Init Chat Engine – Real-Time, Community, Extensible vs Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box

Init Chat Engine is a clean and minimal frontend chatbox plugin, designed for homepage or site-wide communication with comprehensive administrative controls. This plugin is the core user system behind the Init Plugin Suite – optimized for frontend-first interaction, extensibility, and real-time gamification. GitHub repository: https://github.com/brokensmile2103/init-chat-engine Key Features: Frontend Experience: – Built with 100% REST API and Vanilla JS – No jQuery, no bloat – blazing fast – Fully embeddable via [init_chatbox] shortcode – Guest messaging support (optional) – Smart polling system (adaptive 3.5–10s based on activity, up to 20s when the chatbox is scrolled out of view) – Browser notifications when new messages arrive – Scroll-up to load history, scroll-down to auto-scroll – Optimistic sending & “new message” jump button – Clean UI with customizable themes – Template override supported (chatbox.php) Administrative Control: – Complete Settings Panel – Basic, Security, and Advanced configurations – Message Management – Search, view, delete messages with pagination – User Moderation – Ban/unban users by IP or user ID with expiration – Rate Limiting – Prevent spam with configurable message limits – Word Filtering – Block messages containing prohibited words – Statistics Dashboard – View chat activity, user engagement, and trends – Cleanup Tools – Automatic and manual cleanup of old messages – Custom CSS Support – Full styling customization options Security & Moderation: – IP-based and user-based banning system – Configurable rate limiting (messages per minute) – Word filtering with custom blocked word lists – Message moderation queue (optional) – Automatic cleanup of old messages and expired bans – Admin override capabilities Multilingual Ready: – Translation-ready with full .pot file included – Vietnamese translation included – Easy to translate to any language Perfect for community-based sites, forums, fanpages, manga readers, SaaS dashboards, customer support, or any interactive chat widget. Shortcode Attributes Shortcode [init_chatbox] supports the following attributes: height – Set chat height (e.g., height="400px") width – Set chat width (e.g., width="100%") theme – Apply custom theme (e.g., theme="dark") show_avatars – Override avatar setting (true/false) show_timestamps – Override timestamp setting (true/false) title – Add custom chat title class – Add custom CSS classes id – Set custom container ID Example: [init_chatbox height="500px" title="Community Chat" theme="modern"] Filters for Developers This plugin provides filters and actions to allow developers to extend word filtering, message processing, and chat behavior without modifying core files. init_plugin_suite_chat_engine_word_filter_strategy Modify word filtering strategy (substring, word, regex). Applies to: Message validation Params: string $strategy, array $settings, string $message init_plugin_suite_chat_engine_blocked_words Modify the blocked-words list before validation. Applies to: Message validation Params: array $blocked_words, array $settings, string $message init_plugin_suite_chat_engine_bypass_filter Bypass filtering under custom conditions (VIP, internal users, etc.). Applies to: Message validation Params: bool $bypass, string $message, WP_User|null $user, array $settings init_plugin_suite_chat_engine_word_block_hit (action) Triggered when a word filter rule blocks a message. Applies to: Message validation Params: string $blocked_word, string $message, string $strategy init_plugin_suite_chat_engine_enrich_message_row Extend chat message data (add flags, metadata, user info, etc.). Applies to: Backend DB → JSON output Params: array $message_row, WP_User|null $user License This plugin is licensed under the GPLv2 or later. You are free to use, modify, and distribute it under the same license.

⭐ Lightweight and fast, persistent chat solution! ⭐ Fully self-hosted: No 3rd-party account required 🙂 Simple Ajax Chat makes it easy for your visitors to chat with each other on your website. Simply add a shortcode to any post or page and done! Instant chat forum anywhere. The chat form is fully customizable with many options, so you can create the perfect chat box for your visitors. 👉 Check out a Live Demo of Simple Ajax Chat at WP-Mix » 👉 Pro version supports unlimited chat forms! Simple Ajax Chat is fully self-hosted with NO 3rd-party service required. Many (if not all) of the other free chat plugins require registration and monthly service from a 3rd-party provider. With Simple Ajax Chat, there is no 3rd-party: WordPress is all that’s required. Own your chats! Difference between SAC free and SAC Pro The main difference between SAC free and SAC Pro? Easy: SAC free supports 1 chat form SAC Pro supports unlimited chat forms Pro can do everything free can do and SO much more. Customize each chat form with unique features. SAC Pro is an all new plugin written with smarter, faster code and all the latest techniques. Get SAC Pro » SAC Features The simplest possible persistent chat Fully self-hosted: No 3rd-party account required Ajax goodness loads new chats without page refresh Smart chat processing optimizes for performance Works with all browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.) Works with all mobile devices (iPhone, Android, etc.) Display easily via shortcode or template tag Display chat box in multiple locations Regularly updated & “future proof” Supports custom CSS styles Strong anti-spam security Clean HTML markup More Features Plug-&-play: no configuration required Built-in control panel to edit and delete chats Define your own list of banned words and phrases Display chat messages in ascending or descending order Display custom content before/after the chat form Option to play sound alert for chat messages Option to restrict chat to logged-in users Option to restore default plugin settings Option to enable browser notifications Export all chat messages via CSV file Supports emoticons and emojis 🙂 Customize Everything Limit maximum number of chat messages Limit maximum length of each chat message Advanced customization via filter hooks Option to use textarea for larger input field Option to use logged-in username as the chat name Option to enable/disable URL field for chat names Load JavaScript only when chat box is displayed Customize the update interval for Ajax requests Customize the fade-in colors for new chats Customize the fade-duration for new chats Plus much more! 👉 That’s a LOT of features, but the Pro version has WAY more. Compare features (free vs. pro) » Exclusive Pro Features Enable Google reCaptcha (invisible) for all chat forms Choose from six form styles, or use custom styles Advanced chat management tools and user statistics Mute any user so they are not allowed to chat Ban any non-admin users from any chat session Enable customizable emoji picker for any chat form Display user avatars next to chat messages Display the user role next to chat messages Define your own Bang (!bang) shortcuts Email notifications for new chat messages Limit number of users for any chat form Create private chat boxes between users Banned phrases in text messages and user names Fine-grain control over allowed chat content Built with vanilla JavaScript (jQuery not required) Optionally display inline images in chat messages Automatically clear chat messages and send email alert Display a “current online users” widget for any form Displays a max-character counter for messages Display a role-based chat box on the WP Dashboard Choose from six sound alerts for new chat messages Option to include your own CSS and JavaScript 👉 Learn more and get SAC Pro » Privacy This plugin collects voluntary user chat data (i.e., Name, Chat Message, and optional URL field). It also gives the administrator the option to collect or not collect user IP information. Aside from those two things, this plugin does not collect or store any user data. This plugin uses a few cookies for the chat functionality. It does not connect to any third-party locations. Minimal impact on privacy. Translations This plugin supports translation into any language » Developer Simple Ajax Chat is developed and maintained by Jeff Starr, 15-year WordPress developer and book author. Support development I develop and maintain this free plugin with love for the WordPress community. To show support, you can make a donation or purchase one of my books: The Tao of WordPress Digging into WordPress .htaccess made easy WordPress Themes In Depth Wizard’s SQL Recipes for WordPress And/or purchase one of my premium WordPress plugins: BBQ Pro – Blazing fast WordPress firewall Blackhole Pro – Automatically block bad bots Banhammer Pro – Monitor traffic and ban the bad guys GA Google Analytics Pro – Connect WordPress to Google Analytics Head Meta Pro – Ultimate Meta Tags for WordPress REST Pro Tools – Awesome tools for managing the WP REST API Simple Ajax Chat Pro – Unlimited chat rooms USP Pro – Unlimited front-end forms Links, tweets and likes also appreciated. Thank you! 🙂