Social Contact

Overview #

Social Contact adds clickable social contact buttons to a WordPress site so visitors can reach the site owner instantly on the platform they already use: WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, Line, Signal, SMS, iMessage, Phone and Email.

The plugin is built around widgets. A widget is a reusable configuration of:

• which networks to show (plus the contact value and call-to-action for each),
• how the buttons look (style, template, type, size),
• and how/where they are displayed (shortcode, floating, static, WooCommerce).

Requirements & Installation #

Requirements #

• WordPress 6.0 or higher (tested up to 7.0)
• PHP 7.4 or higher
• WooCommerce is optional (only needed for the WooCommerce display scope)

Installation #

1. Upload the essb-social-contact folder to /wp-content/plugins/
2. Activate the plugin from Plugins → Installed Plugins
3. Open Social Contact in the admin menu
4. Create your first widget and place it with the generated shortcode or automatic display

Free vs Pro — Feature Matrix #

Contact Networks #

Feature	Free	Pro
All 9 networks (WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, Line, Signal, SMS, iMessage, Phone, Email)	Yes	Yes
Unlimited buttons per widget	Yes	Yes
Per-network contact value + custom CTA text	Yes	Yes
Drag-and-drop network reordering	Yes	Yes

Widget Management #

Feature	Free	Pro
Number of widgets	1	Unlimited
Widget duplication	No	Yes
Widget enable/disable toggle	Yes	Yes
Header text (tooltip)	Yes	Yes

Widget Mode — Show All Buttons #

Feature	Free	Pro
Button style (Square / Round / Rounded)	Yes	Yes
Button template — Color	Yes	Yes
Button template — Dark / Lite / Outline / Custom	No	Yes
Custom background + text colors (Custom template)	No	Yes
Button type — Icon only	Yes	Yes
Button type — Icon + Text	No	Yes
Button size — Default (Medium)	Yes	Yes
Button size — XS / SM / LG / XL	No	Yes
No-space (merged) button layout	No	Yes

Widget Mode — Contact Button (single button + popup) #

Feature	Free	Pro
Contact Button mode with popup	Yes	Yes
Custom background / icon-text color	Yes	Yes
Custom SVG icon (paste or upload)	Yes	Yes
Button shape — Round	Yes	Yes
Button shape — Square / Rounded	No	Yes
Button type — Icon only	Yes	Yes
Button type — Button (Icon + Text)	No	Yes
Button size — Large	Yes	Yes
Button size — XS / SM / Medium / XL	No	Yes
Popup theme — Light	Yes	Yes
Popup theme — Dark / Transparent	No	Yes
Custom popup width	No	Yes

Display & Targeting #

Feature	Free	Pro
Manual placement (shortcode)	Yes	Yes
Automatic — Entire Site (floating)	Yes	Yes
Automatic — Selected Post Types	No	Yes
Automatic — WooCommerce (Product page only)	Yes	Yes
Automatic — WooCommerce (All / Shop / Cart / Checkout)	No	Yes
Static display (before/after content)	No*	Yes
Static display below WooCommerce price	Yes	Yes
Floating position — Bottom Right (Horizontal)	Yes	Yes
Floating position — all 6 positions	No	Yes
Device visibility — Any device	Yes	Yes
Device visibility — Desktop Only / Mobile Only	No	Yes
Exclude URL rules	No	Yes

* Static placement for whole sites is only offered via the Selected Post Types scope, which is Pro. The free WooCommerce scope can be set to Static (Below Price).

Integrations #

Feature	Free	Pro
Shortcode [essb_sc_widget id="..."]	Yes	Yes
Gutenberg block	No	Yes
Elementor widget	No	Yes
Legacy import from “Social Contact Lite”	Yes	Yes

Widget Manager (Admin Screen) #

Reachable via Social Contact in the WordPress admin menu.

Widget list #

Each saved widget is rendered as a row containing:

Element	Description	Version
Toggle	Enable/disable the widget on the frontend (instant AJAX)	Free
Name + meta	Widget name plus Button Style / Template / Type and Display info	Free
Network badges	Color badges of the enabled networks	Free
Shortcode	Click-to-copy [essb_sc_widget id='sc_...'] — shown only for Manual widgets	Free
Edit	Opens the widget editor modal	Free
Duplicate	Creates a copy named (Copy)	Pro
Delete	Removes the widget (with confirmation)	Free

Add New Widget button #

• Free: disabled once 1 widget exists. Shows an “Upgrade to Pro” hint.
• Pro: unlimited widgets.

Legacy import (Social Contact Lite) #

• If the old option from the previous Social Contact Lite plugin contains values, a notice offers Import Settings.
• Imports up to 6 networks (whatsapp, viber, telegram, phone, sms, email) and the design preference into a widget named “Imported from Social Contact Lite”.
• Available to Free and Pro users.

Widget Editor — Reference #

The editor is a modal opened from the widget list. Below is every field and its Free/Pro status.

General #

Field	Description	Default	Version
Widget Name	Internal label shown in the list (required)	—	Free
Header Text (Tooltip)	Optional text displayed above the buttons (“Need More Information?”). Empty = hidden	empty	Free
Widget Enabled	When off, the widget never renders on the frontend	on	Free

Widget Mode #

Option	Description	Version
Show All Buttons	Renders every enabled network button directly	Free
Show Contact Button	Renders a single contact button that opens a popup containing all network buttons	Free

When Show Contact Button is selected, the Contact Button Settings section appears:

Field	Description	Default	Version
Background Color	Color of the contact button	#25d366	Free
Icon / Text Color	Color of the icon / label	#ffffff	Free
Button Icon (SVG)	Paste raw SVG or upload an .svg file; empty = default chat icon	empty	Free
Button Style — Round	Circular button	round	Free
Button Style — Square / Rounded	Sharp or rounded-rectangle button	—	Pro
Button Type — Icon only	Shows the icon only	icon	Free
Button Type — Button (Icon + Text)	Shows icon plus the Button Text field	—	Pro
Button Size — Large	60px button	lg	Free
Button Size — XS / SM / Medium / XL	36 / 44 / 52 / 72 px buttons	—	Pro
Popup Theme — Light	White popup with shadow	light	Free
Popup Theme — Dark / Transparent	Dark or transparent popup	—	Pro
Popup Width (px)	0 = auto width	0	Pro

Contact Networks #

The network grid lists all 9 networks with brand colors. Click toggles the network on/off; drag to reorder.

When a network is enabled, its settings appear below:

Field	Description	Placeholder
Contact	The destination value (number, username, or e-mail depending on network)	e.g. +1234567890
CTA Text	Label shown when button type = Button. Empty = network name	Default: network name

Network-specific value placeholders:

Network	Placeholder
WhatsApp	+1234567890
Viber	+1234567890
Telegram	@username or link
Line	@username
Signal	+1234567890
SMS	+1234567890
iMessage	+1234567890 or email
Phone	+1234567890
Email	email@example.com

Network Button Styling #

Applies to the Show All Buttons mode and to buttons inside the popup.

Field	Options	Default	Version
Button Style	Square, Round, Rounded	Rounded	Free
Button Template	Color	Color	Free
Button Template	Dark, Lite, Outline, Custom	—	Pro
Custom Background Color	Shown when template = Custom	#25d366	Pro
Custom Text / Icon Color	Shown when template = Custom	#ffffff	Pro
Button Type	Icon only	Icon	Free
Button Type	Button (Icon + Text)	—	Pro
No Space Between Buttons	On/Off (merged block layout)	Off	Pro
Button Size	Default (Medium)	Default	Free
Button Size	XS, SM, Large, XL	—	Pro
Floating Edge Offset	Default	Default	Free
Floating Edge Offset	Small (Half), No Space, Large (1.5×)	—	Pro

Edge Offset only applies to the floating display. It is ignored for shortcode and static placement.

Display Method #

Field	Options	Version
Display	Manual — use a shortcode anywhere	Free
Display	Automatic — show on selected positions	Free

Device Visibility #

Option	Effect
Any Device	Always visible
Desktop Only	Hidden below 768px (CSS media query)
Mobile Only	Visible only below 768px

Pro

Display Scope #

Option	Version
Entire Site	Free
Selected Post Types	Pro
WooCommerce	Free (product page only) / Pro (all scopes)

Entire Site scope #

Field	Version
Floating Position — Bottom Right (Horizontal)	Free
Floating Position — Bottom Left (Horizontal), Bottom R/L (Vertical), Left/Right Sidebar	Pro
Exclude URLs (one per line, supports * / ? wildcards)	Pro

Selected Post Types scope Pro #

Field	Options
Select Post Types	Chip grid of public post types (pages & attachments excluded)
Display Type	Floating / Static
Floating Position	All 6 positions
Static Position	Before Content / After Content
Exclude URLs	One per line

WooCommerce scope #

Shown only when WooCommerce is active.

Field	Free	Pro
WooCommerce Pages	Product Page	Product Page + All Pages, Shop, Cart, Checkout
Product Page → Display Type	Floating / Static (Below Price)	Floating / Static (Below Price)
Product Page → Floating Position	Bottom Right (Horizontal)	All 6 positions
All/Shop/Cart/Checkout → Floating Position	—	All 6 positions
Exclude URLs	No	Yes

Display Methods & Placement #

There are four ways a widget can appear.

Manual (shortcode) — Free #

Every Manual widget has a unique shortcode. It renders only that widget’s buttons wherever the shortcode is placed.

[essb_sc_widget id='sc_abc123']

The shortcode is click-to-copy from the widget list and works in posts, pages, widget areas, and any page builder that accepts shortcodes. It is also what the Gutenberg block and Elementor widget output internally.

Floating — Free (fixed position) / Pro (all positions) #

• Output on every page via wp_footer.
• Only Automatic widgets participate; widgets with a manual display are ignored.
• The container is fixed
• Free users: always Bottom Right, horizontal.
• Pro users: 6 positions — Bottom Right / Left horizontal, Bottom Right / Left vertical, Left / Right Sidebar (vertically centered).

Static — Pro (before/after content) #

• Only Automatic widgets with static display type.
• Position: Before Content or After Content.
• Product pages are skipped by this hook (handled by the WooCommerce hook instead).

6.4 WooCommerce — Free (product page) / Pro (product, shop, cart, checkout) #

• Static product-page buttons.
• Free: Product page only, floating OR static-below-price.
• Pro: additional targeting for Shop, Cart, Checkout, or All pages (floating).

6.5 Frontend display decision logic #

For automatic widgets the plugin checks, in order:

1. Enabled? — a disabled widget never renders.
2. Free limits — floating position forced to bottom right WooCommerce pages forced to product page only.
3. Excluded URLs? — if the current path matches an exclusion rule, the widget is skipped.
4. Scope match — Entire Site (always), Selected Post Types (must be a singular entry of a selected type), WooCommerce

Exclusion matching rules:

• A plain path matches when the current path equals it or contains it (substring).
• * and ? act as wildcards and the whole pattern is matched as a regular expression.
• Paths are compared without leading slashes.

Supported Networks — Values & Link Formats #

Values are entered per network. The plugin builds the destination URL automatically.

Network	Expected value	Generated link
WhatsApp	phone number	https://wa.me/{value}
Viber	phone number	viber://chat?number={value}
Telegram	username or full URL	https://t.me/{username} (or the URL as-is when it starts with http)
Line	username	line://ti/p/{username}
Signal	phone number	https://signal.me/#p/{value}
SMS	phone number	sms:{value}
iMessage	phone or email	imessage:{value}
Phone	phone number	tel:{value}
Email	e-mail address	mailto:{value}