Option 1: the official Parlo plugin
Published in the official WordPress.org directory, free and open source: Parlo Chat.
- Create your free chat at parlo.ink and pick its address.
- In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add New, search for “Parlo Chat” and install it. You can also download it straight from wordpress.org/plugins/parlo-chat.
- Activate it and open Settings → Parlo Chat. Type the name of your chat (the part before
.parlo.ink). - Add the Parlo Chat block to any page, or write
[parlo]if you use the classic editor or a shortcode-based builder.
Nothing to copy or paste by hand, and the block loads nothing in the editor: the chat is only requested once the page is published and a visitor opens it.
Option 2: paste an HTML code, no plugin
If you’d rather not install anything, or your WordPress.com plan doesn’t allow plugins, this works just as well.
- Create your free chat at parlo.ink.
- Copy the embed code from your customer area (included on the free plan too):
<iframe src="https://yourchat.parlo.ink/" style="width:100%;height:650px;border:0" allow="clipboard-write; microphone"></iframe>
- In WordPress, edit the page, press + and add a Custom HTML block. Paste the code.
- Press Update. Your chat is live.
Elementor, Divi and other builders
Use the HTML widget (Elementor), the Code module (Divi) or your builder’s equivalent.
Chat in the sidebar
In Appearance → Widgets, add a Custom HTML widget and paste the code with a smaller height, e.g. height:500px.
Why a typical chat plugin causes these problems (and ours doesn’t)
- Performance: real-time chat keeps a connection open with every visitor. A plugin that runs that chat inside your own WordPress feels it fast on shared hosting. Parlo’s plugin doesn’t: it only displays the same hosted iframe as the HTML option.
- Maintenance: a full chat plugin brings its own database and its own security surface to keep patched. Ours is a small wrapper (a block and a settings page); the chat itself is updated on Parlo’s side.
- Traffic spikes: the day your live show takes off, it’s the chat that must not go down, not your WordPress — true either way, since neither option runs on your hosting.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to install a plugin?
No, a Custom HTML block is enough. But if you’d rather, there’s a free official plugin in the WordPress.org directory itself, with its own block and settings screen: search “Parlo Chat” under Plugins → Add New.
Is the plugin trustworthy? Does anyone review it?
Yes. It isn’t a third party’s plugin: we publish it ourselves, in the official WordPress.org directory, and it passed their security review before being approved.
Does it work on WordPress.com?
The HTML code works on WordPress.com plans that allow HTML or iframes. The plugin can only be installed on plans that allow third-party plugins. On self-hosted WordPress, both options always work.