Which Channel Should I Connect First?

Bugalou supports multiple channels. Here's a quick comparison to help you choose your first one. For a detailed breakdown, see Choosing the Right Channel.

Channel	Best For	Setup Time	Requirements
Website Chat	Capturing leads on your website	~5 minutes	Access to your website's HTML or CMS
WhatsApp Business API	Direct customer communication at scale	~15 minutes	Meta Business account, verified phone number
Email	Managing email conversations in one place	~2 minutes	Gmail, Outlook, or IMAP credentials
Instagram	Responding to Instagram DMs	~5 minutes	Instagram Business account linked to Facebook
Facebook Messenger	Facebook page messaging	~5 minutes	Facebook Business page

Our recommendation: If you're an e-commerce business, start with WhatsApp. For service businesses, Website Chat is the fastest to set up. For existing email workflows, connect your Gmail or Outlook.

Where to Find Channels

Go to Channels in the sidebar. You'll see all available channels organized by category:

• Messaging — Website Chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Gmail, Outlook, Email Campaigns
• E-commerce — WooCommerce, Shopify, bol.com

Click on any channel card to go to its setup page.

Quick Setup: Website Chat

The fastest channel to connect:

1. Go to Channels → Website Chat
2. Customize the widget appearance (colors, position, greeting)
3. Copy the JavaScript embed code
4. Paste it in your website's HTML before </body>
5. Visitors can now chat with you — messages appear in your inbox!

Quick Setup: WhatsApp

The most powerful channel. For a full walkthrough, see How to Connect WhatsApp Business.

1. Go to Channels → WhatsApp
2. Follow the 7-step setup wizard: Requirements → Meta Account → Phone Number → Verification → PIN → Configuration → Complete
3. Connect your Meta Business account and verify your phone number
4. Once verified, you can send and receive WhatsApp messages directly from Bugalou

Quick Setup: Email

1. Go to Channels → Gmail or Outlook
2. Click "Connect" and authorize with your Google or Microsoft account
3. Your emails start syncing automatically every 5 minutes

What Happens After Connecting?

Once connected, incoming messages appear in your Inbox. You can see which channel each message came from by the channel icon next to the conversation. Go to Inbox to start replying!

Important

You need an active subscription (Starter plan or higher) to connect channels. Free accounts cannot connect communication channels.