SharpStyle Labs

We decided to add “live chat/support” functionality to our http://www.ReviewBasics.com offering and identified the following requirements:

• Ability to push/initiate chat
• Reasonably priced for multiple operators
• Easy to use
  • Canned messages, URLs
  • Customization (look-and-feel, data captured, etc)
• “desktop” functionality

Without doing a lot of research we identified the following 3 services:

• http://www.liveperson.com
• Probably the most well known and established
• Do not publish prices, need to contact their “live chat” representative
• Price for their Live Person Pro (chat-only) solution is $99/month/1 operator.
• They offer a more complete offering that manages support tickets, emails, etc
• Why we didn’t choose: high price
• http://www.websitealive.com
  • Version comparison: http://www.websitealive.com/matrix.asp
  • Offer a free account with limited options
  • $29.95/month for 2 concurrent operators. Each additional is $9.95/mo
  • Higher priced packages require setup feeds ($99.95-$149.95)
  • Reasonable price for a lot of functionality
  • Why we didn’t choose: somewhat higher price
• http://www.helponclick.com – our choice
  • Version comparison: http://www.helponclick.com/overview.php
  • Offer free account and 10 day trial
  • Unlimited number of operators for $39/month.
  • One-time charge of $59 for “system tray application” which makes it easier to track messages/chats
  • Give 2 months free if pay for the whole year

We signed up for HelpOnClick and are satisfied with features, level of customization and desktop extension.

We will provide more feedback as we continue to use this service

~Mike