Installation
To install the plugin ensure that your website running:
- WordPress 5.9 or newer
- PHP 7.4 or newer
How to install#
Installing Better Messages follows the standard WordPress plugin install flow — no special steps required.
From WP Admin#
- Open Plugins → Add New in WP Admin
- Search for Better Messages
- Click Install Now, then Activate
- Open Better Messages → Settings, which opens on the Get started tab on a new site
Manual upload#
- Download the plugin ZIP from the WordPress.org plugin page
- Upload the ZIP via Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, or unzip into
/wp-content/plugins/bp-better-messages/ - Activate the plugin under Plugins
- Open Better Messages → Settings, which opens on the Get started tab on a new site
Get started#
On a site that never had Better Messages, Better Messages → Settings opens on Get started, the first tab of the settings. It keeps opening there until Finish is pressed. After that the settings open on General, and Get started stays in the side menu for later. A site that already had Better Messages finds the tab in the side menu as well, and the settings keep opening on General there.
Get started is a list of cards, one for each part of the setup. Only the first card is required. The header counts the cards that are done, for example 3 of 9 done.
- Dismiss a card with the × in its corner, when the site does not need it. Dismissed cards wait under a link below the list, such as Show 2 dismissed cards, and Restore brings each one back.
- A card that is done when the page opens is folded to one line, which says what is set up. A click on the line opens the card.
- Each card reads the site itself, so a setting changed on another tab of the settings shows here too, and a reload shows the same state.
Start here#
Members message each other is the required card. Members need a page where they read and answer their messages.
- Create the Messages page publishes a page named Messages, with the inbox on it, and makes it the Messages Location. Choose an existing page opens the Messages Location setting on the General tab instead.
- Once the page exists, the card offers View the page and a link to it in the menu of the site. Add the link sits next to each menu the site has, classic menus and the navigation of a block theme alike. A block theme with no navigation yet offers Open the Site Editor, and a classic theme with no menu offers Create a menu.
- On a site with BuddyPress, BuddyBoss, Ultimate Member, FluentCommunity, UsersWP, ProfileGrid or WP User Manager, the messages show in the profile of each member. That site needs no page, so the card is done from the start and offers Open my messages.
Visitors chat with you sets up a live chat for visitors without an account. Their chats arrive in the inbox of the member who answers them, among the other conversations of that member. The card has three steps.
- Turn on guest chat. When the messages of members are not on a page of their own, for example in their profiles, the card also offers Create the guest messages page, a public page for the chats of visitors.
- Pick the member who answers. The card starts with the admin who opened it.
- Copy the ready shortcode of a live chat button and paste it into any page, post or widget. Open the Shortcode Builder changes how the button looks.
See Guest access and the live chat button shortcode for the rest of the options.
A chat room on a page makes one shared conversation, where everyone who opens the page talks together. Give the room a name, tick Visitors without an account can join too if guests should take part, and press Create the chat room and its page. Better Messages creates a chat room that every role can join and write in, publishes a page with the room on it, and turns guest chat on when guests can join. The card then offers View the page, Edit the chat room and Create another chat room.
Plugins on this site shows when the site runs a plugin that Better Messages works with, and lists each one it finds.
- WooCommerce, Dokan, WC Vendors, WCFM, MultiVendorX, LearnPress, Tutor LMS, LearnDash, MasterStudy LMS, HivePress, Directorist, Classified Listing, GeoDirectory, WP Job Manager, Motors, Houzez and RealHomes stay off until Connect is pressed. Connecting WooCommerce also makes the admin who pressed it the one who answers questions about products and orders, unless someone was chosen already.
- The other integrations, such as BuddyPress, PeepSo or bbPress, work as soon as both plugins are active and show Works already.
- An integration with settings of its own has a Settings link next to it.
Make it yours#
These cards cover what most sites change next. Most of them have a button that turns their part on with the usual values, and each one links to the full settings.
| Card | One click | The full settings |
|---|---|---|
| Make it look like your site | — | Open Appearance: a preset or your own colors, the layout of conversations and bubbles, and dark mode, with a live preview. See Customization |
| Share files | Turn on file sharing, so members send photos, videos and documents | Open Attachments: the size limit, the file types and where files are kept. See File sharing |
| Email about unread messages | Turn on email notifications, an email about unread messages every 15 minutes | Open Notifications: how often the emails go and what they look like. See Email notifications |
| Keep conversations safe | Turn on reports and blocking, so members report a message or block someone. Reports reach the admin under Administration | Open Moderation: the bad words filter and messages held for review. See Report messages and User block |
| Decide who can write to whom | — | Open Restrictions: which roles start conversations, reply or read messages, and how many conversations and messages a member sends in a period of time. See Role-based access |
The look counts as done once a preset, custom colors or custom CSS is saved. Decide who can write to whom never counts as done and reads Worth a look, because everyone can message everyone until limits are set.
Try it and finish#
The panel at the bottom suggests sending a message as a member, to see it work. Ask the assistant opens the assistant on the Better Messages Support page, which answers questions about any setting with this site in mind. Finish ends the first run, and the settings open on General from then on.
When the Messages page is missing#
While a site has no Messages page, every screen of WP Admin shows administrators a notice: Better Messages needs a page where members read and answer their messages.
- Create the Messages page creates and publishes the page in one click, without leaving the screen. The notice then links to the new page and to Get started.
- Choose an existing page opens the Messages Location setting instead.
The notice shows when no Messages Location is set and no member profile plugin shows the messages, and also when the chosen page is no longer published, for example after it was moved to the trash.
Integration setup#
If you run a community, marketplace or LMS plugin, the Plugins on this site card of Get started connects it. Its integration guide covers the recommended setup:
- BuddyPress
- BuddyBoss
- PeepSo
- Ultimate Member
- Full integrations catalogue — all 38 supported plugins
Activating the WebSocket version#
After install, the free (AJAX) version is active by default — including chat rooms, group conversations, file sharing, AI chat bots with your own provider API key, and every integration. To unlock instant WebSocket delivery, voice and video calls, end-to-end encryption, web push, the mobile apps and Better Messages Cloud AI, purchase a license on the pricing page and enter it under Better Messages → Account.