If you’d like the Messenger to launch from a specific button, link or element in your app, site or mobile app you can create a custom launcher. For example, you can trigger the Messenger to open when a customer clicks on your ‘Talk to us’ button or chat icon.
This article will guide you through the process of creating a custom launcher so that it feels completely at home on your product, site or mobile app.
Note: You can add as many custom launchers to your product, website or mobile app as you wish.
Not what you’re looking for?
If you haven’t already, we recommend taking these essential steps for customizing the standard Messenger in your settings. And here's how to show the standard Messenger launcher on your iOS or Android app.
Create a custom launcher on your web app or site
1. Pass the ID of the element you're using as a custom launcher to open the Messenger (e.g., "#my_custom_link" ). Or you can specify multiple links by passing a class instead (e.g., ".my_custom_class_name")
2. Add the ID or class to the HTML element that you want the Messenger to open when clicked. For example, if you want the Messenger to open if someone clicks a link to your support email address:
<a id="my_custom_link" href="mailto:HELP@YOUR-APP.COM">Support</a>
Note: Including your support address as the link destination works well as a fallback, so if a visitor doesn't have JavaScript enabled in their browser, they can email your team.
3. Add this line to your IntercomSettings snippet:
custom_launcher_selector:'#my_custom_link'
Like this:
window.intercomSettings = {
app_id: "YOUR_APP_ID",
custom_launcher_selector:'#my_custom_link'
};
Important: You can choose to disable the standard launcher so that only your custom launcher appears.
Set up custom launcher using Google Tag Manager (GTM)
You can also specify a custom launcher using GTM by setting the custom_launcher_selector value under "Custom Data Attributes" of your GTM install tag.
Create a custom launcher on your mobile app
Here’s how to create a custom launcher on your iOS or Android app and how to show your users’ unread conversations count.
What’s next?
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