Setting up your first inbox

An inbox in Deskwoot represents a communication channel. It could be a website live chat widget, an email address, a WhatsApp number, or any other supported channel. You need at least one inbox to start receiving conversations. This guide walks you through creating your first inbox, assigning agents, and avoiding common setup mistakes so you can begin helping customers right away.

Creating a website chat inbox

1. Navigate to Settings > Inboxes and click Add Inbox.
2. Select Live Chat as the channel, then Website Live Chat.
3. Click Create Inbox. The new inbox opens with the name Website Live Chat, which you can change in its Settings tab.
4. Customize the widget appearance under Widget Appearance in the same tab. You can set the brand color, welcome message, and widget position to match your site's look and feel.
5. Under Widget Installation, Deskwoot shows the JavaScript snippet for your site.
6. Copy the snippet and paste it into your website's HTML, just before the closing </body> tag. If you use a tag manager, you can add it there instead.

Once the snippet is live, the chat widget will appear on your site and any visitor message will create a new conversation in Deskwoot.

Creating an email inbox

1. Click Add Inbox and select Email as the channel type.
2. Choose your connection method: connect via IMAP/SMTP with your email provider credentials (Startup plan and above), or use email forwarding to route messages to Deskwoot (every plan).
3. If using IMAP, enter your IMAP server details, port, and credentials. For SMTP, provide the outgoing server information as well.
4. Click Create Inbox. With forwarding, Deskwoot shows your forwarding address; forward your mail to it. With IMAP, Deskwoot picks up new messages automatically. Either way, incoming emails become conversations.

Next steps

Once your inbox is created, add agents to it so auto assignment hands them its conversations. You can manage inbox agents in the inbox's Collaborators tab. Consider creating separate inboxes for different teams or departments. For example, Sales Chat and Support Email. To keep conversations organized.

Troubleshooting & common pitfalls

• Widget not showing: Verify the JavaScript snippet is placed correctly and that browser extensions (such as ad blockers) are not hiding it. Hard-refresh the page or test in an incognito window.
• Email not syncing: Double-check your IMAP/SMTP credentials, server address, and port. Some providers require you to enable access for third-party apps or generate an app-specific password.
• No agents assigned: While no agents are added to an inbox, round robin hands its conversations to every agent in the workspace. Add agents in the Collaborators tab if only some of them should get this inbox's conversations.

Best-practice tips

• Use clear, recognizable inbox names so agents can quickly identify the channel source.
• Write a friendly welcome message for your website widget. It sets the tone for every customer interaction.
• Test each new inbox by sending yourself a message before going live to confirm everything works end to end.

Frequently asked questions