-action

3. A/B Test Your Messages

Try different approaches and see what works:

• This week: "Hi! Questions about our pricing? I'm here to help!"
• Next week: "Hi! Looking for the right package? Let me help you find the perfect fit!"

See which version gets more engagement!

Start Simple, Improve Over Time

Your first round of custom messages doesn't have to be perfect. It's better to launch something good and improve it based on real feedback than to spend weeks trying to craft the "perfect" message before launching.

Think of it like a conversation—you'll get better at it the more you practice!

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Making messages too long

• ❌ Three or more sentences with lots of details
• ✅ Two sentences maximum, straight to the point

2. Being too formal or robotic

• ❌ "Greetings. I am here to assist you with your inquiries regarding our product catalog."
• ✅ "Hi! Shopping for products? I can help you find what you need!"

3. Not using the wildcard /* effectively

• ❌ Creating 50 separate messages for 50 blog posts
• ✅ Using /blog/* to cover all blog posts with one message

4. Forgetting about mobile users

• Messages that are too long look worse on phones
• Keep it mobile-friendly: short and scannable

5. Not testing after changes

• Always check your live website after saving
• Test on both desktop and mobile if possible

---

Frequently Asked Questions

"Do I need to create custom messages for every page?"

Absolutely not! That's the beauty of having a default message. Most businesses only customize messages for:

• Their 3-5 most important pages
• Major sections using wildcard paths (like /blog/* or /products/*)

Your default message handles everything else. Start small and expand only if you see the benefit.

"Can I use the same custom message for multiple different paths?"

Not directly—each custom message is tied to one path. However, you have two options:

Option 1: Use a wildcard path that covers multiple pages

• Instead of creating separate messages for /products/shoes, /products/clothing, /products/accessories
• Just use /products/* to cover all of them

Option 2: Create multiple custom messages with identical text

• Yes, you'll have to copy and paste the same message
• But this gives you flexibility to change them independently later

"What happens if someone visits a path I haven't customized?"

They'll see your default "Welcome Message for Customers." Your chat widget will always show something friendly and welcoming—you never have to worry about visitors seeing nothing or seeing an error.

"Can I see which messages get used the most?"

The custom message feature itself doesn't track this, but you can:

• Monitor your WhatsApp conversations to see what people are saying
• Look at which messages show up most frequently in your chat history
• Use Google Analytics or similar tools to see which pages get the most traffic (those custom messages likely get seen most)

"Will changing my messages affect my website's speed?"

Not at all! These messages are just text that loads with your chat widget. They're tiny in file size and won't impact your website's performance in any noticeable way.

"Can I schedule messages to change at certain times?"

Not with this feature. Whatever messages you have saved are what will show all the time. However, you can manually change them whenever you want—it only takes a minute to update a message for a special promotion or seasonal change.

"What if I want to completely turn off custom messages?"

Easy! Just delete all your custom messages by clicking the trash icon on each card. Once you have no custom messages, your default message will show everywhere, and the preview dropdown will disappear. Your widget goes back to working exactly like it did in the basic setup.

"Do custom messages work in all languages?"

Yes! You can write your messages in any language. The widget simply displays whatever text you enter, so feel free to use Chinese, Malay, Tamil, or any other language your customers speak.

---

What's Next?

Congratulations! You now know how to create personalized, page-specific welcome messages that make your WhatsApp chat widget even more effective at connecting with visitors.

Want Even More Control?

If you're loving the customization possibilities, you might be interested in our advanced guide: "Controlling Where Your Widget Appears: Advanced Visibility Rules"

That guide teaches you how to:

• Show the widget only on specific pages
• Hide the widget on certain pages (like checkout or thank-you pages)
• Create complex visibility rules for different scenarios

But master this guide first! Understanding paths and custom messages will make the visibility guide much easier to follow.

Remember: You Can Always Make Changes

One of the best things about this system is that you can update your custom messages anytime—no developer needed! So don't be afraid to experiment, try new approaches, and refine your messages based on what you learn.

Your chat widget is a living tool that should evolve with your business and your understanding of what your customers need.

---

Need Help?

If you run into any issues or have questions about setting up custom messages:

1. Re-read the relevant section - Often a second reading clarifies things
2. Check the troubleshooting tips - Most common issues have simple solutions
3. Test in an incognito window - Eliminates caching issues
4. Contact our support team - We're here to help! Reach out through your admin dashboard

Happy customizing, and here's to more meaningful conversations with your website visitors! 💬✨

---