You can customize your chat widget to show different messages based on whether your childcare center is open or closed. When families visit your site outside business hours, they'll see a contact form instead of live chat.
How to Set Up Business Hours
- Go to Sites → Chat Widget
- Select Live Chat as your chat widget type
- Click the Chat Window tab
- Find the Business Office Hour Setup section
Customize Your After-Hours Message
Use the Outside Office Hours Welcome Message field to personalize what parents see when you're closed. The default message is "We are currently offline," but you might want something like:
- "Thanks for your interest! We're currently closed but will respond first thing in the morning."
- "Our office is closed right now. Leave your info and we'll call you back during business hours."
Set Your Hours
You can set multiple time ranges for each day of the week. The system prevents overlapping times to keep things clean.
Pro tip: Need the same hours for multiple days? You can copy time settings to several days at once — no need to enter them repeatedly.
[SCREENSHOT: Business hours configuration showing time ranges for each day of the week with copy functionality]Time Zone Settings
Your business hours use your center's location timezone. This ensures families see the right availability no matter where they're browsing from.
How It Works for Parents
During business hours: Parents see your regular live chat welcome message and can chat with your team in real-time.
Outside business hours: Parents see your after-hours message and a contact form. When they submit the form, the chat automatically closes and their information is saved to your account.
Note: If you have notification sounds enabled, visitors may hear a sound when the after-hours message appears.
Why This Matters
Setting business hours helps manage parent expectations. Instead of wondering if someone will respond, families know exactly when to expect a reply — and you capture their contact information even when you're closed.