Ferndesk
3rd-party chat widgets

Setting up Intercom with Ferndesk

This guide shows you how to configure Ferndesk to open the Intercom Messenger when visitors click the contact button in your widget.

Before you begin: You must have the Intercom Messenger installed on your site with the default launcher disabled. If you haven't done this yet, follow the steps below before configuring Ferndesk.

Step 1: Install and hide the Intercom launcher

First, make sure the Intercom Messenger SDK is installed on your site. You can find your installation code in Intercom under Settings > Installation > Web.

In your Intercom installation code, add hide_default_launcher: true to your window.intercomSettings object:

<script>
  window.intercomSettings = {
    api_base: "https://api-iam.intercom.io",
    app_id: "YOUR_APP_ID",
    hide_default_launcher: true,
  };
</script>

This hides the Intercom launcher by default. Ferndesk will open it when visitors click your contact button.

Need help installing Intercom? See Intercom's installation guide.

Step 2: Open widget settings

In your Ferndesk dashboard, go to the Widget page and click the Customize button on your widget.

Ferndesk dashboard showing the Customize button on the widget card

Step 3: Navigate to Contact settings

In the sidebar, click Contact to open the contact configuration options.

Step 4: Select the Integration tab

Click the Integration tab to see available chat platforms.

Step 5: Choose Intercom

Click the Intercom card to select it as your integration platform.

Button text and icon customization fields

Step 6: Test the integration

Visit your site where the Ferndesk widget and Interco is installed. Click the contact button in the widget. The Intercom Messenger should open, letting visitors start a conversation with your team.

If Intercom doesn't open, verify that the Intercom Messenger is installed on the same page as your Ferndesk widget.

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