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Medium Free tier available 25 minutes

How to Add a Chatbot to Your Website

Capture leads 24/7 with a chatbot that answers questions and books appointments.

What You'll Need

Steps

1

Choose a chatbot platform

Several free options work great for small businesses.

  • Tidio: Free for 50 conversations/month — tidio.com (recommended for beginners)
  • HubSpot Chat: Free with HubSpot CRM — hubspot.com
  • Drift: Free tier available — drift.com
  • Tawk.to: Completely free — tawk.to
Tip: Tidio is the easiest to set up. Tawk.to is free but more complex.
2

Sign up and create your bot

Get started with the free tier.

  • Go to tidio.com and click 'Get Started Free'
  • Enter your email and website URL
  • Choose 'Lead Generation' as your goal
  • Select your industry (Construction/Home Services)
3

Customize your greeting

Write a welcoming first message.

  • Change the default greeting to something friendly
  • Example: 'Hi! 👋 Looking for [your service]? I can answer questions or help you schedule a free estimate.'
  • Keep it short and action-oriented
  • Add a few quick reply buttons: 'Get a Quote', 'Our Services', 'Contact Info'
4

Set up automated responses

Program answers to common questions.

  • Go to 'Automation' or 'Chatbots' section
  • Add common Q&As: pricing, service area, hours, how to book
  • For pricing: 'Our pricing varies by project. Can I get your info for a free quote?'
  • Always end with a way to capture their contact info
Tip: Use ChatGPT to help write these responses: 'Write a friendly chatbot response about [topic] for a [trade] business.'
5

Add the chatbot to your website

Copy-paste a small code snippet.

  • In Tidio: Go to Settings → Installation
  • Copy the code snippet
  • Paste it in your website's HTML (usually before </body>)
  • If using Wix/Squarespace/WordPress: They have dedicated integrations
  • Save and refresh your website — the chat bubble should appear
6

Test and refine

Make sure it actually works well.

  • Open your website in an incognito window
  • Click the chat and try common questions
  • Check that leads are being captured
  • Review chat logs weekly and add new Q&As as needed

You're Done!

Your chatbot is live! 50% of website visitors leave without contacting you — now you're capturing them.

Pro Tips

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