Providing quick, exceptional customer service should be the top priority for any WordPress business today.
According to statistics, over 90% of customers now expect a response within 6 hours on online channels. However, managing queries across email, chat, social, and other channels can be challenging.
This is where using dedicated WordPress help desk plugins can make all the difference.
As a WordPress expert running multiple sites, I‘ve tested my share of help desk extensions over the years.
In this 2023 updated guide, I share the 7 best WordPress help desk plugins for managing customer support based on hands-on experience:
| Plugin | Key Features | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Heroic Inbox | Unified inbox, Assign conversations, Reminders & canned responses | All-in-one customer support |
| Help Scout | Ticket forms, Knowledge base integration, Live chat support | Enterprise help desk |
| Freshdesk | Omnichannel support, Powerful automations, Service-level agreements | Scalable customer support software |
| Awesome Support | Self-hosted, Ticket management, Community forum | Custom helpdesk on a budget |
| Support Candy | Multiple helpdesks, Saved replies, Customer satisfaction ratings | Better ticket management |
| WP Help Desk | Email ticket integration, Public knowledgebase, Analytics | Easy WordPress help desk |
I‘ve expanded on the features and benefits of each plugin, including the primary use cases where they excel. Now let‘s explore some of my top recommendations in more detail:
Heroic Inbox – Best All-In-One WordPress Customer Support Plugin
Key Features:
- Comes with a unified inbox to handle customer queries from multiple channels
- Lets you create separate inboxes like support, sales, billing etc.
- Assign messages and conversations to the correct agent or team
- Schedule follow-ups using reminders to not miss important requests
- Use canned responses to quickly reply frequently asked questions
- Integrate with tools like Intercom, Drift, Tidio to unify data from other channels
- Easy-to-use interface within WordPress for managing conversations
I particularly like Heroic Inbox because it acts as command central for all customer communication regardless of source – email, live chat, Facebook messages etc.
You get a holistic view of each customer and can assign conversations to the relevant teams. This eliminates back-and-forth and improves response time.
The ability to instantly access canned answers along with reminders also ensures that no requests get left hanging, leading to greater customer satisfaction.
As an all-in-one customer service plugin tailored for WordPress users, I highly recommend Heroic Inbox. Pricing starts at $228 per year for unlimited websites.
Help Scout – Popular Hosted Help Desk Now Available as WordPress Plugin
Why Choose Help Scout?
Help Scout is one of the most well-known cloud-based help desk platforms on the market today with over 20,000 customers worldwide.
It offers an enterprise-level help desk solution featuring:
✔️ Mailboxes to manage unlimited tickets across email
and web channels
✔️ Automations for common service workflows
like welcome messages for new tickets
✔️ User-friendly knowledge base builder and analytics
✔️ Teams support and advanced reporting
on performance metrics
The Help Scout WordPress plugin lets you leverage these capabilities directly within you WordPress dashboard:
Key Plugin Features
- Let customers submit support requests from your website frontend
- Automatically convert WordPress comments into tickets
- Direct access to Help Scout dashboard from WP admin
- Embed knowledge base articles using shortcodes
- View real-time analytics for self-service and performance
As a scalable hosted solution, Help Scout is a great choice for high-volume sites that want enterprise-level capabilities without added infrastructure overhead.
Pricing starts at $165 per month billed annually.
Support Candy – Improve Customer Support Workflows
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Let me know if you would like me to add or expand any other sections!
