Your first chatbot, from setup to website.

Maxbot Free lets you build a guided conversation inside WordPress, test it and display it in a website chat widget. Visitors choose quick replies and follow the messages you have prepared.

Your setup has one Agent form, one Project configuration and a Flow Editor that opens the single internal topic directly. Review recorded interactions in Conversations. You do not need to create or manage a Topics list.

Free has no monthly subscription, product-license verification or per-project licensing. Its single-flow interface is a product design choice, not a license allowance. This guide follows the Free implementation labelled Maxbot Core 3.0.30 in its plugin package.

• Administrator access to a WordPress website.
• For the referenced Free 3.0.30 release: WordPress 6.4 or later and PHP 7.4 or later, as declared in the plugin header. Check the requirements bundled with any newer release before updating.
• JavaScript enabled in the browser for the editor and Test Flow.
• A server connection to the Maxbot Free service for saving and compiling flows. This technical authentication is separate from purchasing a license.
• A published public page on which to check your chatbot, plus a current files/database backup before installation or updates.

Use HTTPS for the website, particularly when enabling browser notifications or using a channel with a public callback. Try changes on a staging copy first.

WordPress.org is the planned distribution channel for Free. A directory download is not linked here until a listing is available. If you already have the official installable Free ZIP, use the upload method below.

1. Open Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin in WordPress.
2. Select the installable Free plugin ZIP, choose Install Now, then Activate Plugin.
3. Open the Maxbot menu. If the first-run welcome screen opens, follow the Starter Guide.
4. Confirm that you are working in the Free edition before using these instructions. Existing packages may display the name Maxbot Core.

No purchase code is needed to activate Free. If updating an existing installation, replace the plugin with the new package rather than deleting it first: the option to delete Core data on uninstall can remove local settings and conversations.

The welcome screen leads into the following steps in this order:

1. Intended use: choose who you are building for and your main goal, or skip the questions.
2. Agent: keep the prepared profile or edit the identity visitors will see.
3. Project setup: choose the welcome message, opening behavior and pages where the chatbot can appear.
4. Build and save: use the real Flow Editor. Continue to Test Flow saves and compiles your changes before opening the preview.
5. Test Flow: try the replies and ending, then choose The conversation works, continue. Use Edit my flow if a branch needs fixing.
6. Email notifications: optionally enable conversation emails, set the notification email, select events and decide whether to include the transcript. Leaving this disabled does not block setup.
7. Stay in touch: optionally subscribe for Maxbot recommendations, tutorials and product updates. Review what the form shares and give consent only if you want those emails. Skip this step continues setup without signup.
8. Enable chatbot: explicitly enable the saved and tested flow, open a selected page and check it before finishing.

The optional Stay in touch request is recorded when accepted. It does not require email confirmation or an immediate welcome email. Conversation notification emails are a separate setting.

1. Open Maxbot → Agent, or use the Agent step in the guide.
2. Review Agent name, Avatar, Role and Introduction. Keep the default avatar or choose an image from the WordPress media library.
3. Use a name and role that explain the chatbot’s job, such as “Site assistant” and “Visitor help”. Keep the introduction brief: “I can help you find our opening hours and contact details.”
4. Fill the required text fields and choose Save agent. In the wizard, use Save and Continue.
5. Open Test Flow to check that the identity looks correct.

Agent is a single profile form. There is no need to add agents to a list or assign multiple agents.

Open Maxbot → Project. For your first website conversation, select Web Widget as the channel.

1. Write a short Welcome Message.
2. Under When should the chat open?, choose one of the four modes below.
3. Select the relevant Target Pages/Posts. Use a published public page you can open as a visitor.
4. Keep Enabled off while preparing your first flow. Save the project, then build and test before turning it on.

The Starter Guide uses shorter descriptions for these same opening modes. Project does not need a separate “Open Flow Editor” field: open Flow Editor from the Maxbot menu.

Choose Maxbot → Flow Editor. It opens the Free edition’s single internal topic directly. Each block represents a point in the conversation, with the message to send, the choices the visitor can make and the next step.

Plan a short conversation first. For example, offer “Opening hours” and “Contact us”, answer each choice with a bot message, then end that branch explicitly. This example needs no entities, saved variables, templates, card layouts or additional topics.

1. Select the first block. In Bot Responses, add: “Hello! What would you like to know?”
2. Add two text quick replies: Opening hours and Contact us. Connect each choice to its own response block.
3. In the Opening hours branch, add a bot message with your real business hours. For a practice flow, write “Our opening hours are listed on the Contact page.”
4. In the Contact us branch, add “You can find our contact details on the Contact page.” Replace this with the details you want visitors to use.
5. For each final block, use Next Step to explicitly end the conversation by choosing Close Discussion under Choose what happens next (the Stop / Close Conversation action). Do not leave a branch waiting for an answer that it never requests.
6. Read both paths from the first message to the ending. Check that each quick reply goes to its intended response.

In the regular editor, select Save flow. Wait for Flow is saved before testing or leaving. If the editor reports Flow was not saved, keep the page open and follow the troubleshooting steps below.

In the Starter Guide, Continue to Test Flow performs the save and compilation before proceeding. Saving requires the Free service connection; it is not a purchase-code check. Saving alone does not enable the chatbot.

1. Open Test Flow for the saved flow.
2. Check the agent identity and first message.
3. Select Opening hours and verify its answer and explicit ending.
4. Start the preview conversation again and test Contact us. Test every path after adding new choices.
5. If a reply is missing, the wrong branch opens or the conversation keeps waiting, return to the editor, fix the block or next step, save and test again.

Test Flow uses the web widget. It previews the conversation; it does not replace the separate check on a public website page. In the wizard, confirm The conversation works, continue after the test is ready.

1. After saving and testing, choose Enable chatbot in the final Starter Guide step. Outside the guide, use the Enabled control in Project and save.
2. Choose a page under Page to check and select Open selected page, or open a selected public page directly.
3. Check as a visitor, including in a private browser window. Follow the configured opening action: click, wait, scroll or exit intent.
4. Complete both paths of your test conversation. Check the wording and layout on a phone as well as a desktop.
5. Return to the guide and choose I’ve checked my chatbot before finishing setup.

If the final step says no published public pages are selected, return to Project and select an appropriate page. After editing a live flow, save and repeat the public-page test.

Open Maxbot → Conversations to review recorded interactions. Use the time and channel to find the visit you tested, then select View Conversation.

The conversation opens in the same web widget used for Test Flow, so you can read the actual exchange in its familiar layout. Close the preview when finished. A successfully loaded New conversation becomes Read. The list uses New and Read status labels.

If the list is empty, complete a conversation on a selected public page and refresh it. If a specific conversation cannot load, close the modal, reload the list and try that entry again. Free conversation review belongs here, not on a Users Data page.

Notifications are evaluated when the flow explicitly closes or completes the conversation. Saving a message, selecting a quick reply or closing the visible chat window does not by itself mean the flow has completed. Include an explicit ending in every final branch.

WordPress and browser notifications

1. Open Settings → Notifications.
2. Under WordPress Notifications, turn on Enable notification center if you want notifications inside WordPress.
3. For this computer, use Enable Browser Notifications and respond to the browser’s permission request. Check the displayed permission/subscription status.
4. Choose the events under Notify me about and select Save Changes.

The current Free choices are New conversation, New visitor message, Quick Reply selected and Flow completed. They describe events included at conversation close; they do not turn delivery into a message-by-message stream.

Email notifications

1. Open Settings → Email Notifications.
2. Select Enable email notifications and enter the Recipient.
3. Choose events and optionally Include full conversation transcript.
4. Select Save Changes, then use Send Test Email to check delivery.

These settings apply across the plugin’s conversations; there is no project filter to configure. Email notifications are separate from optional Maxbot signup. The Free interface does not offer the User data/lead notification choice.

Web Widget is available in the base Free plugin. Start there to publish a conversation on the website.

WhatsApp Business requires the separate WhatsApp Integration add-on. The Free channel registry includes the integration point, but availability depends on an installed, enabled and configured compatible add-on. Review the add-on’s release requirements and the separate WhatsApp guide before changing the Project channel.

Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM and Telegram Bot appear as Coming soon in the reference release. They cannot be selected as working channels merely because they appear in the interface. The Integrations page helps you review available add-ons; a listed future channel is not an active integration.

When asking for help, include the plugin version, the page or step, what you expected and the exact error. Redact visitor messages, personal information and credentials.

Check the active plugin name and version in WordPress → Plugins. This Free guide covers the current simplified interface: Dashboard, Agent, Project, Flow Editor, Conversations, Integrations and Settings. Existing Free packages use the name Maxbot Core.

Free is planned for WordPress.org. Pro is planned for this website using Freemius with a monthly subscription; checkout is coming soon. The separate Pro documentation covers the current full builder.

Free uses the Free API without product-license verification or per-project licensing. This does not mean unlimited websites or identical features. If Pro is also active in your installation, confirm which interface is running before following Free instructions.