Getting started

Create your account#

On the hosted service, register at dashboard.supportseal.app/register. Enter your name, an email address and a password of at least 8 characters, then choose Sign up. The setup wizard opens straight away.

On a self-hosted installation, the first visit goes to the registration page. See Self-hosted first run.

Run the setup wizard#

The wizard shows five steps in order. They are Workspace, Product, Domain, Mail and Install. Each step saves when you continue. If you close the tab, open /onboarding on the dashboard to carry on.

Workspace#

Enter a Workspace name and choose Continue. The field starts with a suggestion built from your first name. Your team and all your Products live in the Workspace. Your account becomes its Admin.

Product#

The heading is Add your first Product. Enter a Product name. Customers see this name in the chat widget and in emails.

Pick a Primary colour from the eight presets (Blue, Violet, Pink, Red, Orange, Amber, Cyan and Slate) or choose a custom colour. Blue is selected by default. A live preview shows the chat launcher in your name and colour. A colour that is hard to see on light pages triggers a warning, which is advisory only.

Domain#

The heading is Where will the widget run? Add the hostname of each site that will show the widget, then choose Add. A pasted URL keeps only its hostname. The widget loads only on listed hostnames, and saving the list needs no DNS changes. See Allowed domains for how entries match.

• Allow localhost for development is ticked by default. It adds localhost to the list.
• Skip for now, I'll test on localhost continues without saving any domain. It does not add localhost. Add your domains later under Settings → Products.

Mail#

The heading is Receive support email. This step is optional. Your Product already has a generated support address, and it needs no DNS changes. You can save your own public support address here, or enter a dedicated mail domain and choose Show DNS records. Choose Skip for now to continue and finish email later under Settings → Products → your Product → Email. See Support email.

Install and test#

The heading is Install and test. The page has these parts.

1. Copy the snippet

   Paste the script tag before </body> on your site. It contains your Product's public key, which only works on the domains you allowed. A Next.js / React section shows a component to use instead of the tag. See Install the widget.

2. Open the test page

   Choose Open test page (new tab). It embeds your Product's widget on a SupportSeal page, so you can test before you change your own site. This test page runs the live widget. A message you send there creates a real Conversation. The link works for 30 minutes.

3. Wait for the first message

   A card reads Waiting for your first message… while the page listens. Send a chat from the test page or from your own site. The card changes to First message received and shows the start of the message.

Open your inbox#

Choose Open it in your inbox. The inbox lists Conversations from every Product in one place. Open the Conversation and reply. The visitor sees your reply in the widget.

Track setup progress#

Admins see a Setup n/6 entry at the top of the sidebar, with a progress ring. Agents do not see it. It disappears when all six items are done. Each item is derived from your Workspace data, so it stays accurate across devices and teammates.

• The widget is installed. This counts when your first Conversation arrives.
• You sent a test message. This counts on the same first Conversation.
• You replied from the inbox.
• Support email received its first message at a Product's generated address.
• Your Workspace has a second Product.
• You invited a teammate, or a second member joined.

Selecting the entry opens the setup wizard. Once your first message has arrived, it opens Settings → Products instead.

Invite a teammate#

Only Admins can invite people.

1. Open Settings → Team

   Under Invite a teammate, enter their email address and choose a role. The role is Agent by default. Admin is the other option.

2. Choose Create invite

   The page shows an invite link with a Copy button. SupportSeal does not email the invite. Send the link to your teammate yourself. Pending and past invites stay listed on the same page.

Your teammate opens the link and sees a page headed Join followed by your Workspace name. It states the role and the invited email address.

• If they are signed out, the page offers Sign in and Create account. They must use the email address you invited.
• If they are signed in with the invited address, they choose Accept invite and land in the inbox.
• If they are signed in with a different address, the page asks them to sign in with the invited one.
• A used, expired or invalid link shows Invite not available. Create a fresh invite.

Self-hosted first run#

A self-hosted installation serves exactly one Workspace. Its first run works like this.

• On a fresh installation with no Workspace, opening the root page takes you to registration.
• Register an account. The first wizard step creates the Workspace, and that account becomes its Admin.
• Once the Workspace exists, the registration page shows Registration is closed. Other people are invited from Settings → Team. See the limit described under Invite a teammate.
• The script URL in your snippet is your installation's public URL, from NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL.

On the hosted service, registration stays open. See Self-hosting to run your own installation.