Improve your Chat Panel, Join the Websockets Beta!

In our November development post we introduced you to the Websockets technology for the Chat Panel. The promised benefits of this new technology include:

  • More Stability
  • Higher Speed
  • Faster Error Detection
  • Less Browser Resources

We are still looking for more users to test Websockets before transferring all our users! You can switch one operator per time and can easily change back in the unexpected case that you're experiencing difficulties.

The Chat Panel connection used to be based on BOSH (XMPP over HTTP), but because of occasional instabilities we are switching towards Websockets. With websockets there is a permanent connection, as opposed to a long polling connection with BOSH, which holds the connection for 60 seconds and then restarts. Websockets produces a performance comparable to a native instant messenger client.

The experiences have been positive so far, with users speaking about a more solid Chat Panel. For our own chat system on Userlike.com we also made the switch and we have had an improved experience as well.

Although the test phase is still ongoing, you can already switch your own Chat Panel or those of your team to Websockets. You can also send a request to support@userlike.com to switch a whole account with all its operators at once.

In the Settings page of your Chat Panel you can enable the Websockets connection at the bottom.
When editing an operator as an Owner or Admin, you can enable the Websockets connection under the section Chat Panel.

If you want to try out the faster Chat Panel you can switch your account(s) via the steps described above, or send a message to support@userlike.com . You can switch one operator at a time, and in the unlikely case that your Websockets operators experience difficulties you can just as easily switch them back. Don't wait any longer and start switching!